We're still here

Welcome to the Justice Matters blog/website. Since we moved our communications to MailChimp earlier in the year, this blog has been a bit quiet, but don't worry - we're still going and always keen to make new friends.

For all the latest on what Justice Matters is up to, check us out at our Facebook Page, sign up for our newsletter (see the box to the left of the screen) or drop us an email at justicemattersn12@gmail.com.

Hope to see you at a meeting soon...


Sam, Victoria and Elaine

Improving health through witty design

This iron fish offers relief from Anaemia.

An estimated 10% to 14% of the U.S. population is anaemic, the majority of that population women and children. But in Cambodia, those numbers skyrocket: 44% of Cambodians suffer from anaemia, including two-thirds of the country’s entire population of children. At the same time, about 70% of Cambodians live on less than $1 a day, pushing iron supplements (or red meat) far out of reach.

When Chris Charles, then a University of Guelph PhD student, travelled to Cambodia to tackle the problem, he had a crucial resource at hand: a study showing that simply adding iron to food while cooking could increase iron levels in the blood. But when he pitched the idea - essentially dropping a clunky, distasteful-looking block of iron into a skillet - Cambodian villagers were dubious.

A design flaw - this was an ugly piece of metal - kept Cambodian women from wanting to add it to the meals they were preparing for their families. “Actually almost no one used it,” says Gavin Armstrong, now CEO of the Lucky Iron Fish Project.

He and Charles conducted some boots-on-the-ground research, and eventually they arrived at the right connection: The fish is a Cambodian symbol of luck. “So the Lucky Iron Fish was born," Armstrong tells Co.Design.

http://google.com/producer/s/CBIwrpfyZg

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Saudi Arabia Cabinet passes ban on domestic violence

Saudi Arabia's cabinet has passed a ban on domestic violence and other forms of abuse against women for the first time in the Kingdom's history.

Read more: http://google.com/producer/s/CBIw27mL_AM

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The First Rule of Casserole Club Is...

Have you heard about Casserole Club - a great way to support older people in your area simply by cooking one extra portion of your supper? Find out more at Finchley Youth Theatre on 15th Sept.

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The North Pole Is Now a Lake

You thought it was hot on the Underground this summer? The North Pole is now a lake...

"If you think these images from the North Pole look more like a lake than the snow-covered expanse you'd expect, that because it is is--the North Pole has melted."

http://google.com/producer/s/CBIw_vbcEw

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Save the Bohemia

As some of you will have seen, the Bohemia pub in North Finchley has been closed down after just one year of business. In addition to being a top local watering hole, the Bohemia has hosted many formal and informal JM gatherings, including our session on the Foodbank Network where members and pub goers alike made donations for the local Foodbank, and the Christmas wrapping bonanza when we organised the donation and wrapping of over 30 gifts for giving out at the Christmas meal the pub was putting on for isolated older people.

Apparently, the issue is that the landlord doesn't want to renew the lease to Antic Ltd who run the Bohemia. As part of ongoing negotiations with the landlord, Antic Ltd are asking Bohemia regulars to write letters of support to buoy their cause. So that's where you come in.

Over the last few years we have equipped and encouraged you to take a stand on a wide range of issues, to write to company managers and to visit your MPs to make a noise about the issues that matter to you. Now we're asking you to take all those skills and apply them to overcoming our very own issue.

Its not as desperate as lack of access of clean drinking water, not as horrific as FGM, and not as entrenched as unjust trade laws. However, it is something that will have a negative effect on our local community and our own efforts as a network.

So please, if you feel able, drop a note to fi@anticlondon.com who is compiling letters of support for the pub to use in their negotiations. Tell her why you care about the pub and what happens to it. Tell her how much we value what the staff there have done to create a welcoming space for the community. Tell her that we don't want a Tesco Metro or whatever the landlord is hoping to put there instead. We love the Bohemia and we want to see if continue to be the vibrant and vital community hub that it has become.

I've sent off a note already - will you join me in the doing the same?

Thanks!

PS - We are just laying final plans for the new term and will be in touch soon to share more, so watch this space...

Job opportunity with Barnet Furniture Centre

Barnet Furniture Centre is currently recruiting for a part time Project Assistant. The role is 19hrs a week (Fri/Sat/Mon).

If you or someone you know would be interested in working at this excellent local social enterprise, then email beth@barnetfurniturecentre.org and request the application form.

Closing date is this Friday (23rd August).

Good luck!

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