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Welcome to Go Target Harmony!

Welcome to Go Target Harmony!

Every Monday, we have our “Monday’s Five” segment. But this Monday is going to be different. We’ll be relaying to you the latest news, the latest update and hopefully the final one about the war in Marawi, Philippines.

To give you a backstory, the war started on May 23, 2017. When the once peaceful city, turned into a war zone overnight. The parties who had conflict were the Philippine Government  security forces and affiliated militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups.

Martial Law was declared in the area soon after and it was even extended until December 31, 2017. 

As of yesterday, there are already  822 militants killed which includes 12 foreigners, 11 militants captured,  163 government forces killed,  60 government forces missing,   1,400+ government forces wounded,  87 civilians dead where 40 of them had passed due to illness.

All will be hopefully ending. Because just this morning, the Philippine troops have finally executed the remaining leaders of the ISIS-affiliated leaders. 

According to The Guardian,  four military and police officials told Associated Press that Isnilon Hapilon, who is listed among the FBI’s most-wanted terror suspects, and Omarkhayam Maute were killed in a gun battle and their bodies were found.

Let’s all take a moment to thank all of the soldiers and military officials who have sacrificed their precious lives in the Marawi seige. We should all be proud of them.

Now, that the conclusion has come to this tragedy, we all should hope this would be the last type of war we’ll be experiencing. This should be a reminder for us to spread peace and justice. This is our time to speak for things that matter just like the safety of our fellow brothers and sisters, and to fight against terrorism.

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Today, we’ll be tackling an issue that has been trending. Gun Ban. There are news of killings daily. One of the most common way of killing is the use of guns. There isn’t a day where there isn’t a news about someone getting killed because of a bullet.  

 Remember the tragic shooting that happened in Las Vegas just recently? Well, the tragedy triggered plenty to push the implementation of banning guns. Not only in the United States, but also in other countries.

So when a country issues an act that will ban guns, would that be the answer or would that be the problem? Let’s take a look.

Gun ban would be the answer because this would lessen the killings. This would promote peace and order. This could be the start of change, a good one for that matter. 

Gun ban would be a problem because what would happen in times where your safety or others’ safety is put to danger.  What would happen to people who’s hobby is to fire guns in shooting ranges, the police, gun collectors would they be affected? Are they going to surrender their acquired guns?

Every government should study the limits and exceptions if they would want to implement a gun ban, for the long run. 

Because of the recent events, there should be a concrete set of rules and regulations about guns. Guns aren’t toys and they’re not meant to be played with. They shouldn’t just be given to someone unauthorized. 

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Today’s topic is none other than

(Source: Google Images)

Money lau­ndering happens in almost every country in the world, and a single scheme typically involves transferring money through several countries in order to obscure its origins. 

BREAKING DOWN 'Money Laundering'

Illegally earned money needs laundering in order for criminal organization to use it effectively. Dealing in large amounts of illegal cash is inefficient and dangerous. The criminals need a way to deposit the money in financial institutions, yet they can only do so if the money appears to come from legitimate sources. 

Strict rules prescribe measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, both in Iceland and abroad. Act No. 64/2006, on Measures to Prevent Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, was adopted in 2006. The purpose of the Act is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing by obliging parties who undertake activities that may be used to launder money and finance terrorism to know their customers and the business they conduct.

Money laundering, at its simplest, is the act of making money that comes from Source A look like it comes from Source B. In practice, criminals are trying to disguise the origins of money obtained through illegal activities so it looks like it was obtained from legal sources. Otherwise, they can't use the money because it would connect them to the criminal activity, and law-enforcement officials would seize it.

(Source: Google Images)

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For this week’s Save Me Saturdays, we’ll be featuring The Carter Center. 

WHO ARE THEY?

It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1982. It was founded by former US President, Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. They also teamed up with Emory University.

The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy and human rights; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. 

Their aim is to advance peace and health worldwide.

WHAT DO THEY DO?

Their mission is “The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering. It seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.”

