Hi All,

A recent few of our little pumpkin. Second one is on
the way first week of August, a boy. We are soliciting
names.

Best,

JP

I sent these photos using Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 4.0. Find out more: http://www.adobe.com/photoshopelementswin

 
 

Hi All,

I'm very proud to announce the release of my first book, Pillars of the Nation: Child Citizens and Ugandan National Development. I just got an advance copy, and it's up on the press' website:

University of Chicago Press: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/227459.ctl  <http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/227459.ctl>

It's not even available in paperback on Amazon yet, and it's already ranked #3,288,639! Not bad, huh??

Kristen

Please tell other people about your book in the peacecorpsnetwork
group in Yahoo! Groups.
--- In ujeni@yahoogroups.com, "kristen cheney" <kcheney12@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm very proud to announce the release of my first book, Pillars of
the
> Nation: Child Citizens and Ugandan National Development. I just got
an
> advance copy, and it's up on the press' website:
>
> University of Chicago Press:
> http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/227459.ctl
>
> It's not even available in paperback on Amazon yet, and it's
already ranked
> #3,288,639! Not bad, huh??
>
> Kristen
>
> --
> "The rainmaker who doesn't know what he's doing will be found out
by the
> lack of clouds."
> -- Luganda Proverb
>

Recent photos of my two as well. Koji Ryan was born
two weeks ago today. Hanako is growing and strong as
ever.

JP

And another of Baby Jamie in his smart red hat (poor kid will probably still
be called Baby Jamie when he's 40).

Hope all are well....
Eriza

Here is along overdue shot of the twins.

He makes a double chin look good....

Can anyone tell us about Malawi in peacecorpsnetwork in Yahoo! Groups?

Torn Between the Lure And Danger of Uranium

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

NEWS
6 September 2007
Posted to the web 7 September 2007
Lilongwe

A project to mine uranium in northern Malawi next year promises to spur economic development in the area, but fears of serious health hazards associated with the radioactive element have aroused the country's civil society.

The Malawian government granted a mining licence in April 2007 to Paladin Africa Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian company, Paladin Resources Ltd, to develop the Kayelekera uranium deposit, 40km west of the town of Karonga on the shore of Lake Malawi.

According to James Eggins, a spokesman for Paladin Resources, the US$200 million capital cost of the project could generate between $150 million and $180 million a year, depending on the price of uranium.

The project is expected to create up to 800 jobs during the construction phase and more than 200 permanent jobs in the operations phase, besides the employment of contractors.

The venture could become a top export earner for the Malawian government, which owns 15 percent of Paladin Africa Limited. Henry Chimunthu Banda, Malawi's Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Resources, told parliament earlier this year that revenue from the project could boost the country's gross domestic product by 10 percent.

Health concerns

However, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), one of the leading rights organisations in Malawi, have called for an independent review of the environmental impact study, and are concerned about the possible social impact on neighbouring communities and exposure to radiation.

Kossam Munthali, director of the Foundation for Community Support Services (FCSS), a reproductive health support group also opposed to the mining project, told a public consultative meeting held last year by the Kayelekera Uranium Project that the effects of uranium might cause long-lasting serious health problems in unborn children and residents in the surrounding areas.

The deposit is close to a forest reserve and Lake Malawi, and the NGOs said it was important that the people of Karonga become aware of the impact that the mining project could have on the ecosystem of Africa's third-largest freshwater lake and the biodiversity of the entire area.

Lake Malawi, which the environmentalists claim would be affected once the mining project commenced, is a major source of fish, the country's most affordable protein.

"Uranium is naturally radioactive", according to Friends of the Earth, an anti-nuclear international NGO. "This means that as the element decays, it emits radiation".

As uranium decays, it produces a dangerous gas Radon-222 which easily spreads during the mining and the further processing of uranium, according to the NGO. " As well as being dangerous due to its radioactivity, uranium is chemically toxic".

The NGO maintained that no matter how uranium is mined, "there will be radioactive contamination of the environment as well as impacts from noise, dust, sulphur dioxide fumes, etc".

The Uranium Information Centre (UIC) of the Australian Uranium Association, suggested that good ventilation systems be installed to keep exposure low. It also recommended the use of radiation-detecting equipment and regular safety checks.

Environmental concerns

Malawian NGOs have called on Paladin to ensure that no waste would be dumped into natural waters, such as the Sere Stream and the Rukuru River, both near the deposit, which would lead to the pollution of Lake Malawi.

In particular, the NGOs warned of the dangers of mismanaging the mining operation's waste products, called tailings, which is the material left after the uranium has been extracted and contains most of the radioactivity.

As well as being dangerous due to its radioactivity, uranium is chemically toxic

Paladin's Eggins assured the NGOs that the company, which operates another mine in Namibia, would use the best design criteria for management of the tailings and any water used by the project.

