Domestic Violence

A family, from the view of someone outside, would look like a happy family. Parents are caring, children are happy. But once you look deeper inside, behind the curtains, you could see the horror of abuse and violence.

What is domestic violence? To stop it, we must first understand what it is.

Domestic violence is the act of violence between the members in the family. The most common violent behavior between husband and wife, parent and child. Domestic violence can be:
Physical abuse: Hitting, slapping, shoving, grabbing, pinching, biting, hair pulling.
Sexual abuse: Forcing someone any sexual contact without permission.
Emotional: Undermining an individual’s sense of self-worth, self-esteem.
Economic: Make an individual financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resource.

What do you do when you are a victim of domestic violence? The best way is to contact officials, call  hotlines and ask for support. Tell them your story, what happened, and your current location and well being.

Many people would think that women, children are the only one being abused. That is not entirely true. Even men can be a victim of domestic violence. The stereotypical model for men is that they have to be tough and stand up for themselves. Not all men are like that. We are people and we are all different in some way. Some people cannot fend for themselves and fall victim to abuse. Abuse of men are more often than you think. They face resource shortages, skepticism from the police, legal barriers, etc.

Helpguide.org will guide you through ways you an deal with domestic violence. There are a number of hotlines you can call for help too.

If you do know anyone who is a victim of domestic violence and do not know what to do, for the love of God, please help them! No human beings deserve to be treated terribly like that. Please, for a better, greater world, help the people around you that who are in need. Do no stay silent, speak out and tell the world the crimes of others!

Help Our Orphanage

Last Saturday, our class, the 21st Century Issues Class, went to multiple orphanages to give the children there support both physically and mentally. We visited Thao Dien Orphanage for Street Children, where we were met with utmost gratitude. The children were very happy to see that there are people out in the world who care about their existence. We gave them supplies, sweets, and other fundamental resources. At first, the children were a bit shy because of our presence, but after a short moment, we were happily having fun with each other. We gave these children teddy bears, which they really loved. We played many games together and had a good laugh.

Next stop is an orphanage in Go Vap District. We were very excited, but the orphanage got the call too late so they could not prepare to greet us. The children were playing around the neighborhood since it was a Saturday. We did get to take a tour of the house. It was in a mediocre condition. There were leakages on the wall near the stairs. They were trying to fix it but they did not have enough funds to do so. The place was very kid-friendly with pictures, drawings all over the walls. They have beds, lockers, and other facilities to provide shelter for the children.

After the trip, we have discussed that we are going to raise fund to fix the leakages at the second orphanage. We think that they really need them to be fixed because it would potentially bring harm to the children walking up and down the stairs. We have started a project on the indiegogo page, and we would like you to give these children your support. They have a bright future ahead and let us save the home of these children. Thank you.

Link to Indiegogo

Energy and Environment

We have only started using our natural resources for over 2000 years. But we are already starting to run out of these resources. Since the beginning, we have fought over the natural resources like oil, gold, diamond, etc., but we did not pay attention to the consequences of it. We deplete these resources and create even more problems like famine, destruction, etc. It is estimated that by the time 2050, we will deplete all of our natural, nonrenewable resources.

Oil, coal, and natural gas are classified as nonrenewable energy resources. There is an abundant of these resources formed gradually through million of years. These resources are exploited because they are cheap and easily accessed. We take these resources for granted, and eventually they will all be gone. What would happen to human kind when there is no energy source to fuel our daily lives? No electricity, no fuel means there would be no light, no machine working, no transportation. Are there no alternatives?

There are renewable energy resources. These resources can almost be infinite! For example: Water, wind, and solar are currently the sources of our renewable energy. We use the force of water to turn the turbine and generate electricity, same goes for wind. Solar is the power from our sun. It is almost infinite, and we receive that energy everyday. There are solar panels that we have developed to harness this abundance energy. One would ask "If we have this renewable energy, why can't we all use it?" We do not rely much on this energy because it is expensive, and no one likes expensive resources.

What can we do now? The only thing we can do is use our current resources to minimal amount possible. We can save electricity, save water, save power by doing the following things: Turn off the lights when you go out of the room. Turn off/ unplug any electrical device that you are not using. Use enough water for your activities. Save our energy, save our Earth.