THE FACTS
 DEFINITIONS STATISTICS

Far West
The term used to indicated the western region farthest from the East, i.e. Canada and the United States of America. The ethnic groups living in this 20 million square kilometre territory mainly communicate in English. The population of this area is estimated to be 350 million people.

Hug-o-meter
A tool that measures the number of virtual hugs sent to a person. Each child’s profile on Sponsor-Now.org includes a hug-o-meter.

Kigali
Capital of Rwanda where the SaWC team is headquartered.

Middle West
The term for the European region of the West, sometimes known as the European Union. This territory has 24 tribes and a population of 507 million people, spread over an area of 4.5 million square kilometres. Three dialects have official status: French, English, and German.

Near West
The term used for the region of Australia and New Zealand, where the West is closest to the East. These two ethnic groups account for nearly 28 million people over an 8 million square kilometre area.

Parrainez un enfant riche (PER)
French version of the SaWC campaign, accessible at Parrainez.org.

Relational Poverty
We define relational poverty as the growing difficulty for young people to establish and maintain relationships within social groups such as neighbourhoods, intergenerational families, friendship groups etc. Is it possible that the growth of consumerism in western societies since the 1950s has caused relational poverty? Does the accumulation of material wealth undermine personal relationships and isolate people?

RPi
The Relational Poverty Index (RPi) is calculated using the four following psycho-sociological indicators: relationship with elders, relationship with neighbours, relationship with strangers, and relationship with friends. An RPi above 0 indicates that you are a developed person. Between 0 and -8, you are developing. Below -8, you are classified as under-developed. Take the screening test!

Turikumwe
Expression meaning “We are together” in Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda.

We are together!
The slogan chosen for the SaWC campaign. A number of cultures in Africa use an expression meaning "we are together" as a greeting. In Wolof we say "gnofar", in Kinyarwanda: "turikumwe", and in Swahili: "tuko pamoja".

World Music (or «Ethnic Music»)
A musical genre typical to different tribes of the West, starting with the Anglo-Saxon tribe. Green Day, Lady Gaga and Elvis Presley are some of the great artists who can be classified as Ethnic Music.


• 43% of French youth experience psychological distress
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• 30% of youth in the United States are on medication
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• 20% of Canadians aged between 15 and 18 years have had suicidal thoughts
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•1/3 of Canadians say that they regularly do not touch another person for a whole day
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•70% increase among british teens who self-harm since 2012
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• The risk of a woman with cancer dying after five years is twice increases two-fold if she feels a lack of affection. Emotional depreivation is harmful to physical health. According to studies by David Servan-Shreiber, living without friends is as harmful to health as smoking regularly.
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• 60% of youth in Switzerland do not mix with any elderly people outside of their family
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• 8% of 9-year-olds in Quebec eat alone. 31% consider the family dinner to be unpleasant and 16% see it as an argument.
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• 1/4 of youth in Quebec say that they feel alone “often” or “all the time”
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• 2/3 of youth in Quebec are cyberdependent
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CATALOG OF CHILDREN

Catalog of sponsors

CATALOG OF SPONSORS

More sponsors

MAP OF THE WEST

Locate the West