Demand And Supply Of Agricultural Products

Demand And Supply Of Agricultural Products The agriculture in UAE is reserved to dates, vegetables, fish, eggs and dairy products (Ministry of Foreign trade, 2011). Tunnel farming is the way forward to agriculture in UAE, more and more people are learning the techniques involved in tunnel farming. For a country like UAE which is a desert the land available for farming is limited, and the water resources are also limited, therefore using the latest technologies in farming plays a vital role in controlling the supply and demand of agricultural products in UAE. Water plays an important role in increasing or decreasing the supply of local agricultural products in UAE. One of the studies revealed that the consumption of water in UAE on individual basis is one of the highest in the world (Gornall Tordorova, 2009). For a country with already a very low export of agricultural products and local production, high water consumption makes it even more complex to cater for shortages of agricultural products in UAE. The Government in UAE is involved in discovering new ways to increase the land available for cultivation by using desert reclamation initiatives (Salama, 2008). The government has a history of investing in tree planting schemes and irrigation systems to increase the total agricultural production of UAE. The planting schemes involve planting trees which help crops to survive wind and also stop soil erosion, the schemes also involve initiatives to plant shrubs and date palms. According to figures released by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, UAE is producing 600,000 tonnes of crops approximately which include, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, aubergines, cabbages and feed for live stock. The Government of UAE is rapidly increasing the land available for cultivation by converting desert into cultivated land one of the example is the 40,500 hectares of land available for cultivation along the Liwa Oasis, which has been converted from dessert into cultivatable land, in UAE there are mor e than 6,000 greenhouses and 22,700 farms. UAE is also committed to invest in agriculture overseas on islands and other parts of the world, because 85 per cent of the agricultural products in UAE are imported which include wheat, rice and corn. This is a major threat faced by a country set to become the business hub of the world with an increasing population, therefore the supply and demand forces play a major role in agriculture in UAE. Another strategy followed by UAE to tackle food shortages is to create food storage facilities where large quantities of agricultural products could be stored for longer time periods. Agricultural Imports and Exports of UAE UAE is the largest importer of agricultural products in the region and the imports of agricultural product in UAE will increase this year following the drought in the major exporters of agricultural products in the world which are Russia and Ukraine. Consequently rapidly changing the demand and supply of agricultural products in UAE and presents a major challenge for the Government to deal with supply and demand forces in Agricultural products. The global food crisis has reached alarming situation posing a major threat to economies with increasing population and consumption of agricultural products. Also the major suppliers of world agricultural products will experience a reduction in their yield of agricultural products this year due to draughts in different parts of the world. The world crop production has increased due to the use of latest techniques for farming as shown by the following figure-1 (GRIDA, n.d.). figure07.jpg Figure Trends in crop production of the world The increase in world crop production here is because of the increased cropland and rangeland area, increased of yield and greater cropping intensity. Therefore to cater the current demand of agricultural products it is necessary to use the latest technologies to increase the yield. As the graph clearly shows the most production increase is seen in Soybeans showing more than 4 per cent increase in the production. Cotton wheat and rice take a lot of water hence are impossible to be planted in a desert with limited water resources, therefore wheat and rice also adds up to the demand in agricultural products in UAE. Abu Dhabi is spending in agricultural research and development to come up with new ways of farming using minimal water resources. One of the most important techniques to save water in agriculture is to use piping systems, this system enables the farmer to save water in agriculture up to 40 per cent then the classical techniques of farming. Following the credit crunch the world has moved into era of scarcity of resources and an increase in the population, more and more people are moving into urban areas in search of a better future and business opportunities. The phenomenon of the move to urban areas is creating humungous pressure on the demand created by urban areas for