This will shock you. But think about it.
·An average human being spends 8 hours in bed. That is 8 hours out of 24 hours which is a third of the day. So when you are 30, you have slept for 10 years. How old are you again?
·4 out of 8 young people involved in drugs and crime do it because they are bored and have nothing better to do.
·Painting, drawing and music are the best way to relieve stress.
·In 30 days, if 100 young people got involved in community service everyday, they would save their country at least $ 2 million.
·Malaria kills more children than AIDS in Africa. All because the drugs don’t reach them fast enough.
·By 2020, 1/5th of Africa’s current sub Saharan youth [16-29] population will have died of HIV/AIDS.
·HIV is more prevalent among idle and bored young people [mostly found in underdeveloped countries] while their western counterparts find themselves busier and thus less time and chance of getting sexually involved.
·63% of urban young people [18-25] abroad [Europe and Northern America] pay their own school fees from part time jobs.
·There is nothing like bad company. Just bad influence.
·The current generation in Africa is the most educated but underutilized generation of young people in the world since the beginning of time.

Mark.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) welcomes applications to its Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program for the 2007-2008 fellowship year. Established in 2001 to enable activists, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change, the fellowship program is based at NED's International Forum for Democratic Studies, in Washington, D.C.

Program: The program offers five-month fellowships for practitioners to improve strategies and techniques for building democracy abroad and five- to ten-month fellowships for scholars to conduct original research for publication. Practitioners may include activists, lawyers,
journalists, and other civil society professionals; scholars may include professors, research analysts, and other writers. Projects may focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and include a range of methodologies and approaches.

Eligibility: The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program is intended primarily to support practitioners and scholars from new and aspiring democracies. Distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Practitioners are expected to have substantial experience working to promote democracy. Scholars are expected to have a doctorate, or academic equivalent, at the time of application. The program is not designed to defray the cost of education for students working toward a degree. A working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program.

Support: The fellowship year begins October 1 and runs through July 31, with major entry dates in October and March. All fellows receive a monthly stipend, health insurance, travel assistance, and research support through the Forum's Democracy Resource Center and Reagan-Fascell Research Consultancy Program.

Application: For further details, please visit us online at
www.ned.org. For instructions on how to apply, please download our most recent Information and Application Forms booklet available at www.ned.org/forum/R-FApplication.pdf or visit us online at
www.ned.org/forum/reagan-fascell.html

Please note that all application materials must be type-written
and in English.

Deadline: Applications for fellowships in 2007-2008 must be received no later than November 1, 2006. Notification of the competition outcome is in April 2007.

We are pleased to announce that in summer 2006, NED will move to new headquarters:

Address until August 25, 2006:
Program Assistant, Fellowship Programs
International Forum for Democratic Studies
National Endowment for Democracy
1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel.: (202) 293-0300
Fax: (202) 293-0258
E-mail: fellowships@ned.org

Address from August 25, 2006
Program Assistant, Fellowship Programs
International Forum for Democratic Studies
National Endowment for Democracy
1025 F Street, N.W., Eighth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20004
E-mail: fellowships@ned.org

Drugs and drug abuse are increasing to become a big problem in Kenya. Effects of drug weigh heavily on many young people who consume various forms of drugs and alcohol without knowing their detrimental effects. Recent studies show that most school youth take drugs particularly alcohol and tobacco.

Even with NACADA National Campaign Against Drug Abuse in place in Kenya, it is still important that Kenya remains steadfast. Where promotion of drug related advertisements are still not banned, people smoke in public places and risk the lives of million other citizens. Throughout history particular social groups have used alcohol, Tobacco, cannabis, opium and/or cocaine as part of their daily lives and traditional ceremonies. Impact of globalisation, migration of young people from rural to urban centres breakdown in traditional moves and realisation that big and quick money can be made from drug havens in recent past, led to increase use of drugs amongst poor and marginalized youth in Kenya

In the midst of poverty, unemployment & HIV/AID prevalence, conflict and wars, evidence has shown that drugs and alcohol have become a part of everyday life of many young people.In recent times, Kenya has become transit country for cocaine/heroine and huge haul of substance have been captured and destroyed along the coastal part of Kenya. Even with huge custodial sentences, the trade in this substance is on the rise.Use of drugs has received little attention in developing world. In resource poor countries like Kenya, it can seem a luxury to tackle treatment of drug dependency, often regarded as a moral issue, affecting a few and socially deviant rather than public issue with social consequences.


Drug and alcohol however contribute to poverty, low productivity increased HIV/AIDS transmission, an increase in crime and lack of care and protection for children and young people.


Do you members of TIG have better mechanisms of dealing with these drug problems? What can we share about them?

Mark Okowa
Project Officer
Environment Liaison centre International ELCI
Kisumu-Kenya

Nyanza province in Western Kenya has lots of problems which require direct policy advocacy. Many of the problems common in the lake region are well know and include:

Five times higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS among riparian communities compared to inland communities worldwide.
Nyanza as Kenya’s poorest province with poverty levels ranging from 65 to 80 per cent
The lowest life expectancy of 46 years, comparing poorly against the average life expectancy in Central Province of Kenya, which stands at 64 years.
Poverty levels are taking toll on education.
Only 0.6 per cent of Nyanza residents have access to piped water in their dwelling places despite the presence of massive water sources in the area.
A paltry 5.1 per cent of the people have access to electricity.
Nyanza performs poorly both in child mortality and the proportion of people infected with HIV/Aids.
The same region yields US$100 million a year from fish industry alone.
Suba District that gives about 70 per cent of fish for export has no inch of tarmac road, no bank, and no district hospital.

Our approach is to address the policies that are related directly or indirectly to the issues raised above as well as others. We believe that if people are empowered, they will ask the right questions, will be able demand their rights, will be able to live responsibly and will make the right and sustainable choices. Do you have any better way which may have worked elsewhere? Pls ahare.