Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Are we all mad?

A fellow woman (divorcee with two children from separate men; one her former husband and the other the husband of another whom she even befriends) insulted another 'geler', 'bete', 'malade mentale' because the lady asked her to refund money she collected from her 9 months ago for a purpose she did not fulfill. Looking deep into the abnormal acts posed by the former who insults another not knowing she isn't living a better life than hers, we probe into our daily madness. We are all mad in our different different ways and levels. When you see someone behaving abnormally, you think that person is gone crazy right! Indeed! And that is happening more often today than ever before because of the many worries we all have.

The psychological drain we suffer today is running everyone berserk or bananas. You find people well appareled soliloquizing. You'd see them take a step forward and one backward, talking harshly to themselves and with themselves. They are asking themselves what has become of them. When you see them especially those you recognize, you start asking what has become of this well, trimmed individual. Why is he or she acting?

You've not thought about yourself, have you? Those moments when you get so confused about how to solve your piling problems. The children are screaming for food; your bills have not been paid, your spouse is on your throat for having not fulfilled a certain promise and your whole life is tensed. You start hallucinating and contemplating ending your life. Life for you has become an illusion. There is no joy, no more laughter as it used to be. All is misery. All is worry. You start screaming at everything in fact you are mad at whatever comes your way that would seem to consolidate your troubles or misery. You need help.

You are not poor. You are a very rich man. But there is no day you are at peace with yourself because you are in constant search for more. There is this little story of a king who had everything but was never happy and could not put a finger at what he wanted. He seemingly had all he needed except the inner joy that makes life worth the salt.

He saw one of his servants at the courtyard light-hearted and joyful. When he inquired from the servant what his secret was, the servant told him, he had enough to feed his family and to have a roof over his head. He could not ask for any better.Later the king called his personal assistant and put the question to him why the servant who had so much less than he could be so contented and happy. The personal assistant told him because the servant had not joined the '99' club. He advised the king to put 99 gold coins and place them in a bag at the servant's doorstep. That the king did. And when the servant later opened the bag, and counted 99 coins, he went in search of the missing coin. His whole life changes. The joy he had faded away and everything around him became a nuisance as he determined to work very hard to recuperate the missing coin. The next day, when the king saw the servant, his demeanor had changed. He was no longer the happy, singing servant.

The more we have the more we search for more. We may never put our finger on the missing coin in our lives. We get mad at not being able to assume total control of everything in our lives. That's why you see many of those rich people always working hard to dupe other people and continue to strive for more. Striving for more is always good but let's not strive so hard and for so much that we lose all those near and dear to our hearts. We should not compromise our happiness for moments of luxuries.

When we look at our lives carefully we see a trait of insanity in them. Our insanity may not be as pronounced as that of those folks who walk the streets naked or who don't seem to have any more meaning for life. But as psychiatrists tell us all of us are either insane or mentally deranged (if not, how can a fellow woman whose life is a mess call another names, when she is not any better ) at different levels. Circumstances may lead us to worse situations and we too shall be like others.

When you see a mad person, don't laugh at him. Look at yourself;you may be like that person someday.None of us is excluded as we go searching for that one missing coin in our lives.

Take heed not to render yourself an instrument of worldly pleasure. For the more you think about them, the more you become mentally deranged, disturbed and paralyzed.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Empowering Self

The basic philosophy of life is to live it irrespective of the trying moments that may come your way. You would realize that no single moment passes you by without you learning one more thing about life. Friends may despise, enemies will trip you, hypocrites will pretend to venerate you; many will sometimes make you feel you are infallible. You think of yourself as perfect even when you hurt others knowingly.


 Life is a school. Each day we live, we have opportunities to learn lessons. Like in every school situation, there are lessons you will like and others you will abhor. You would succeed in some and feel good about it. You will fail woefully in others and you will be devastated. Take Courage! As long as you live those lessons will occur and reoccur. Even when you think you have mastered them, the moment will come when you'd look like a fool. For the tests will come and you would feel totally blank and incapacitated. But remember failure and disappointment are part of the learning experience of life.


 As the lessons of life are presented to you every day and in various forms, keep conning them. Don't forget there will be another lesson to learn even when you think you have mastered the previous ones. For so long as you are alive, there are always lessons to learn. So what you make of life is up to you. God has given you all the resources and tools you need to live a well-defined life. The choice usually remains with you, how much you'd want to make use of those resources.

If something does not seem to work for you in the classroom life, if someone is doing something you don't want them to do to you, take control of your life (like Frankie did yesterday on Big Brother Africa Hotshots when sipe and ellah pushed the buttons hard to break him. He mastered his emotions and walked out of the scene. Take a look at Ellah after Frankie's calm retirement of the discussion. For that peeps, Frankie should stay longer in the house because he is exactly the kind of specie Africa needs for development, peace and progress) and be the one who should dictate the pace at which you are going.