agricultural products. Most of the agricultural products are used as part of food therefore an increase in population is directly related to the demand created for agricultural products. Another factor affecting the supply of the agricultural products is the limited life of the product due to which suppliers have to pay heavy cost in storing the products eventually affecting the supply of agricultural products. Therefore supplying agricultural products from all over the world becomes a challenge for even the developed economies of the world with limited local production of agricultural products. In the global village the consumer in UAE is ready to pay higher prices for quality agricultural products following which the suppliers in agricultural based countries are targeting UAE to earn better profits. Attracting suppliers from India, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, US, Australia and other parts of the world have started shipping their agricultural products to the consumers in UAE. Due to complexities and investments involved in shipping agricultural products overseas and selling it to buyers overseas, the farmers in agriculture enriched countries restrain from getting involved in international trade. Inviting speculators in the market who buy the products from farmers and then sell it in international markets, these speculators hold the power of affecting the price of agricultural products becau se of the ability to store and hold large quantities of a particular product. Enabling speculators to store the product until they find the right price to reap higher profits, this creates a shortage in supply and increasing the demand for the product which eventually increases the price of the product to the level at which the speculators are ready to sell their products to the consumers in UAE. Imports UAE is the largest importer of agricultural products in the Gulf, the consumers of UAE have the highest consumption when it comes to consuming water and other agricultural products. Due to limited resources for agricultural activities the country has to heavily rely on agricultural imports from all over the world. UAE is also used as a re-export hub of the world many suppliers buy their products from underdeveloped or developing countries of the world with trade restrictions and then bring the products to UAE enabling them to ship the products anywhere in world, the geographic location of UAE makes it attractive for suppliers from all over the world for re-exports. The agricultural products imported in UAE are: Wheat Rice Corn Tobacco Consumer Ready Goods Meat Fruit Vegetable Products Live Animals and their products Animal and vegetable fats, oils and waxes Wheat, rice and cotton are completed exported from other parts of the world due to high water consumption involved in the production of these products. Tobacco, Meat, Fruit, and vegetable products are also being planted in UAE using the latest tunnel techniques enabling year round production and helping UAE to cope with the extraordinary demand created for agricultural by a multiplying society. This year the imports are believed to surge again following the international food crisis, but the worldà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s production of agricultural products has also increased. Farmers all over the world are involved in using latest techniques of farming increasing the total production per area and reducing the water consumption by 40 per cent, enabling farmers to produce at lower cost. UAE imported AED 3.71 billion worth of agricultural products from US alone in 2011, which was up from AED 440 million in 2010 (Duncan, 2012). This shows the rapid increase in the consumption consequently increasing the demand for agricultural products in UAE. This rapid increase in the consumption of UAE in just one year is directly related to the increase in the population of UAE and also the country is set to become the business hub of the world attracting more tourist and business men from all over the world increasing the consumption of agricultural products. UAE also imports agricultural products from other parts of the world. Some of the top agricultural imports of UAE are shown with the help of following figure-2 (Gulfood 2010 Briefing, 2010). Figure UAE Top agricultural Imports The graph clearly shows the major imports which are hides skins, fats oils, wood products, Meat Animals, prepared Foods and vegetable products. The major chunk of the UAE agricultural demand is the vegetable products as shown by the graph above, the vegetable products have limited life hence require storage capabilities to extend the life of the product, due to which the supply of vegetables becomes a complex procedure starting from the farmer in the developing countries and making it available in the local store of UAE. Abu Dhabi has taken many initiatives to grow vegetables using tunnel farming enabling the farmers to produce round the year and also doubling the yield at the same time reducing the