It's the holiday season we have all been looking forward to and everyone is excited! It's that time of the year where we get to go shopping, eat amazing food (binging is not a problem), organize parties with family and friends, go on vacation and for many; let down your hair and breathe. This scenario is the perfect picture for humans.

For the environment on the other hand, it's that time to get pensive, discomforted, polluted and considered less; if at all. This imbalance is the conflict amidst the joys of the holiday. That is, balancing the glee of the holidays as experienced by humans with the
the gloom as felt by the environment and its constituents.

Don't be hard on yourself it's tradition, what has been before our grandparents were born and celebrated their first Christmas, its the trees, the lights, the food, the fun, the open air grills, the hymns, the treats and of course, the new items acquired as a result of Santa's benevolence. The good news is, just as we have met tradition shaped by those ahead of us, we can also create our own traditions to shape the future we want especially for our children so that we may have an indeed merry Christmas with the generations to come having laid a foundation of sustainable celebration for them.
The most heinous environmental crimes are perpetuated amidst celebrations (my opinion). Many get too carried away with the glitz and glam of the season that we forget the looming effect of our inordinate actions or adherence to traditions.

To ensure a blissful holiday for ourselves and the environment, we should do the following;
1. Prepare as much food as can be consumed (better not enough than wasted). You can get fruits to make up for the excess that would have been wasted but for your sustainable thinking.
2. The use of lights in this season can be tempting but it's fine to go easy on the lights. If you can't, shop for sustainable lights such as LED lights ...I believe this way every body is happy! I mean what is a Christmas tree without the lights?
3. Use less paper, be virtual...the truth is many of us do not need the receipts we collect from the stores, or the fliers we distribute or collect; this season, think paperless. Electronic replacements of paper forms are easier to keep and move around with.
4. Use less plastic. Resist the temptation to use straws, plastic cups, plates and whatever form of plastic that has enmeshed itself into the fabric of celebrations. In the alternative, use reusable alternatives to these products, water and drink dispensers instead of disposable plastic ones, reusable chinaware, NO STRAWS! Essentially, do away with plastic!
5. Easy on the use of water, use as much water as you need without wasting. Do not leave the tap running when not in use.
6. Dispose your waste sustainably. Divide your waste into bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes then dispose accordingly.
7. Tis the season to be oily! La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la! This season has the highest grease and oil requirements on the history of human existence...do not dispose grease indiscriminately...do not toss grease down the drain...let your grease solidify( in a refrigerator)while in a container and throw it out in that container...grease should NEVER be disposed by itself.
8. Use less private transportation systems and opt for public or eco-friendly means of transportation such as walking, cycling, car pooling and public transportation among others.
9. Be charitable, feed the hungry, clothe the needy and create shelter for the homeless. Volunteer for a good cause towards the advancement of a better and sustainable world.
10. Show love and shun hatred in all forms!

Happy Sustainable Holidays from all of us at The Nineteen Initiative.

For more posts on sustainable living, please visit www.thenineteeninitiative..com