The tailings would be compacted in dams, designed by experts in consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and ultimately covered and revegetated, he said. The company expected to draw from Australia's experience in managing tailings, as its uranium reserves were the world's largest, accounting for 24 percent of the global production, according to the UIC.

The human rights group CHRR, along with other NGOs, has complained that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - a prerequisite for obtaining the mining permit - was procedurally incorrect and have lodged a case in the High Court in the capital, Lilongwe. Paladin has maintained that the EIA "was conducted in strict accordance with the law and to the highest international standards".

Changing attitudes

The IAEA, in its authoritative report on the future of uranium mining, Analysis of Uranium Supply to 2050, identified environmental and/or political opposition as the biggest obstacle to growth in the sector.

"Western uranium mining and processing in recent times has an exemplary safety and environmental record, and programmes in the developing countries continue to adopt stronger environmental standards. Nevertheless, the world's environmental community continues to dwell on past mistakes, and to emphasise those mistakes in resisting uranium project development," the IAEA commented.

Interest in uranium has been growing in tandem with rising concerns about climate change, prompting many countries to reconsider the "greener" option of using nuclear power to produce electricity, which meant more nuclear plants would be built, Eggins pointed out.

The uranium market has been experiencing a strong revival, and new mines would be required in the coming years to meet the demand for growing uranium consumption by nuclear power utilities throughout the world. Paladin said the uranium spot price rose to its highest levels in the history of the civil nuclear industry in June this year.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]

Matthew McNulty (mcnurty@...) has sent you a news article.
(Email address has not been verified.)
------------------------------------------------------------
Personal message:

'Sigh'

Gorillas now 'critically endangered' - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_eu/endangered_gorillas

============================================================
Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/

----- Original Message -----

From: kristen cheney

To: ujeni@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 8:26 AM

Subject: Re: **Possible_Spam** [ujeni] Kids

Cathy and Don write, "It seems as if it is now a country that people have heard of...actually, America seems a little more aware of Africa, and not just the National Geographic picture image."

I think we partially have Madonna to thank for raising Malawi's profile -- and Brangelina for Africa in general. But that raises a whole different (yet equally problematic) representation of Africa. Hmm, sounds like an article for a polemic professor to write...

LOVE all the kid pictures!

Peace,

Kristen Cheney
Asst Prof of Anthropology


--
"The rainmaker who doesn't know what he's doing will be found out by the lack of clouds."
-- Luganda Proverb

---

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.485 / Virus Database: 269.13.12/997 - Release Date: 9/9/2007 10:17 AM

From: mcnurty@...
To: mcnurty@...
Subject: NYTimes.com: Conservatives Are Such Jokers

This page was sent to you by:  mcnurty@... OPINION   | October 5, 2007 Op-Ed Columnist:  Conservatives Are Such Jokers By PAUL KRUGMAN If you’re poor, if you don’t have health insurance, if you’re sick — well, today’s conservatives don’t think it’s a serious issue. In fact, they think it’s funny. 1. Op-Ed Columnist: Conservatives Are Such Jokers 2. Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones 3. On Education: Exploring Ways to Shorten the Ascent to a Ph.D. 4. Op-Ed Columnist: The Republican Collapse 5. ‘The Kite Runner’ Is Delayed to Protect Child Stars »  Go to Complete List Copyright 2007  The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy

Zowona.

Hey, did anybody see our RPCV boy Chris Matthews on Jon Stewart this week?

If not:

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Chris_Matthews_to_Jon_Stewart_This_1003.html



-----Original Message-----
>From: Matthew McNulty <mcnurty@...>
>Sent: Oct 5, 2007 4:19 PM
>To: Malawi Ujeni <ujeni@yahoogroups.com>, Ujeni it aint
<chidyamakanda@yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: [ujeni] Fwd: NYTimes.com: Conservatives Are Such Jokers
>
>
>
>mcnurty@... wrote: From: mcnurty@...
>To: mcnurty@...
>Subject: NYTimes.com: Conservatives Are Such Jokers
>
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> sent to you by:  mcnurty@...
>
>   OPINION     | October 5, 2007
>    Op-Ed Columnist:  Conservatives Are Such Jokers
>  By PAUL KRUGMAN
>   If you’re poor, if you don’t have health insurance, if you’re sick —
well, todayÂ’s conservatives donÂ’t think itÂ’s a serious issue. In fact, they
think itÂ’s funny.
>
>
>  1. Op-Ed Columnist: Conservatives Are Such Jokers
> 2. Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones
> 3. On Education: Exploring Ways to Shorten the Ascent to a Ph.D.
> 4. Op-Ed Columnist: The Republican Collapse
> 5. ‘The Kite Runner’ Is Delayed to Protect Child Stars
>
> »   Go to Complete List
>
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Policy
>
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>---------------------------------
>Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story.
> Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games.