water consumption of the crop as well. The government in UAE is involved in initiatives to promote urban farming by offering agricultural studies in colleges and schools and also providing awareness on how to start urban farming, in effort to fight the huge imports of agricultural products in UAE. One of the ideas recently introduce is to use rooftops of buildings in urban areas for farming purposes, tunnels could be used to create the atmosphere required for the production of any crop year round. At the moment UAE is importing agricultural products from all over the world to tackle its sharply rising imports of agricultural products. Another step taken by the government is to invest in agriculture overseas to tackle the world food crisis. UAE has become the major importer of Agricultural products in the region, the major countries which import to UAE are 18 percent imports are from India, 13 percent from Brazil, 12 percent China, 10 percent United States, 8 percent Australia and the rest 39 percent of the agricultural products are imported from other parts of the world as shown by the pie chart in figure-3. Figure 2007 Data for Dubai and Sharjah Percent Market Share India being the largest supplier of agricultural products to UAE in 2007, the pie chart clearly shows the importance of UAE in the agriculture of the world. Therefore the supply of agricultural products to UAE is a matter affecting the whole world and the food prices in the world, in this time of recession it is vital for an economy like UAE to reach equilibrium in the supply and demand of agricultural products to provide sufficient food for the country. In the trade of agricultural products Imports play a major role in case of UAE as shown by the figures above. Therefore in reaching equilibrium in supply and demand forces or agricultural products in UAE managing imports is very important. The government of UAE is actively involved in investing overseas to meet the increasing demand of agricultural products in UAE, following the world food crisis it is predicted that the UAE food consumption will increase exerting more pressure on the consumption driving the demand even more higher than the current levels and eventually increasing imports of agricultural products to the country. Exports The exports of agricultural products from UAE have been limited to dates and other few vegetable products, agriculture in desert requires desert reclamation. UAE government is involved in initiatives for desert reclamation to increase the local production of agricultural products. The exports of agricultural products in UAE include: Dates Animal or Vegetable Fats, oils and waxes Live animals and their products Vegetable Products Dates have been historically imported from UAE which is a competitive edge of the country in the industry to be able to produce high quality dates, alongside which the government is also starting initiatives to commercialize camel milk in surge to reduce the import of milk and start exporting milk from UAE. Tunnel farming has enabled farmers in UAE to produce year round and supply vegetables globally in offseason. The government has started different initiatives to increase local production of agricultural goods by introducing following concepts. Island Farming Tunnel Farming Desert Reclamation Investing overseas in agriculture UAE is involved in farming on islands in the Gulf by using latest techniques of production using tunnel farming the government is trying to help reduce the imports of agricultural products by being self-sufficient. In todayà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s world of credit crunch self sufficiency play a vital role in the success of an economy, the global village has enabled countries with limited resources to be self sufficient by investing overseas. Therefore investing overseas to increase re-exports of UAE plays an important role in the current strategy of being self sufficient in agricultural products. Imports and exports of agricultural products play an important role in the supply and demand of agricultural products to the country. The imports and exports of agricultural products in UAE is shown by following figure-4, which clearly shows how rapidly the demand for agricultural products is increasing over the passage of time. Figure Imports and Exports of Agricultural products in UAE The graph above clearly shows the increasing trend in the agricultural products of UAE and shows almost no change in the behaviour of exports and they are stagnant at USD 1 billion approximately from 2005 to 2006, whereas imports have increased from approximately USD 6 billion in 2005 to above USD 9 billion in 2007. Further the statistics reveal that total Imports of Animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes for first six months of 2012 were AED 1.268 billion and exports were AED 485 million approximately (National Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Live Animals and their products were also imported and the total imports were