Someone said Life is too precious to leave it in the hands of someone else. Never expect anyone else to take care of the intrincasies of your life. You cannot trust your life to anyone. God is the only one you can trust to steer your life. Other people can act as advisors but never allow someone's opinion to overweigh your own.

Learn to empower yourself. Such empowerment begins when you take control of your life, when like the gospel minister T. D Jakes says 'You have had enough, when you take appropriate steps to make order out of what happens and when it happens in your life'.



As you live and learn lessons of life, do not forget that whatever you do, right or wrong, will have an impact on someone - Your children, your friends, your church, and your country. You will live behind a legacy - make sure it is one of excellence, of tenacious living, of sharpened intellect and spiritual accuracy. Maximise the moments of your life. If you allow the machinations of the people around you to perturb you and throw you out of focus, you are headed for the pit. And there are so many who would want to see you drown; for whatever reason, only they would know.

And that is why society, Our Society is full of scoundrels, people who are villainous who would never wish to see the good in others but themselves.

To prosper in life, you must learn to discard such people and their selfish notions. Live you life everyday knowing the lessons are many to learn. Don(t be a fool to succumb to the trappings of others, God will make a way for you because HE gave you your life and wants you to live it abundantly.

Have a Lovely weekend. And while you enjoy it, let us take the rendezvous tomorrow as from 3pm exclusive to Stv on Surviving Adolescence.

The Rose within you

When I woke up this morning and took yet another deep breath of fresh air, I lifted my eyes in gratitude for once again benefiting from the abundance of GOD's grace. I know deep inside that it is not a gift for everyone to enjoy such abundance of GOD's manifestation of his love and bountless mercy. Yet as we all know all of life's experiences are faced with uncertainty and with an attitude of 'deja vu'. The question we usually have the tendency to ask is 'what's new?'
Many things happen to us that even where there are glaring changes, we take them for granted. Every day we live is an inexplicable miracle. We cannot explain why we breathe, why it happens that some live with so much corpulence and others barely crawl through life. We cannot explain how someone we were with only a few minutes previously, should be lying motionless in death.

That's the miracle of life which we are called upon to live in abundance sharing its quality its fullness

It is not how much you have but what you do with what you have. On the same token, it is not how long you live, but how your life touches others. Talking about touching others, I got a little story from a big friend which I'll like to share with you.

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that would soon blossom. He also saw the thorns, and he thought, 'How can any beautiful flower come from a plant, burdened with so many sharp thorns?'

Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose,and before it was ready to bloom, it died. So it is with many people, Within every soul, there is a rose - the God-like qualities planted in us at birth, growing amidst the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realise our potential.

some don't see the rose within themselves. It takes someone else to show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the truest, most innocent, and gracious characteristic of love - to know another person including their faults, recognize the nobility in their soul, and yet still help another to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the rose, they will conquer the thorns. Only then will we likely blossom, bloom thirty, sixty, a hundred fold as it is given to us.
Our duty in this world is to help others, by showing them their roses and not their thorns. It is then that we achieve the love we should feel for each other.
and blessings with one another.
We are called upon to live in peace, contentment, patience, hope and in faith. And through this, we shall together be able to stand the storms of life and live it in all its fullness. Only then can we bloom in our own garden. Yes it is only then can we live life in all its abundance. I just played my role in wishing you a great Saturday
, and an awesome weekend.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Job Posting: P3 - Project Officer, UNESCO/Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, India


Title:
Project Officer


Domain:
Post Number:
Education
4INEDPA 003GI
  



Grade:
P3


Organizational Unit:
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of   Education for Peace and Sustainable Development


Primary Location:
New Delhi, India




Type of contract:
Project Appointment


Annual salary:
With dependent: approx. 85,129   USD
Without dependent: approx. 79,463  USD
Duration of contract:
One year with possibility of   extension depending on availability of funds and performance
Deadline (midnight,   India time):
03-November-2014
Application to be sent to:


OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

  1. I.                    Background

The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s first education-related category 1 institute towards the development and promotion of new approaches to education for a more peaceful and sustainable world. The Institute, based in New Delhi, India,  aims to contribute to the conceptualization, design and formulation of regional and sub-regional strategies in education for peace and sustainable development, in particular through South-South and triangular North-South-South cooperation.  MGIEP plans to provide an integrated approach to education for peace and sustainable development.
The incumbent of this post will work within the framework of Institute’s Mid-term strategy, Biennial programmes and budget consistent within overall UNESCO framework for action. This post is aimed at a candidate with experience in designing, developing and implementing new and innovative teaching and learning tools, methods and approaches; Development of  Games and Apps, Creative, Innovative thinking,  Experiential Labs, Proposal writing and partnering, MGIEP Visibility and Positioning.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall authority of the Director of the Institute and the direct supervision of Senior Project Officer   , and in close collaboration with other units, the incumbent will serve as Project Officer, and shall coordinate the planning, development, implementation of programme and projects   of MGIEP Institute, in particular:

  • Coordinate, manage and monitor the implementation of the Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship through informal education system;
  • Establish and maintain contact with educational specialists with a view to identifying new and innovative teaching and learning tools for the Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship;
  • Identify and coordinate analytical research on educational developments in the region, especially in informal education policy and practice in Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship and overall alignment;
  • Identify and analyse Regional information and reports in line with global developments and international commitments for advocacy in Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship, advocating outcomes with management for education learning and teaching tools, methods and approaches;
  • Implement, coordinate, monitor and advocate for Projects related to Education for peace, sustainable development and Global Citizenship.  
  • Consult and liaise with multilateral and bilateral development partners to develop joint projects, programmes and activities related to the development of learning and teaching tools and methods for Education for peace, sustainable development and Global Citizenship with particular emphasis on resource mobilisation.
  • Prepare and contribute to the information presented on the Institute’s website and elsewhere.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
  • Advanced University degree (Master or equivalent) in education development, education planning and management, or any social science related to education; PhD. background is preferable.
Work Experience
  • At least 4 years of professional experience, acquired at national and/or international level, in education development, particularly in one of the following areas: peace and sustainable development education,   education sector analyses, pedagogy techniques and methods.
Skills/Competencies
  • Good analytical skills and logical mind set to formulate options and recommendations; Innovative and creative thinking vis a vis ICT tools;
  • Good supervisory skills. Strong writing and editing skills to communicate information and knowledge into various formats; designing, developing and implementing new and innovative teaching and learning tools, methods and approaches;
  • Good interpersonal skills, including the ability to work in a team and multi-cultural environment;
  • Knowledge of/experience in new tools and learning techniques would be a strong asset.
Languages      
  • Fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language would be considered as an asset.

BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS
UNESCO’s salaries are calculated in US dollars and exempt from income tax. They consist of a basic salary and a post adjustment which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station and exchange rates.
Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, home travel, education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance. 
Please note that UNESCO is a non-smoking Organization.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please send your application letter, UNESCO CV (CV form to be used), in English by email:mgiep.recruitment@unesco.org. or to the following address: Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, 35, Ferozshah Road, ICSSR Building, 1st Floor, New Delhi - 110 001 INDIA. Applicants are encourage to email their CV. Hardcopies would be accepted only under exceptional circumstances
Application files will have to reach MGIEP, New Delhi before 3 November 2014 midnight (India time). Please label the subject line“Project Officer”

Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.
A written test may be used in the evaluation of short-listed candidates.
Tags: -DELHIINDIAJOBMGIEPNEWOFFICEROPENINGP3PROJECTMore…


Policy Innovation Officer: Full-time job with One Acre Fund in East Africa


Private-sector style career development in a growing social enterprise

An excellent career development opportunity

Industry:                    Nonprofit/International Development
Function:                   Policy Innovation and Implementation
Employer:                  One Acre Fund
Job Title:                    Policy Innovation Officer
Job Location:             Bahir Dar, Ethiopia or Rubengera, Rwanda, and Zomba, Malawi (other
rural postings possible)
Duration:       Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job

Organization Description
Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a growing NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "market bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

Job DescriptionOne Acre Fund believes that policy is all about implementation. No matter how good or bad the policy, its execution on the ground is what changes lives.

To help craft policies, which work on the ground, we are starting a new Government Services unit which is working together with regional and national partners to support government-led policy initiatives in agriculture. Following the lead of host governments, we support them with field implementation that changes the lives of millions of people. Our long-term goal is to help government to transform the agricultural ecosystems of whole countries. These projects generally utilize our existing field expertise in farm input distribution, rural mass marketing, and scalable training programs.

For these initiatives, we need both skilled Government Relations staff (see, for example, our Africa Government Officer posting) and also entrepreneurial field staff based in rural areas to focus on implementation.
  • Regional and National Strategy Design: The Policy Innovation Officer will work with other One Acre Fund staff and high-level government officials to develop ideas to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the efficiency of the agricultural sector.
  • Program Implementation: The Policy Innovation Officer will roll out region-wide and eventually nationwide programs. Examples of past projects include a farm input system that delivers seed and fertilizer to several hundred thousand farm families; farm input marketing programs for similar numbers; and training support for 10,000+ extension agents.
  • Team Management: The Policy Innovation Officer will screen, hire, and develop a staff of 30-150 full-time country national staff, depending on the project, to support scaled implementation.
  • Innovation Trials: The Policy Innovation Officer will conduct an ambitious slate of trials within several districts, in order to discover new and effective mechanisms for promoting mass agricultural training—and to identify promising interventions One Acre Fund could scale-up across its entire network of smallholder farmers.
  • Collaboration with Key Officials: The Policy Innovation Officer will update high-level officials in the ministry of agriculture on a regular basis. The Policy Innovation Officer will also collaborate with important leaders at partner institutions.

