World Vision STIR Radio (2009)

We might have passed Mothers’ Day for another year – but keeping mothers and babies healthy during pregnancy and childbirth is still a huge issue in communities all over the world. In fact, improving maternal health is the Millennium Development Goals towards which the least progress has been made so far.

In general, Australia is one of the safest places in the world to give birth or to be born. But in many remote Indigenous communities, service providers face serious problems trying to provide effective, high-quality maternal healthcare in a supportive and culturally sensitive environment.

This week Amye, Adelaide, Stephen and Eleanor focus on the creative ways governments and community groups are overcoming these hurdles. Drawing on the firsthand experiences of midwives and students who have worked in remote communities, they look carefully at programmes that are really working to work out which approaches are the most successful, why, and how they can be adapted for future use.

Special Guest: Dr. Emil Bolongaita, Technical Director, Management Systems International

In the business of helping countries find their feet, some problems are perennial. Corruption has been bothering aid workers and organisations for as long as they’ve been handing out cash. Not surprisingly, in countries with very little, aid flows can become a source of power and prosperity for those who manage to skim a little off the top. In some instances, even anti-corruption officials have been implicated.

David, Ryneisha, Fran and Gen investigate the grubby details of the gravy train.

What does corruption do to a country’s civil service? How can aid organisations avoid becoming implicated? What strategies can the industry use to ensure that aid money reaches its intended beneficiaries?

The crisis facing the people of Pakistan’s Swat Valley has been all over the papers this month – but it’s hard to keep up with the who, what, when and why of a disaster which has now caused the largest displacement of people Pakistan has ever seen.

This week Ryneisha, Hannah, Amye and Erana ask what could possibly cause more than two million people to flee their homes; where they’ve ended up; and who’s looking after them until they’re able to go home.

They also take a closer look at the role aid agencies like World Vision are playing in helping support and shelter those who have been displaced and minimising the impact of the conflict on children; and provide a deeper insight into the huge funding gap aid that needs to be closed so NGOs can go ahead with their work in the region.

In a part of the year marked by some serious democratic events – the Indian elections, the Indonesian Presidential election, and the anniversaries of both the Tiananmen Square massacre and the victory of the Solidarity movement in Poland – STIR radio puts aside purse politics for a while and asks instead about the links between democracy and development.

Does development lead to democracy? And does democracy always bring development? Join Stephen, Stacey, Claudia and David as they answer these questions and more.

Sometimes, one hour just isn’t enough!

STIR Radio revisits the contrast between Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and Criminal Tribunals, focussing especially on the pros and cons of each approach and asking how much of a choice countries really have about the kind of process they end up with.

Our reporter James Melhuish also has the great privilege of speaking with Justice Richard Goldstone about reconciliation and justice in the international community.

SPECIAL GUEST:

Justine Richard Goldstone

former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

How do countries cope with traumatic events in their history?

Whether they’ve gone through apartheid, genocide or civil conflict, moving on is hard to do for both

survivors and later generations.

Eleanor, Nicola, Claudia and Adelaide use the examples of South Africa, Liberia, Cambodia and Rwanda to compare the way nations tackle the healing process, focussing especially on the contrast between Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and Criminal Tribunals. They also ask young people who have moved to Australia from some of these countries how they feel about the approach their country has taken.

Tune in to hear more about the differences between the two types of process – which are still going on all over the world today – and the ways they can help ordinary people come to terms with the past and move forward into the future.

With so much international attention on the plight of China’s ethnic Tibetan population it is easy to fall into the trap of assuming that there aren’t other minority groups in the Middle Kingdom. But, as Erana, Hannah, Ryneisha and Stephen discover on this week’s program, China is home to hundreds of non-Han communities, many of whom continue to struggle to have their voices heard by county, provincial and National governments.

Become acquainted with the unique cultures and identities of China’s Uighur, Mongolian, Bai and Naxi minorities and hear about how their often uneasy relationship with China’s Communist Party Government as the team – with the help of Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Adelaide Dr Felix Patrikeeff – tackle this fascinating yet neglected topic head-on.

The Amazon Rainforest is disappearing . Fast.

So we should stop chopping it down... right?

Stacey, Ryaneisha, Amye and Fran take a longer look at what sometimes seems like a simple question.

They ask:

- What is the law on logging in the Amazon? Who enforces it, and how seriously?

- How much longing is done illegally? What can the Brazilian Government and NGOs do to stop it? What kind of environmental impacts does it have?

- What about the rights of Indigenous groups – who is looking out for them, and who is listening to what they have to say?

- How are WE implicated in illegal logging through our purchasing habits and how can we avoid it?

- Whose job is it to think about all these things anyway? What kind of bright ideas are people coming up with to make a difference?

... you’ll never look at your skirting boards the same way – we promise!

Special Guest: Tim Birch – Forestry Manager for the Wilderness Society

Every day, children around the world eat VERY different meals. These meals don’t just have different tastes, different origins and different nutritional values: they also have a cultural significance that contributes to children’s understanding of who they are and where they’re from. And this cultural significance, like the food we eat, doesn’t just stay the same – the impact of globalisation is already being felt at mealtimes around the world.

From where you should go to try whole roast guinea pig, to dinner with the Fulani people of West Africa, food is a journey which can challenge our preconceptions and broaden our cultural horizons... so take a break with David, Eleanor, Adelaide and Gen, and find out why “you are what you eat” is the wrong way around!

Ever heard of the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ – a phrase so common it’s come to be known as the ‘GFC’? Ever wondered what it actually means? Spend just a few minutes with STIR’s Nicola Caon as she gives a super-speedy run-down of the who, the what and the how... then, armed with your newfound knowledge, tune in to our interview with Clarie marsh to find out about the hidden impact of the GFC on non-government organisations, including our very own World Vision! Get a handle on what its effects might be; what kinds of strategies are in place to tackle them; and how you and the people around you can help amazing organisations keep their heads above water in these tough times