AED 5.806 billion and exports were AED 646 million, also AED 11.483 billion worth of vegetable products were imported and AED 304 million were exported. The figures show a substantial increase in imports of vegetable products for country with shortages of water and land available for cultivation. UAE government is taking concrete steps to invest in agricultural products overseas, which include, Egypt, Pakistan, Japan and other fertile parts of the world (Farm Land Grab, 2010). The statistics reveal that the investment in agricultural products by UAE in other countries will increase with the passage of time, as the rising demand of agricultural products invites more and more investors into the industry. Supply and Demand of Agricultural Products in UAE In the era of global food crisis one of the major challenges faced by UAE is to make sure the uninterrupted supply of agricultural products whether through imports or local production (Malek, 2013). The fresh statistics of 2013 reveal that 90 per cent of the Agricultural products are imported globally, which shows UAEà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s reliance on the international food market. In 2013 the food crisis is expected to become a major problem for UAE. After a detailed analysis conducted above the following figure-5 shows the supply and demand curves for agricultural products of UAE. Figure Supply and Demand Curves for UAE Agricultural products As we can see in figure-5 as the demand increases the supply remains stagnant which clearly shows, UAE needs to invest to increase the local production of agricultural products and also the country must explore investing overseas for food shortages alongside using latest techniques for farming in UAE. The gap between the curves clearly shows the shortage of food faced by UAE and adding the world food crisis the situation will worsen in 2013. To tackle the food shortages in UAE the farmers have turned to tunnel farming, tunnels allows farmers to control the temperature and the sunlight required for the growth of the plant (UAE Interact, 2012). It also acts as an incubator enabling the farmer to adjust the atmosphere as required by the plants, also pipe irrigation system is used which helps in saving water. Sustainable farming is the concept launched by the UAE government from Abu Dhabi to fight the food shortage. In our case the demand for agricultural products in UAE is increasing as shown by the figure-4, creating a shortage, also the local production of UAE is limited due to water shortages and limited land available for cultivation. Therefore the government is focusing on tunnel farming and other techniques of water efficient farming in UAE. Demand refers to the relationship between how much of anything people are willing to purchase available at different prices (Grant Vidler, 2000, p. 10). Therefore the increasing exports show that there is a shortage of agricultural products in the market, eventually increasing the demand for agricultural products. Demand and Supply Curve Economic theory reveals that a shortage in supply eventually increases prices, and surplus in supply reduces demand and decreases the prices eventually (Mceacher, 2012, p. 86). Such a state in economics is known as the state of disequilibrium, when there is a shortage or a surplus. In UAE the demand for agricultural products is increasing on a fast rate, eventually requiring more supply of goods and creating a shortage of agricultural products in the market. The world is already going through a worldwide food crisis followed by the draughts in major exporters of agricultural products like Ukraine and Russia. Managing the demand for agricultural products in UAE is a challenge faced by the government. The shortage in the supply of agricultural products will eventually lead to a food inflation in UAE by the year 2013, to control inflation in agricultural products the government has come up with strategies to increase agriculture by using latest techniques to produce more by using less water. According to law of demand if the price of the good increases the quantity demanded falls, provided other things stay equal (Mankiw, 2012, p. 73). Therefore the demand and price of a agricultural products have an inverse relationship. The above figure clearly shows the demand and supply curves for the agricultural products in UAE, both the demand and supply curve show that there is an increasing shortage in the supply of agricultural products in UAE. Attracting more and more investors from all over the world to invest in agricultural products in UAE, the most attractive region for investors in UAE have become overseas investment in agricultural products. As the world becomes a global village to deal with the increasing volatility and fluctuations in the supply and demand of agricultural products in UAE the government must come up with initiatives to maintain storage for agricultural products, as well as promoting urban farming, tunnel farming and other farming technologies. Factors