Please visit From HIV to Home to see today's $5 for 5 project, AHOPE for Children. Brad and I had planned to visit AHOPE while we were in Ethiopia picking up Tesfu, but were unable. Another kind family brought our donations to the center instead, and I still to this day wish I would have been able to make the trip and visit with the children.
Oh well - perhaps next time!
Instead of reposting their words today, I'll just direct you right to the source. Click here.
Thank you.
Peace.
Showing posts with label social justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social justice. Show all posts
12.02.2009
12.01.2009
World AIDS Day - 5 for 5 Campaign
Today is World AIDS Day, and the start of the organization From HIV to Home's Five for Five campaign.
A chance to give $5 a day for 5 days - each day funding a different project serving orphans living with HIV.
Would you like to participate?
Today's project is "Agape Children's Home" in Thailand. Located in Chiang Mai Thailand, the Agape Home for babies with HIV/AIDS opened in May 1996 as a response to the plight of children impacted by the spread of HIV/AIDS across Thailand. All of the children who come to the Agape Home to live are, or are at risk of being, HIV positive. Many of them have already lost their parents to AIDS, and there are no other options for their care.
All "5 for 5" donations received today (December 1) will be designated toward Agape's current building project - a village of smaller homes where children will be able to live in a more family-type situation rather than in one large facility.
If you wish to contribute, please click here to be directed to From HIV to Home. They have a 'network for good' button on their front page dedicated to today's project.
Thank you for reading, and for letting me share a little piece of my heart.
Peace.
A chance to give $5 a day for 5 days - each day funding a different project serving orphans living with HIV.
Would you like to participate?
Today's project is "Agape Children's Home" in Thailand. Located in Chiang Mai Thailand, the Agape Home for babies with HIV/AIDS opened in May 1996 as a response to the plight of children impacted by the spread of HIV/AIDS across Thailand. All of the children who come to the Agape Home to live are, or are at risk of being, HIV positive. Many of them have already lost their parents to AIDS, and there are no other options for their care.
All "5 for 5" donations received today (December 1) will be designated toward Agape's current building project - a village of smaller homes where children will be able to live in a more family-type situation rather than in one large facility.
If you wish to contribute, please click here to be directed to From HIV to Home. They have a 'network for good' button on their front page dedicated to today's project.
Thank you for reading, and for letting me share a little piece of my heart.
Peace.
11.16.2009
Rich List
*
I am not sure how accurate this really is, but it certainly got me thinking either way :
Global Rich List
According to this, with Brad and I's combined income, we are in the top 0.85% richest people in the world. It is amazing what a modest income in the U.S. means to the rest of the world.
Another fact from the site :
Three decades ago, the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world's people live. By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times.
Check it out. How rich are you? And what are you going to do about it?
* Not my picture
Peace.
11.13.2009
First Gift - Water for Christmas
Those who know me, know this is an issue that holds my heart.
One billion people lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
To me, safe water should be a RIGHT extended to all, not a PRIVELEGE extended to the wealthy nations.
Unclean water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
I cannot accept this.
The average American uses 150 gallons of water per day.
The average person in a developing nation struggles to find 5.
And I hope, neither can you.
We can be part of the solution.
http://www.water4christmas.com/
* Edited to add : I don't know why the video is sometimes showing up, sometimes not. Follow the water4christmas link to see the video if it is not there, or better yet, to donate!
One billion people lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
To me, safe water should be a RIGHT extended to all, not a PRIVELEGE extended to the wealthy nations.
Unclean water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
I cannot accept this.
The average American uses 150 gallons of water per day.
The average person in a developing nation struggles to find 5.
And I hope, neither can you.
$10 will provide one person in Africa clean water for 10 years. It will literally change and possibly save someone's life. A mother. A child. A brother. A grandfather.
We are rallying together for a cause. Clean water. One day. $10. Asking everyone to let this be their first gift. Let water, let life be their first gift of the season.
We can be part of the solution.
http://www.water4christmas.com/
* Edited to add : I don't know why the video is sometimes showing up, sometimes not. Follow the water4christmas link to see the video if it is not there, or better yet, to donate!
11.12.2009
Why people need to filter their thoughts before spewing their crap at me...
... because I'll just blog about you after your done.
I will fully admit I'm not good at small talk. It is not a talent of mine. Or even a usable skill. But when I am forced into a situation where silence can even be more awkward than my lack of conversation skills, I soldier on.
This was the situation today, with a lady I will call 'Small-talk Stranger'. The topic somehow turned to children, which turned to my child, and I thought - oh yeah! This just happens to be my very favorite subject! I can do this! So yada-yada-yada... Tes is really looking forward to attending school... blah-blah-blah... my daughter is a picky eater, too!... on and on, until a picture was produced from my purse and shown to her.
Small-talk Stranger : Oh! She is adopted?
Me : Yes, she is Ethiopian -
Small-talk Stranger : - wow... I just can't imagine loving a stranger like they are family!
Oh dear.
Number one - Keep your damn ignorance to yourself. Number two - Apparently this must mean she is a kin to her husband, because how could you possibly love a stranger.