For the advancement of peace:

The Center seeks to break new ground and not duplicate the effective efforts of others.

The Carter Center has become a pioneer in the field of election observation, monitoring 104 national elections to help ensure that the results reflect the will of the people.

They have recently observed the  elections in Kenya, Philippines, Zambia, Guyana, and Tunisia.

They have projects to strengthen rule of law and access to justice in post-conflict Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

They hold forums to strengthen the voices of human rights defenders worldwide and an initiative to achieve more equitable treatment of women and girls.

For the advancement of health: 

The Center has prevented the suffering of millions of people around the world from illnesses often ignored by others. 

Health programs seek to provide people with the information and access to medical services they need in order to treat their illnesses and take steps to prevent future spread of disease.

Currently, they have campaigns and projects for:   

Guinea Worm Eradication Program Hispaniola Initiative International Task Force for Disease Eradication Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program Mental Health Program Public Health Training Initiative River Blindness Elimination Program Schistosomiasis Control Program Trachoma Control Program

HOW TO GET INVOLVED?

You can intern at The Carter Center. Interns come all over the world in order to make important contributions.

You can also volunteer at The Carter Center. The volunteers personally commit their time and energy in order to serve the people who are in need of help. 

You can find more information to get involved here, on their website. 

All of their social media are linked here.

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Today on Feature Fridays, we’ll be featuring Indigenous People. 

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Indigenous People are a significant and important portion of humanity. The word Indigenous have many meanings. In every region of the world, many different cultural groups live together and interact, but not all of these groups are considered indigenous or inherent geographically. In fact, it is only in the face of a collective or shared sense of identity that the term indigenous peoples has been internationally recognized.

(Source: Google Images)

INDIGENOUS CULTURE

Each indigenous culture is distinct and unique. While many peoples may express similar worldviews and a common indigenous identity, their cultures are nonetheless based on different histories, environments, and creative spirits.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the inherent dignity, equality, and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. The rights of all members of indigenous populations are included in this declaration. However, Indigenous Peoples also have rights as distinct cultural groups or nations

THEIR RIGHTS

This is the most comprehensive statement of the rights of Indigenous Peoples to date, establishing collective rights to a greater extent than any other document in international human rights law. It establishes the rights of Indigenous Peoples to the protection of their cultural property and identity as well as the rights to education, employment, health, religion, language and more. It also protects the right of Indigenous Peoples to own land collectively.

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2 days ago, we have witnessed another cruel and twisted tragedy that happened in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though the wounds are still fresh and it is quite difficult to talk about, we still need to address what really happened.

It has been dubbed as one of the worst mass shooting in America. Some have labeled it as terrorism. Some just stated it as an act of evil. No matter what label or name we call the shooting that happened in Las Vegas, people still have lost their lives. 

From 22,000 concertgoers, 59 people passed away. More than 500 injured. From the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, one twisted, evil gunman is to blame. A night that could have been a fun one, filled with music and life turned into a nightmare. 

Stephen Paddock is the one to blame for what happened. According to the Las Vegas police, it took him 9 to 11 minutes to fire those bullets with 23 firearms. He took his own life moments after. That’s why the motive of this shooting is still a mystery. The shooting, however, is not connected to international terrorism. 

We just wish we all could have done something to prevent this tragedy. But we cannot turn back time. The one thing we can do is to continue fighting for gun ban or gun control. Sure, guns are for protection but let’s take this tragedy as an example of how guns can ruin, even end, the lives of innocent people. They should be more strict with selling firearms. Establishments need to be heighten their security measures.

For now, let’s take a moment for all the victims of this terrible tragedy. 

I love the internet and the social media. It helps me connect faster with people, my family, friends and classmates. It makes everyday life so much easier. I get to share my happiness with other people and get updated on theirs. I read funny memes everyday and watch videos to inspire my soul. I actually check my newsfeed as I wake up in the morning, a lot of people do. I get excited to see whats new and laugh at memes I get tag at and read my messages from friends, see people who liked my photos and follow my crush’s updates.