affecting Demand Supply Some of the most important factors on which the demand of agricultural products in UAE depends are price of the product, prices of the related products, consumer income, expectation of future price changes, tastes and number of consumers (Carbaugh, 2010, p. 30). Demand for agricultural products plays the main part in the trade of agricultural products in UAE, consequently increasing the imports of agricultural products in UAE to record levels, making UAE the hub of agricultural products imports and exports. The explanation of these factors with respect to agricultural products of UAE is as follows. Price of the product Price of a product plays a very important role in the demand of that product. If the demand goes up it exerts upward pressure on the price of the product, when the product supplied are equal to the product demand the equilibrium price is reached (Hill, 2006, p. 32). Therefore the price of a product has a direct relationship with the demand of the product, in the case of UAE the agricultural products are experiencing an increase in demand. The prices for agricultural products in UAE are vulnerable because of low local production, desert land and water shortages (Kawach, 2010). According to the figures released by the government of Abu Dhabi, in 2009 the food imports increased by 31.5 per cent which was the record high surge in the imports of agricultural products. The main reason is the rapid increase in the population of UAE and also the food prices paid by the consumers in UAE attracts suppliers from all over the world. Prices of the related products Prices of other related products with agricultural products also matter some of them are pesticides and other sprays required for farming, the materials required for desert reclamation and animal feed etc. Overall all affecting the prices and eventually increasing or decreasing the demand for agricultural products. Consumer Income The income elasticity of demand represents the change in demand of a product with respect to the change of consumer income (Whittington Delaney, 2008, p. 126). The economic theory suggests that if the consumer income increases it also increases the demand for agricultural products or other normal goods. A study revealed that the monthly household income in UAE has reached up to AED 18,248 while the average household expenditure is AED 11,241 in 2009 (Bundhun, 2009). This increase in the consumer income in UAE will definitely affect the demand for agricultural products in UAE and eventually increasing the imports of agricultural products in UAE. Therefore we can say that consumer income is directly proportional to demand of agricultural products in UAE. Expectations of future price changes The agricultural market has become very volatile due to the world food crisis, and following the draughts in the major economies of the world which certainly affects the future prices of the agricultural products to increase at a fast rate. Tastes The consumer preferences and tastes play a vital role in creating a demand for any product, the health conscious consumer of UAE has definitely increased the demand for vegetables and other healthy food products. The taste preferences of the consumer in UAE have dramatically increased the demand for agricultural products in UAE. Number of Consumers UAE is experiencing a rapid increase in population as shown by the following figure (World Bank, 2013). population.png Figure Population of UAE The above figure-6 clearly shows how rapidly the population of UAE has increased from 1995 to 2011, which increases the demand for agricultural products by the consumers of UAE. Conclusions The government of UAE must boost up the initiatives started for development of agriculture in the country. The following must be paid full attention to survive the credit crunch prevailing in the global world. Investment in Agriculture abroad The government of UAE has started investing in agricultural based countries like the following: Pakistan Kazakhstan Egypt Investing overseas is the answer to the problem of shortages in supply of the agricultural products in UAE, these investments will also increase the re-exports of UAE and will help to attain equilibrium by filling the supply shortage in the agricultural market of UAE. Tunnel Farming Tunnel farming is also another way forward to provide for the huge demand of agricultural products in UAE. The government has taken steps in Abu Dubai for desert reclamation and tunnel farming. These tunnels enable farmers to produce year round and at a faster pace which helps to increase the yield of the crop as well as reduces the water usage by 40 per cent. Agriculture on Islands Keeping up with the high demand another way forward is the farming on islands in the Gulf, UAE must pursue its permanent mission in the UN to reclaim the Iranian occupied islands, as the country is face huge demand for agricultural product which must be taken care of before the food crisis gears up in the international food markets.