The United Nations Day is celebrated on the 24th of October, every year. It's a day that is devoted to making known to people of the world, the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organization.
The United Nations was founded after the Second World War with the main purpose of ensuring that the world never experiences a total breakdown of peace as was the case during the period which the war lasted (1939-1945).
The day is celebrated every year to reiterate the reason for the existence of the body; the maintenance of world peace hence the Olives in the emblem of the UN.
The day commemorates the declaration of the 24th October by the United Nations General Assembly as the anniversary of the United Nations Charter in 1948.
The continued existence of the UN reaffirms the commitment of the member states to preserve and maintain world peace.
The celebration of this day every year is not only the concern of the government of nations, workers of the UN or development stakeholders, rather, it should be celebrated by every one that is a beneficiary of the existence of world peace that is, everyone.
We must strive to maintain peace in all our interactions and ensure peace in situations where peace does not exist.
This year, the Nineteen Initiative in celebrating the UN day, calls for everyone to embrace diversity in every facet of life. Failure to embrace diversity on various levels has remained a major threat to world peace. Our position on diversity as discussed on the blog (https://thenineteeninitiative..com.ng/2017/02/diversity-and-global-happiness.html?m=1) remains unchanged.
It's important that we all take steps to give full effect to the name of the organization that is ensure continued unity among nations. Your attitude towards foreigners, comments on global issues, opinions overemphasized on issues among others can largely affect global peace and unity of nations.
Goal 17 calls for partnership for the goals and this is achievable when collaborative efforts are made towards giving full effects to the aims and objectives of the UN as well as taking steps to ensure that the targets of the global goals are met.
The UN is not a body that is high up and cannot be reached, making policies that seem unachievable except through actions by major stakeholders, rather, it is a body that we all belong to and must take steps to ensure that its aims and objectives are met. The aims and objectives of the United Nations include;
(1) To maintain inter­national peace and security;
(2) To encourage international cooperation in the spheres of social, economic and cultural developments;
(3) To develop friendly relations among nations on principles of equal rights and self- determination;
(4) To recognise the fundamental rights of all people.

We are able to celebrate the 24th of October this year because of the laudable efforts that have been made by the UN towards the maintenance of world peace. More can be achieved if we pay attention to the little things that we do that could be inimical to world peace, such as mindless venting on media platforms, failure to understand diversity, lack of commitment to achieving the global goals, having a laid back attitude towards global issues (because you feel like that's the concern of the government and development workers) among others.
It's never too late or too early to take action to ensure maintenance of global peace. Look into yourself and discover ways to collaborate with the United Nations to ensure that its objectives are met.
Say a prayer for a war torn nation today! Get off the couch! Your world needs you !

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Hi Nairalanders!

This week, the International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated and was celebrated in numerous ways and we thought it fit to add our voice to the global discussion.

The default modern approach to raising the girl child screams gender equality, capacity to be and do better than the boy child! No glass ceilings! And other related advice. It's important, however, that we do not through our zeal to pass the message of gender equality to the girl child, transfer a legacy of struggle and aggression.

A legacy of struggle and aggression which colors a good part of the social values transferred to the girl child forces her to develop an aggressive stance towards her journey through life. Forcing her to think that she will have to struggle than the boy child to achieve the same feat, prove herself (in comparison to male competitors) and the list goes on. The legacy does not encourage her to approach her growth through life with the demeanor of a human being, rather, she approaches it first as a girl before she does as a human being (this should be the other way round), thereby painting an altered picture of life to her.

She was not born to fight, she was born to live just like every other child is born. Preach first to her humanity before feminism so that she does not grow up to a shaped loyalty to the feminine gender than to the human race.

Teach her not to approach life with aggression as very soon, the battle against her sex and the attendant impediments will be etched out.
The existence of a male child is not the presence of another battle to fight but an opportunity for co-existence and collaborative development.

Life should not be served to her on the altar of gender awareness but on the awareness of the fact that she is first human before she is a girl.
Teach her that "because I am a girl " is never her primary defense. She must merit what she desires, where merit is impossible; create her own opportunities and bask in the greatness she has achieved because she is human.

This post does not undermine the fact that gender inequality is still a global issue or the global efforts towards achieving them, rather, it is to call our attention to the fact that if the predecessors of the girl child who are already working towards gender equality are successful (which is our desire), it becomes important to raise the girl child in preparedness to live the life the success of her predecessors makes available for her (one where she doesn't have to struggle for equality).

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Cars have been very beneficial to the human race, in our personal lives, businesses, and our existence on a whole. However, what we would realize is that we have placed so much reliance on it that we have shut our eyes and minds from the harmful effects of misuse and alternative means of transportation that are sustainable.

Please visit for details.

https://thenineteeninitiative..com.ng/2017/04/cars-are-not-luxuries.html?m=1