Family Planning Is A Poverty Issue
WHY's own Kelly Morrison reports on the March for Women's Lives

It is common knowledge that educating and empowering women is vital to alleviating poverty and encouraging sustainable development around the world. Until women have the educational and family planning options available to control the size of their families -- women, families and communities will continue to live in desperate economic conditions. The education of women, in all respects, not only improves the quality of life for her and her family but ultimately of the larger community.

The Global Gag Rule, re-enacted by President Bush, prevents international non-governmental organizations receiving any USAID funding from counseling women on reproductive health options. This ban is a direct assault on the lives of women in developing countries and on the state of human rights around the world. According to International Planned Parenthood Federation, a woman dies every minute during pregnancy or child birth. Family Planning could save 25% of these women’s lives by preventing high risk pregnancy. As it stands now, almost 20 million women, predominately in developing countries, receive unsafe abortions. Out of that number, 75,000 women die from complications and hundreds of thousands are left with serious health problems. The Gag Rule is only escalating these appalling statistics.

It is out of this atmosphere of urgency that hundreds of thousands of women and men from all over the country descended on Washington on Sunday, April 25. They came not only to express their outrage over the current state of reproductive rights in this country, but to show solidarity with women around the world who are suffering. Reproductive Rights is not an abstract issue that affects only a small percentage of the population. These policies affect more than half of the world’s population. The safe access to family planning resources is a life or death situation for thousands of women.

The rally featured a variety of celebrity speakers, policy analysts, feminists, authors and musicians who thoughtfully articulated the desperate and urgent need to protect a women’s right to control her reproductive life. The day attracted upwards of a million supporters from around the country. This was the biggest rally and march of its kind in 12 years. Overall, spirits were high and a strong message was sent to President Bush and policy makers in Washington that we are watching and will not idly stand by as our rights that so many have fought for are taken away.

---

Kelly Morrison is program assistant for the Reinvesting in America program.

Food Project Conference Brings Youth Together
WHY's own Kelly Morrison reports

The Food Project in Boston hosted an amazing and inspiring weekend conference, April 17th and 18th. Youth and adults from all over the country came to Boston to learn and share ideas from the nation's leading organization in the youth and sustainable agriculture field. Their 13 years of hard work has managed to produce a nationwide movement of young people working to save and revitalize our local food systems.

The Food Project's mission is to create a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. They achieve this mission by bringing urban and suburban youth together to work on their CSA farm in Lincoln and on urban farms in Boston. They are not only teaching growing skills; they are teaching life skills and inspiring youth to take on their future in new and creative ways.

The first keynote speaker on Saturday was a Food Project Fellow, Jeff Boucher. He had been with the Food Project for several years and was an ideal example of the incredible work that they are accomplishing with youth in the Boston area. He thoughtfully articulated the growing movement of youth in sustainable agriculture that is occurring across the country and the impact it will have on the greater food system.

Geeta Pradhan, the second keynote speaker, is the project director of New Economy Initiatives at the Boston Foundation. Her presentation proposed the idea of a Hybrid City, combining the cultural appeal of a city with the aesthetic and philosophical need for nature in one place. Geeta stressed the growing movement for green infrastructure embodied in hybrid cities and the necessity for all of us to work to formalize this movement through policy and urban planning.

Will Allen of Growing Power in Milwaukee, WI, was the final keynote speaker on Saturday. Will is the sole African-American farmer in the state of Wisconsin. His wealth of knowledge on closed system greenhouse growing methods and aquaculture was overwhelming. His work in Milwaukee through his nonprofit, Growing Power, has brought together youth and adults from a wide variety of economic, social and racial backgrounds. His stress on promoting and encouraging diversity within this movement was well received at the conference.

The keynote speakers were followed by a range of informative and helpful workshops spanning the range of "Strategies for Reducing Lead in Urban Neighborhoods" to "Healthy Cookin': Strategies for Educating Youth about Cooking, Diet and Health". There was also an afternoon sustainable agriculture tour that lead us through the Food Project’s urban farm sites and Re-Vision House's Farm and Aquaculture projects. Re-Vision House is a transitional home for homeless women with children.

Thirteen years ago, Youth and Sustainable Agriculture was not a combination frequently seen or promoted. The Food Project and other organizations modeled after them are showing the country that we can empower youth to become leaders and also increase food security in our urban environments through partnership and creative thinking at the same time.

---

Kelly Morrison is the program assistant for WHY's Reinvesting In America program.