Pastoral Reflection Paper

After returning home from the mission field and going on staff at a Church, it wasn’t long before I found myself being used by God to counsel people. There was a lot of fear involved in the counseling, not from those who were being counseled, but from me, because I never had any formal training. Different life situations have caused me to receive counseling, but that was the extent of my counseling experience. After seeing God use me, an unqualified servant help marriages be restored, I felt the call to return to school to obtain a formal education in Pastoral Counseling.I will share how it all came about, what I have learned and what I expect the Lord to do through this formal training from taking PACO 500 Introduction to Pastoral Counseling. LIFE EXPERIENCES CHANGED MY FUTURE Fear doesn’t describe what I went through while serving the Lord as a M, in Northern Africa. My family and I where in the middle of a civil war, between Rebels and the President’s forces a fter being in the country for only three weeks. Gunfire, sounds of tanks shooting their guns and RPG’s flying through the sky happened throughout the day.The first night of the civil war, thieves decided to take the opportunity to invade our home while there was no police force; because they were helping the army fight the war. After going through a home invasion and being shot at during the invasion, three days later we were finally evacuated out of the country by the French Military. My family and I along with other expats arrived in France to a crowd of reporters and a small group of counselors. THE CHANGES My first experience with any type of counseling came that day we exited the plane in France.My family and I had gone through more than we signed up for as M, living through those three days of a civil war. The personal emotions we went through from that experience, at that time I did not know how to describe, but after reading The Pastor’s Guide to Psychological Disorders and Treatments, I now know we went through a form of an anxiety attack. The authors, Johnson and Johnson (2000), define anxiety as â€Å"a universal human emotion. It is a general feeling of apprehension about possible danger. † (p. 8).Reading through the symptoms of anxiety described by Johnson and Johnson (2000), â€Å"sweating, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, hot or cold flashes, trembling, dry mouth, and difficulty swallowing. † (p. 9) we experienced almost all of them to a certain extent during the war. After sitting with the counselors while in France over a five day period, having opportunities to share all that had happened to us, allowed us to exhale and realize someone cared about what happened to us. Those days of meetings, along with a period of five months, we were allowed to return to the country we had been evacuated from.Not only did we return to the same city, but to the same house that we experienced the home evasio n. God used that counseling team to help restore us so we could return to the work we were called. Upon our return we were able to see four different people come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. After the two years we spent in Northern Africa, we returned home and I went on staff at Church as a Associate Pastor. One of the major things I learned while living overseas, you need a spiritually strong family to have a spiritually strong ministry. If your family is not healthy your ministry or job will not be healthy.Over the past four years while living in the states, I have noticed a great need to help family become stronger. After being approached by the second family, asking me to help them grow their family spiritually, I asked them why they were coming to me? Their answer opened my eyes to the truth about how God uses bad situation for His glory. They told me after hearing about all my family had gone through while living overseas and seeing how we had not just survived, but we t hrived as a family, they wanted to meet and talk. I could not call it counseling, but in my heart knew that is what it would lead too.Then as my eyes were opened to all the men in my church who were struggling with pornography, addiction, and anger issues, I knew I could not just sit back and watch them walk that road of darkness. I started meeting with these men alone at first, and then when I met with them and their wife, I would invite my wife into the meeting. It was at that point I was labeled the unofficial counseling Pastor of the Church. As I looked back on the way I handled those meetings as a unqualified counselor with those different men and their wives, I have realized I did some things right and a lot of things wrong.Because of this time of reflection and feeling the Lord’s leading, I enrolled back in school to obtain my degree in Pastoral Counseling. In doing this, I know God will use this class to teach me different methods, style and techniques to better help people and families in need. Since enrolling in PACO 500, I have been reflecting back on those unofficial counseling times, and I have realized that listening to the counselee is just as important as having a personal quiet time daily with God. In Petersen’s (2007) Why Don’t We Listen Better? Rev. Dr. Petersen shares one of the things he has learned.He states, â€Å"I have leaned the value of communication balancing: listen awhile, talk until the other person stops hearing, and listen until the person calms enough to hear again. † (p. 5). While I was meeting with these different families, I realized I did not have a balance in my listening skills. I would battle with the feeling of wanting to