Social media is a wonderful place. We meet new people whom we have mutual friends with or people from different parts of the world. That how wide and how convenient internet is and more.  

But this wonderful place can be very very dark for some users who get cornered by opinionated people who comments on everything and sometimes those comments hurt the person involved or people who engage in arguments then shame the other and think it’s okay since its social media and it happens.

 I know that you know this. You often see posts or comments that is degrading for others where they judge a person and call them names. Where they use other person’s photo to create those memes for humor. 

A good and recent example for this is Marlou Arizala. Marlou is now very popular as Xander Ford. He changed his name as he changed his appearance. I think it is really sad he had to change his whole appearance and why other people, mostly girls had to go through this kind of operation to achieve “beauty”. Why they can’t see their own beauty and depend on society’s definition of “beautiful”. I am not against it but I just feel sad. I too have a part of me that I would like to change but its sad that they actually do because of other people shaming them for it or emphasizing it for them that that flaw is a big flaw and they are ugly because of it. 

Marlou is being called names, used at jokes for the whole country to laugh at and be shamed. They may see it and say it as a joke. But it does not feel good to be always laughed at and used for ugly jokes. To open your newsfeed and see people whom you do not know making fun of you because you are far from society’s definition of beauty. Now that Marlou Arizala is Xander Ford all I can see in my newsfeed are people shaming him for altering his appearance and still calling him names. Nothings changed and they are shaming him more than before. I just hope he feels better now.

We may not be perfect or beautiful to other people but we can create our own definition of beautiful.

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Aside from Halloween, here are some dates to remember for the month of October. 

OCTOBER 2 -  International Day of Non-Violence

Today, we are celebrating International Day of Non-Violence. This is also the birthday of  of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement. He fought against discrimination and violence while he was living.

This is an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.

OCTOBER 10 - World Mental Health Day

This is a day where the World Health Organization aims to raise awareness about mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health.

OCTOBER 11 - International Day of the Girl Child

The ambition for gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the preponderance of disadvantage and discrimination borne by girls everywhere on a daily basis. 

Though this is still connected to Goal 16 because one of the targets is  to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

The theme for this year's International Day of the Girl is Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls.  When we invest in girls’ health, safety, education and rights - even in times of peace or crisis, we encourage them to reach for their dreams and build better futures for themselves and their communities.

OCTOBER 15 - International Day of Rural Women

The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This day pays tribute to rural women, including indigenous women all over the world and their contributions  in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

OCTOBER 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year’s theme is  Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies.  The theme for this year’s commemoration reminds us of the importance of the values of dignity, solidarity and voice underscored in the Call to Action to fight to end poverty everywhere. (source)

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Welcome to another edition of “Save Me Saturdays” where we feature organizations that help target peace, justice and strong institutions. Today we will be featuring Columban Lay Missionaries.

WHO ARE THEY?

This was founded by two young Irish diocesan priests in 1916. 

The Missionary Society of St. Columban is a Catholic missionary society originally founded for evangelization work in China. 

They  seek to promote mission in the world through cross-cultural mission.

They are men and women who are single, couples, families who respond to God’s mission by crossing boundaries of culture, gender creed and race. 

Here is a glimpse of their history:

WHAT DO THEY DO?

The Columban Lay Missionaries, since 1990, have been exchanging teams between Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Britain, Ireland, Korea, Fiji, Taiwan, China, Myanmar and the Philippines.

They help the lives of the poor and marginalized all over the world by doing Parish/ Pastoral work in the community, education programs, youth groups,  health, help with human rights advocacy, interfaith dialogue and care for the earth. 

Here is their 2000 Vision statement.

"As people of faith, we envisage a world where women and men of all races, cultures and creeds live life to the full, where there is inclusion, equality and justice for the poor, marginalized and oppressed and where communities and nations live in peace and harmony with each other and all creation." (Columban Lay Mission Vision Statement, 2000)

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

You can join them if you are:

Committed Catholics, who has a missionary spirit and a deep desire to serve others.

