How to Raise Student Awareness and Sensitivity for Global Issues

In many industrialized 'first world' countries, we live in a consumer-driven, insular communities which have little or no contact with global issues. We consume grotesque quantities of natural resources. We use goods wantonly, we burn vast amounts of fossil fuels every second. We let good clean water run down the drain endlessly. We cram miles of good fertile land with plastic, paper, yard waste, glass, metal. We pay billions of dollars to watch idiots and buffoons entertain us. We are a glutted society, drowning in our own waste.

So what's the point of this article after that scorching indictment on the western world? That all is not lost. We have a generation of citizens who are forced to sit in our schools every day listening to talk on all sorts of subjects. What if we were to bring this captive audience some awareness of the world around them. Not just latitude and 'name the capital of Tibet' and drawing maps, but real lessons about real people around the world, 3/4 of which live below the poverty level.

Obviously we can't end the suffering. But we an raise awareness to the plight of poverty, illness, starvation, lack of literacy and dreadful environmental issues, much of the world lives with. I have interacted with hundreds of students of all ages and I have rarely found any so hard-hearted that they did not show concern when presented with the face of poverty, hunger, disease and want. Knowledge is power and we can empower this generation to go and make a difference in whatever way is right for them. Perhaps a student will join the Peace Corps, write a news expose that touches the public, find a cure for illness, sponsor a child, who knows?

So how do we raise awareness? Here are some websites with resources to educate and inspire students on the needs of the world.