Like most of you, I have great memories of whiling away many an
afternoon/evening to Lucky Dube and Mr. Carlsberg in the small dives of
Malawi.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world/africa/20safrica.html?_r=1&hp&oref=s
login

---

To: ujeni@yahoogroups.com
From: kcheney12@...
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:35:22 -0400
Subject: [ujeni] Malawi News

FYI Malawi news...

 

I'll be in DC roughly 11/28-12/2. Anyone in the area wanna get together??

 

Kristen

MALAWI: Role of traditional birth attendants to change
BLANTYRE, 19 October (IRIN) - Malawi is planning to change the role of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in an attempt to reduce one of the world's highest rates of maternal and infant deaths.
A 2004 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey said the maternal and infant mortality rate was 984 out of every 100,000 live births, translating to 6,000 maternal deaths each year.
But such a move, observers say, does not take into account the already overburdened public health system, which would be overwhelmed if TBAs were removed.
Adamson Muula, a lecturer in community health at the Malawi College of Medicine, in the commercial capital of Blantyre, said less than half the women in Malawi delivered their babies at recommended hospitals, "yet the system is overtaxed."
"If government plans not to use TBAs anymore, then a safe alternative must be identified. In many cases, not all women, even if they wanted, would end up
delivering at the hospital. Again, if just 70 percent of all pregnant women were to deliver at the hospital, the hospital system would not cope," he said.
Birth attendants shoulder the blame
Sabinna Mlusu, the District Nursing Officer in Blantyre, said the reason for government ending the practice of licensing TBAs was the discovery "that most maternal and infant deaths are caused by delays in arranging transport from homes of TBAs to clinics, and then to referral hospitals. Such delays ended up complicating cases which TBAs could not treat."
She said the majority of deaths were a consequence of such complications as internal bleeding and high blood pressure, which required emergency medical attention only available at public and private clinics.
Diana Khonje, neonatal health officer at the Reproductive Health Department in Malawi's Ministry of Health, said government would not completely discard the TBAs, but that they would no longer perform the duties of midwives.
"They have been given a new roles. One of them will be to arrange transport for expectant women to clinics and teach lactating mothers the importance of breast feeding," Khonje said.
She dismissed concerns that removing TBAs from the loop would exert an added burden on public health facilities. "There is enough capacity in our hospitals to handle maternity cases. The problem is that most women are ill-informed ... [often] by the same TBAs who were getting paid for the services rendered."
She said the process for switching the TBAs from handling expectant mothers would be gradual. "We believe in their new roles the TBAs will help government to reach out to the rural poor who are ... [mostly] ill-informed about childbirth and breast feeding."
Chimota Phiri, the Blantyre District Health Officer, told IRIN that the government was also using traditional leaders to convince people to stop using TBAs. "People tend to listen much more to what their traditional leaders tell them than anyone else. Chiefs must therefore tell people the importance of coming to hospitals with problems affecting their health."
He said the country's high maternal and infant mortality rate was a consequence of home births. "Such unsafe conditions cause infections to both the mother and the baby, which, in most cases, lead to death."
But not all traditional leaders accepted that the high rate of maternal and infant deaths could be attributed to TBAs. Chief Kabunduli, from northern Malawi, said government should also shoulder some of the blame. "Experience has shown that most maternal and child deaths occur in houses of TBAs, but it is government that accredits these people."
Charles Munthali, a health official from the same region, said in one district only 4,000 of the about 10,000 expectant mothers had visited a hospital for antenatal services. "Maternal and newborn deaths are avoidable, but most women prefer to go for deliveries by unskilled TBAs."
Challenges and strategies
The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), which has donated about US140 million to Malawi for 2006/07 - including $40 million for budget support, another $40 million for health and HIV/AIDS, and $14 million for education - said there were evident challenges in the health sector, as the maternal mortality rate had risen by more than 50 percent since 1992.
However, at the same time, the under-five mortality rate had declined to 133 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 - a 43 percent reduction in 12 years - and was on target to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goal in this category.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that almost half of all births in developing countries occur without a skilled birth attendant present. Globally, 529,000 women die every year in pregnancy or birth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
[ENDS]


--
"The rainmaker who doesn't know what he's doing will be found out by the lack of clouds."
-- Luganda Proverb

Hi folks,

I have applied for a couple of positions with CDC's Global AIDS Program.
While I have spoken with a few CDC friends and colleagues about the impact
PEPFAR is having on their work, I was hoping to get impressions from those
working with NGOs who have involvement with PEPFAR HIV/AIDS funding.

Please feel free to contact me directly via my email
(elizabeth_bell@...), I also have a skype account if that would be
easier.

Zikomo in advance,

Liz Bell
Ntcheu DAC '94-'06