Men and women who can be single or married who are 23 - 40 years old.

Must be healthy, a college graduate and with work and pastoral experience.

Willling to undergo nine months orientation. The orientation talks about the two goals you have to develop which is teamwork and cultural sensitivity. It consists of trainings, inpunts and studies, an 11 week Clinical Pastoral Education, exposure to different miinistries of the Columbans and other congregations, reflections which are personal and spiritual direction, a retreat, and exposure to the Columban family. 

You also need to be able to work with others. You need to be willing to commit yourself for at least 3 years in another country/culture, and willing to go wherever they are sent.

You also have to be humble and realize that it was God who calls to mission

And lastly, you need to be convinced of the importance of the Church for the life of the world.

You can visit their website here 

If you’re from the Philippines, visit them here. They are also located at 34 Rosario Drive, Cubao 1109, Quezon City or at “Bobbio”, Buenavista, Patag 9000 Cagayan de Oro City.  

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Today, we’re going to introduce a brand new segment on this blog which is called “Feature Fridays”. We would be featuring  specific people and talking about their situation, talking about their culture and what they have done in the field of peace, justice and strong institutions. 

HISTORY

Women in England had a rough time at one point in history. They were excluded from sports, from voting, they were even sold in the market when their husbands wanted a separation.

  The law did not even recognize single independent women.

Unmarried mothers were sent to the workhouse, receiving unfair social treatment. They were restricted from attending church on Sundays.  

POLITICS

The UK is 74th of 186 in terms of female representation in parliament.

208 women MPs were elected at the 2017 General Election, 32% of all MPs and a record high.210 women, 26%, are Members of the House of Lords. (Source)

32% of local authority councillors in England are women 

EDUCATION

The UK actually has more women than men in university – 1.3 women for every man 

30% of the UK’s graduates at tertiary level are female 

the Commons’ Science and Technology Select Committee published a report, “Women in STEM careers”. 

HEALTH/SCIENCE

Women in the UK have a healthy life expectancy of 72 years.

In the UK female inventorship has risen by 16% in the last 10 years alone (Source) 

ORGANIZATION

The International  Council of Women in England call Congresses in different countries to discuss about social, economic, and educational questions from the standpoint of fortunate and privileged women that seeks to improve conditions for the workers, so that these workers may become more efficient and effective ones.

After reading all of the facts and statistics about women in England, who had one of the toughest lives in the past, we should all be in awe on how much they have proved society wrong. Never again should we look down on women in England, including women in every part of the world too. Let’s go target harmony. ❤

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In recent years, there has been a change in the practice of providing immunity from prosecution to those responsible for crimes like genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.  The two goals, peace and justice, rather than being exclusive, are now mutually reinforcing.

To prove that peace and justice are now mutually reinforcing, here is a video that talks about it. 

LINES FROM THE INTERVIEWEES TO PONDER ON: 

“It was a cycle of revenge. People did not feel that peace was not possible in their lives at all.”

“Often times, it’s just about ending the conflict in whatever cost. “

“Peace relies on justice and accountability to ensure sustainability.”

“Citizens will respect the law more if they can see that the law can applied equally to everyone” 

“We are talking about the ways and means to help society to confront the past so that it can confront the past, so that it can move to a peaceful, hopefully prosperous and democratic future”

We hope the video made you think today, of how grateful you are that you are living in a safe environment, that you were not forced to be a child soldier, that you did not see the people you love killed right in front of you.  

It’s peace AND justice. Not peace versus justice. Not even peace or justice. 

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Today, we’ll be talking about Peace of Mind and Inner Peace. 

We have already talked about peace, starting within you in this blog. Let’s further talk about that today.  

What do you prefer, a restless, full of negative thoughts kind of mind or a peaceful one? The answer is quiet obvious. No one really enjoys stress  and mental uneasiness.

First let’s define peace of mind. It is a state of mental and emotional calmness, with no worries, Hakuna Matata, they would say in the film Lion King. There are no fears or stress. In this state, your mind is still and quiet, and you experience a sense of happiness and freedom.