interject my thoughts or opinions. Petersen’s (2007) statement â€Å"real listening gets us inside each other and there seems to be something in such human connection that touches and changes us. † (p. 7) This statement taught me that if I want to follow myhea rt’s desire to truly help people, I must become a better listener. Looking back on my time when I went through counseling in France, I realize the counselors had a great amount of balance in their sessions. Reflecting upon my life experiences with counseling sessions, I am excited to learn how to be a better listener and how to ask the right questions to show I care. One of the things I am expecting out of this class is to learn how to effectively use the Solution – Focused Counseling taught in the first edition of Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling: An Effective Short-Term Approach of Getting People Back on Track.Kollar’s new edition (1997/2011), because it offers a different approach to counseling. Dr. Kollar states that much of the time within sessions, counselors use the process of remaining centered on the problem, he calls this, â€Å"problem-focused† (p. 14). I am looking forward to learning how to change the focus from the problem, to visualizin g the outcome first. Dr. Kollar states when we do this, â€Å"we become solution-focused rather than problem focused. The outcome dictates the process rather than the process dictating the outcome. † (p. 15).That method was during my session while I was in France. The counselors had my family and I focus on the call on our life by the Lord to minister to those people in Northern Africa, who needed to hear about Christ and what would it take to get us back there. CONCLUSION The things I have learned already from the reading assignment required in PACO 500 are invaluable. I cannot wait to dig deeper into the different methods and ideas taught in my reading assignments. God has a plan for everything that happens and prepares us for His will to be done.As families and individuals deal with different life issues, with the training I will receive through this class and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I pray God will allow me to be equipped to help them have victory of those issues. I know God has given me a heart to help individuals and families grow closer to Him. With the Lord’s blessing, maybe one day I may be that counselor on the mission field helping others through difficult times, just as my family and I went through.

Review of Monique and the Mango Rains

Review of Monique and the Mango Rains Monique and the Mango Rains is a memoir about a friendship that develops between Kris Holloway, and a midwife in the village of Nampossela, Mali. Kris Holloway served in the Peace Corps and was assigned for 2 years to be stationed in Mali. Kris was trained to â€Å"give health demonstrations, repair wells, build fuel-conserving stoves, plant trees, and protect the shoots from the ever hungry mouths of goats† (11). Kris meets and assists Monique Dembele in her struggle to improve health care for the women of this village and surrounding areas.Monique, having apprenticed for two years as a midwife, and studied for nine months in a health services program, is the only health worker in the village. She performs prenatal consultations, gives health demonstrations, births babies, administers vaccinations, solves the health problems she can treat and is forced to accept the fate of those who suffer from more serious illnesses and have no access t o further medical care. But not only is Kris helping Monique, they develop a relationship that becomes a very real friendship as their lives intertwine and Monique brings Kris into the circle of her family.Despite all the things that might make it difficult, these two women create a partnership as they both try to better the lives of the women and children in the village. Women of Mali In Mali, the women’s role is to be confined to her home and yard. A Malian woman is first and foremost valued in her roles of spouse and mother. Placement into these family roles starts early; young girls are expected to help with housework and look after younger siblings. The women of Mali have arranged marriages from an early age.And even though they are arranged, the husbands are usually married to other women also. Irreconcilable differences like lack of communication, spousal incompatibility, and unhappiness between marriage partners are some of the things Monique complains about. She has more education than her husband Franois, she speaks a different language than he, and came from a much different city than the one he grew up in. As Kris gets to know Monique better, she learns of her friend's deep unhappiness with her marriage.Monique also reveals that she's having an affair with the man she would have married, had the cultural practice of arranged marriage not existed. The village of Nampossela has a clinic and birthing house. Monique was able to help the mother’s in the prenatal stages and the birthing process, teach them how to clean water, make baby food and wash their hands to stay clean and prevent the spreading of germs. She weighted the babies to show the mothers if their children were in a healthy weight range or if they were in the dangers of being malnourished.She could provide some vaccinations and administer first aid to wounds. Women of Mali faced many health risks. Since women were to have many children they were at danger during childbirth. à ¢â‚¬Å"I knew that Mali had one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world. I’d read a sobering statistic that placed a Malian