Career Growth and Development
One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about.  Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications
To start up and build this new team, we are seeking exceptional professionals with 2 to 5+ years of work experience. We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates who will help governments achieve the next levels of impact. Only 3% of applicants make it to a phone screen. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
  • Strong operational work experiences. We are looking for strong leaders with direct operating experience, ideally of an entrepreneurial and unstructured nature.
  • Intelligence, creativity, and a desire to make things work. We need people to develop creative ideas to improve the quality of government services, who can then get out to the field and figure out how to make these ideas work in practice.
  • Leadership experiences at work, or outside of work.
  • Top-performing undergraduate background (please include GPA and test scores on your resume).
  • Humility and personal stability. We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
  • A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years—this is a long-term, career-track role. The ideal candidate will have at least one year demonstrated experience working in the developing world, although this is not a strict requirement.
  • Professional/technical skills—high levels of proficiency with PowerPoint, Excel and other software programs.
  • Language: Ethiopia—English required, Amharic desirable; Rwanda—English and French required.

Preferred Start Date
Flexible

Compensation
Starts modest. However, this is a career-track role with fast raises for performance, paying a meaningful salary for long-term placement in developing nations.

Benefits
Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Sponsor International Candidates 
Yes

To Apply
Complete this form (http://myjotform.com/form/40471746260553). You will be prompted to submit your CV and cover letter. You may also be asked to submit work samples for some positions. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS) in the appropriate section.


Job: Computer Network Engineer (Tysons, VA)

We are a great IT consulting company to work for, well established and well known for our great customer support and one of the best work environments.


We have a full time salaried position with benefits and a part-time position. 

Salary will be based on individual qualifications and experience. 

Job Duties and Responsibilities: 

Experience with Windows servers
Experience with MS Exchange servers
Experience with Windows XP and higher
Provide help-desk technical support to client companies
Investigate, analyze, and resolve software, hardware, and systems connectivity problems
Install and support new workstations, laptops and servers
Collaborate with team members on projects
Provide remote and onsite computer support 
Build and maintain positive working relationships with clients and team members 
Take initiative to resolve problems and assure tasks are completed in the most effective manner

***   Please include salary requirement with your resume otherwise it will not be considered  ****

Like us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Network-Management-Inc/1427837157732...

Job: Part-time Program Assistant with the PCDN (Ideal position for a current advanced undergrad or grad student in the US), Deadline Extended, Oct. 10

Program Assistant Position:

The Peace and Collaborative Development Network is looking for a part-time program assistant to help expand and increase the impact of our growing network.  The ideal candidate will be tech-savy, with a strong track record in social media, knowledge of peacebuilding, development, and related fields.   The ideal candidate will also be able to commit at least one year to working with the PCDN.  The applicant selected will have the opportunity to work with leaders in the peacebuilding field and to initiate new and creative ideas.
Primary Responsibilities Include: 
  • Assist Dr. Maha Hilal, Director of Outreach and Member Engagement with business development goals, which includes data entry and management
  • Assist in conducting sales outreach to potential clients
  • Creating and revising marketing and sales materials
  • Serve as a key person on PCDN’s social media team and regularly post new content (career resources, scholarship, events) and other announcements on PCDN;
  • Edit videos as part of PCDN’s video practitioner series;
  • Represent PCDN at talks and other events where appropriate;
  • Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
  • Advanced undergraduate or master’s student in peace, conflict resolution, development or related fields;
  • Knowledge and commitment to the fields of peacebuilding, development or related fields;
  • Well versed in social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging;
  • Ability to work independently;
  • Outstanding communication skills;
  • Good sense of humor;
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Video editing skills
  • Sales, marketing, and/or outreach experience
Details:  
Employment Type:  Part-time (10 hours/week)
Compensation:  $9.50/Hr
Eligibility:  US Citizens or individuals with US work authorization.
Location:  This is a DC based position, but we will consider exceptional candidates from any U.S. location.
How to Apply:
To apply, please send the following to Dr. Maha Hilal, mhilal(at)internationalpeaceandconflict.org with the subject line-“PCDN Position” by Friday October 10, at 5 p.m. EST:
  • Resume
  • Cover Letter (Please address your availability to work required hours and your qualifications for this position).
  • Outline one creative idea to improve PCDN (i.e. ideas about member engagement, new content on the site, etc.).  Please include a brief description of your idea, the potential resources involved, and how PCDN can implement it.
Due to the volume of applications expected, we cannot acknowledge receipt of individual applications, however, all applicants will be notified within one week of the position’s closing date of their status and whether they have been selected for an interview.