Next, let’s enumerate things that would gain if you have a peaceful mind.  

It leads to better emotional and physical health, increased energy, stronger and better mental health.

Improved memory so you have a better ability to learn and study. 

It also helps you handle your daily routine in a more efficient and effective manner.

Learning how to bring more peace into your life makes you a much better person. A better person that would potentially spread peace in their community. Instead of wasting time on planting anger, resentment and unhappiness, invest your time and energy on being active in the community in order to achieve peace, justice and strong institutions before 2030.

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For this week’s Monday’s Five, we’ll be giving five organizations that are pro-women or that help support them all over the world.

👩 National Organization for Women (NOW)

(Photo credits)

an activist organization, foundation and PAC that advocates for equal rights for women

 It has launched  The National Action Program. It is NOW’s set of action priorities for activists around the country. The Program includes five campaigns: 

(1) End the Criminalization of Trauma (2) Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (3) Mobilize for Reproductive Justice (4) Advance Voting Rights (5) Protect Immigrant Rights. (Source)

To get involved for NOW, click here. To donate to NOW, click here. 

👩 Black Women’s Blueprint

(Photo Credit)

Black Women's Blueprint is a civil and human rights organization of women (and men).

They are helping develop a culture where women of African descent are fully empowered and where gender, race and other disparities are erased.

 They also help women with low income get by through a bartering network. Example, they barter food for a week or a car ride for a week. 

To donate, click here

👩 She Should Run

(Photo Credits)

a non-profit that aims to get more women into elected leadership roles. 

This is a starting point for women who aspire to be future leaders. They will be supported by the community. 

She Should Run believes that women of all political leanings, ethnicity, and backgrounds should have an equal opportunity to have a place in the government/higher office. 

You can nominate a woman who you think should consider to run for office, click here.  You can also nominate yourself, here. 

👩 Women's Net

South African support for women activists using technology 

strengthens women and girls movements for social change through the strategic use of information communication tools and advocacy that promotes access, the right to information and freedom of expression. (Source)

They want to empower women and girls in South Africa to learn something new about their rights, and they provide tools for social activism.

To donate, click here.

👩   Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women 

Based in the Philippines, they provide help and services to women and children who are survivors of sex trade, sexual abuse, rape and incest.

They help them create a better future to put their dark past behind them.

They offer Drop-In Centers and Growth Homes and Transition Homes to victims.

Women survivors make handbags using different materials and those would be sold. Other activities done by women that could generate income are beekeeping, candle-making,  catering, and massage.

Welcome to Go Target Harmony!

For today, we'll be going back to the main topic of this blog, the sole reason why this blog exists. This blog started out as a requirement for our Public Relations class. But as days have passed, each and everyone of us have started a passion to fight the injustices in this world. We now have the determination to start spreading more information about Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. We already have discussed the definition of this on our very first blog post (which you can check out here, if you haven't yet). But if you have already read that, here’s a follow up video that explains Goal 16.

Now, it's time to discuss the why.

Why is this goal so important anyway? Why do we need peace, justice and strong institutions? WHY?  It's simple. One day, you will wake up and you will see that the news will no longer feature killings, violence, abuse, negativity, etc. Any bad news that you are hearing or reading right now will no longer exist. The target is to end every immoral act by 2030. If we act faster and that is if everyone acts, we can end it earlier. 

We all need a world that is safe, full of love and respect towards one another. We need to be free from fear. Someday in the near future, we’ll be living in a world wherein we won’t be anxious or full of fear of what’s to come because we have already defeated evil. We know we’re all looking forward for the day that the only thing we have to worry about is what kind deed we’ll be doing. 

Let’s think of all the future generations, the headache we have already given them from all the previous and current acts that are full of hatred and acts that lack justice. Sure, the children are the future but we, the millennials and  every generation before us that are still living are the present.  Let’s not wait for them to solve everything, In our own little ways, we can help achieve the targets of Goal 16.