women’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth around one in twelve, compared to a women’s risk of one in over three thousand† (8). Excessive bleeding, straining after pregnancies, unsanitary conditions are some of the risks for women.Female genital cutting (FGC), was common amongst the women in Mali. At a young age they experience the cutting of their genital area, because they are not to experience pleasure during intercourse. This process is painful. It causes problems with childbirth, urinating, sitting comfortably and even death. It is often used with an instrument that is not sanitized and can cause the spread of diseases. The most troubling threat to the women was spousal abuse. â€Å"The lantern light was dim, but I could see that one side was swollen, her eye half closed with puffy tissue.She met my st are, lowered her gaze, and quickly draped the scarf back over† (51). The practice of arranged marriage usually led to close-knit families in Nampossela, but Korotun's defiance by marrying against her family's wishes left her stranded without any relatives to turn to in her time of need. Another danger to women that existed was rape. â€Å"He forced you? Yes, she shrugged. It was painful and then it was over† (130). Holloway finds it difficult to tell her friend of her own similar memory.Despite the difference in the ways these two address this subject of rape, it is heartbreaking that women from two completely different worlds are able to find a common ground in the act of rape. All of these risks to the women of Mali happen to the women in America as well. And shows that even from two different worlds, it seems things are not so different. Cultural Relativism No culture is superior or inferior to any other. Kris had to accept the differences about Mali without judging them or believing that her culture was the right way things should be done.Kris knew it was wrong and against women’s basic human rights to have their genital’s cut. Monique couldn’t believe that Kris hadn’t had her genitals cut. â€Å"I have never met a women like you, who has not gone through koloboli. I thought every woman had it† (114). She did not think it was right that the women of Mali were victims of domestic violence, physical violence or of rape. She felt that all children should be receiving adequate health care and that women should have the right to take contraceptives to not want to have anymore children. But this was apart of their culture.And it was up to them to change these problems. And that was what Monique wanted and was trying to do. Conclusion I really like this book. It is a personal story in an international setting about women who inspire and succeed. Kris Holloway's book is easy to read and has a perfect blend of her ref lections of her Peace Corps experience, her romance, Malian village life, Monique's individual life, and the care of women in the village of Nampossela. This book has funny moments that made me laugh, moments where I felt sorrow, and stories of the goodness in people that made me hopeful for humanity.Holloway's friendship with Monique is at the heart of this book and it is tender, inspirational, educational and heartbreaking. It is because of the relationship of these two women, who are from very different backgrounds, and have become such good friends that this book works. I feel like I get to see Monique through Holloway's book and can see how selfless, giving, strong, smart, and funny she was. I would recommend this book for anyone who is wanting to know about the culture in different parts of the world.

Disrespect of an Nco and Disobeying a Direct Order

The effects of disrespect of a non commissioned officer and the effects of disobeying a direct order. On 25 of August 2011, I accompanied SGT Williams off post. Although it seems to be nothing at all by that statement. The consequences of that night and the things I should have done are possibly going to cost a good NCO his career, and landed me in this punishment. Before I get in to the actual circumstances of this incident I want to cover my references Article 92 and article 89 of the UCMJ. First what is UCMJ? The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the base of military law. The UCMJ is a federal law, enacted by Congress in1950. The UCMJ was based upon and replaced the Articles of War. Which had been in various forms since†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) ART. 89 DISRESPECT TOWARD SUPERIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER Any person subject to this chapter who behaves with disrespect toward his superior commissioned officer shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.† (http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/ucmj/blart-89.htm). By disobeying my order to no drink with SGT. Williams I disrespected SSG. Bryant. Disrespect of NCOs’ is a sign of a lack of discipline. Again disapline is one the things in the Military as a whole is what holds the system together and allows the militaty to function properly and accomplish the mission. Leadership is what holds the Army together, without a good leader nothing would be accomplished. The Army’s strict definition for leadership is competent, confident, and agile. In FM 6-22 it explains who, what, and how a leader should be. All Army leaders should follow the BE-KNOW-DO concept. A leader must BE- the values and attributes that shape ones character. They should KNOW- about tactics, strategic, and logistics of the Army. What leaders DO- is in relation to the influence they have on others, in providing purpose, direction, and motivation. 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