WIC Dreams and Solutions for the World

Please email us one or a few of your Dreams for the World (a few sentences), any solution suggestions, and let us know if we have your permission to feature your first and/or first and last name and/or affiliation. Feel free to post a page like this one on your own website while ideally mentioning WIC, so that we build our Dreams and Solutions Network together in a collaborative world!

Worldwide Population Management - My dream is to see exploding human population statistics stabilize in favor of preserving a sustainable planet. To help this come about, birth control education and ease of access need to be universal - for the benefit of everyone, especially unborn children. People should not fear temporary sterilization procedures in the interest of young couples getting an education before having children. A cultural shift in favor of older parents and single or no child families should be encouraged. Each conceiving couple should remember that they feel like a special exception that can ignore over-population considerations. In October 1999, our world population doubled in only 40 years (since 1959), from 3 billion to 6 billion. One example of a helpful initiative on AIDS prevention in Bogota is the Zua Fundacion.
-Bridget McDonald, CEO Women's International Center

Drug Free Schools - My dream is to work “upstream” with the attitudes and behaviors of our youth. A compelling solution exists and was made apparent to me during an enlightening conversation with my 15 year old son. Unbeknownst to me and my wife, my son and his buddies made a pact to remain drug and alcohol free. When it was learned that one of the boys was getting into pot, they kicked him out of the group. After a short time, the boy desperately wanted “back in.” Apparently, after much scrutiny and a “re-commitment” from him, they accepted him back. I remember thinking as my son was describing this, how tough they were on him (I wasn’t sure I would have been that firm). I am very proud of my son and his group of friends. I think it speaks to the importance some kids place on their life’s work and activities and the awareness of consequences for their actions. There are many pockets of good news and inspiration among our youth.
-Dr. V.

Dream BIG Project: Every few months we can have a luncheon (or as often as we can) to support a different charity in San Diego. We can, for example, focus on funding animals and wildlife shelters that also help endangered species, and on other environmental causes.

After we gather members, just 37.5 members will generate $1,500 per month if they enroll at $40/month membership. WIC could launch our Dream BIG program in which we buy a condo in San Diego for the purposes of launching a program to help get runaway teens off the streets, as well as foster kids that have turned 18. Once they are in WIC’s program, they need to attend school, get good grades, and volunteer their time by helping the elderly. 60% of runaway teens remain homeless for the rest of their lives. There are many senior citizens in San Diego that cannot drive cars to get medication or food, they rely on a meager living with only a small amount of government assistance. The Dream BIG Program teens can not only assist the elderly in many significant ways, but they will also simultaneously learn from the seniors' stories, and learn many things about life in general. With the purchase of a two bedroom condo, it can help 8 teens for four years, and once they are done with college and receive jobs, they are supposed to contribute back to the program. In 20 years, that amounts to 40 individuals that have been helped off the streets. With their contributions, WIC could buy a second condo and help 16 more teens every four years, which comes to 80 people. The amount of help we could do would continue to grow.
-Veronica Da Metz, WIC CFO and Membership Chair

My current dream is that the U.S. and each state government bolster our economy by doing the following:
1. Define the federal and state-specific jobs needed now to strengthen the domestic economy.
2. Research and predict the jobs needed in the next 10 years to ensure a competitive and strong domestic economy.
3. Require nation-wide high schools and universities to offer job-oriented/practical classes to train students in the necessary skills to perform current and future jobs in all sectors.
4. Provide venues for current students and potential employers to meet, intern and learn more about jobs that might interest them.
5. Continually re-assess the job markets’ current and future needs. Continually modify training courses accordingly to teach Americans skills needed to be competitive.
- Sarah Quincy, Research Specialist and WIC Executive Volunteer Co-Coordinator

My dream is to have a well-informed society. To achieve this, we must all do our homework. "The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." People need to go beyond ready-made versions of reality. Knowledge is missing in many countries, so many stories are told from only one side. To quote Françoise Giroud: "Women will only be equal to men when an incompetent woman is nominated to an important post." I recommend the following TedTalk called Single Stories: Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. (Recorded at TEDGlobal, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 18:49) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/3k
-Yacine Baroudi, Founder/CEO FasTake.

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