It goes on.
Me : *stunned silence, and probably a very angered and bewildered look on my face*
Small-talk Stranger : I mean, I just can't believe you've never gotten to experience the miracle of childbirth... I feel so bad for women like you.
No, I didn't punch her. But it was only my deep-down staunch belief that violence doesn't solve anything that kept me from it. And believe me, I momentarily wavered.
So let me clear the air a bit, in case there is anyone out there, like Small-talk Stranger, who feels sorry for 'women like me'.
Don't.
I assure you, yes, I love my daughter. Being adopted does not make her a second class child. It makes her - my daughter. S-t Stranger is lucky I never caught her real name, because I would totally be tempted to search out her phone number and post it so all you 'stranger lovers' such as I, an adoptive parent, or you loving step-parents, or you dedicated foster parents - all you out there who apparently have the unbelievable skill to love strangers, could give her a call and let her know what love really is. And it ain't just genetics, baby.
Secondly, you are correct, I didn't get to experience the miracle of childbirth. And I do actually agree, it is a miracle. (After all, I was born, wasn't I?) However, even though I didn't experience it, my child is still a miracle, a miracle her Mother got to experience. I don't regret that for one moment, nor the two years they were able to spend together - because it would be dismissive to her experience, and to my daughter. There are, of course, things I wonder about. Did she have a lot of hair when she was born? Was she a happy baby? When was her first smile? First steps? Which tooth came in first?
Things I wonder? Yes. Things I regret? Not for a moment.
I would never selfishly wish away those two years my daughter and her Mother were able to spend together, not for a moment. Yes, she got to experience the miracle of birth. Saw the first step, smile, and heard the first word.
But I got to experience the miracle of adoption. Saw her first smile at me. Got to hear the first time she told me "I love you". I get to wake up each morning to her sleepy, smiley face, and end each evening with her 'big hugs!' and lots of kisses.
Don't feel sorry for me. I am a blessed woman, indeed.
I'm sorry you can't see that, S-t Stranger.
It must be a very small world you live in.
Peace.
I will fully admit I'm not good at small talk. It is not a talent of mine. Or even a usable skill. But when I am forced into a situation where silence can even be more awkward than my lack of conversation skills, I soldier on.
This was the situation today, with a lady I will call 'Small-talk Stranger'. The topic somehow turned to children, which turned to my child, and I thought - oh yeah! This just happens to be my very favorite subject! I can do this! So yada-yada-yada... Tes is really looking forward to attending school... blah-blah-blah... my daughter is a picky eater, too!... on and on, until a picture was produced from my purse and shown to her.
Small-talk Stranger : Oh! She is adopted?
Me : Yes, she is Ethiopian -
Small-talk Stranger : - wow... I just can't imagine loving a stranger like they are family!
Oh dear.
Number one - Keep your damn ignorance to yourself. Number two - Apparently this must mean she is a kin to her husband, because how could you possibly love a stranger.
It goes on.
Me : *stunned silence, and probably a very angered and bewildered look on my face*
Small-talk Stranger : I mean, I just can't believe you've never gotten to experience the miracle of childbirth... I feel so bad for women like you.
No, I didn't punch her. But it was only my deep-down staunch belief that violence doesn't solve anything that kept me from it. And believe me, I momentarily wavered.
So let me clear the air a bit, in case there is anyone out there, like Small-talk Stranger, who feels sorry for 'women like me'.
Don't.
I assure you, yes, I love my daughter. Being adopted does not make her a second class child. It makes her - my daughter. S-t Stranger is lucky I never caught her real name, because I would totally be tempted to search out her phone number and post it so all you 'stranger lovers' such as I, an adoptive parent, or you loving step-parents, or you dedicated foster parents - all you out there who apparently have the unbelievable skill to love strangers, could give her a call and let her know what love really is. And it ain't just genetics, baby.
Secondly, you are correct, I didn't get to experience the miracle of childbirth. And I do actually agree, it is a miracle. (After all, I was born, wasn't I?) However, even though I didn't experience it, my child is still a miracle, a miracle her Mother got to experience. I don't regret that for one moment, nor the two years they were able to spend together - because it would be dismissive to her experience, and to my daughter. There are, of course, things I wonder about. Did she have a lot of hair when she was born? Was she a happy baby? When was her first smile? First steps? Which tooth came in first?
Things I wonder? Yes. Things I regret? Not for a moment.
I would never selfishly wish away those two years my daughter and her Mother were able to spend together, not for a moment. Yes, she got to experience the miracle of birth. Saw the first step, smile, and heard the first word.
But I got to experience the miracle of adoption. Saw her first smile at me. Got to hear the first time she told me "I love you". I get to wake up each morning to her sleepy, smiley face, and end each evening with her 'big hugs!' and lots of kisses.
Don't feel sorry for me. I am a blessed woman, indeed.
I'm sorry you can't see that, S-t Stranger.
It must be a very small world you live in.
Peace.
10.30.2009
A Maybe Impossible Feat and Good News
Ever hear about NaBloPoMo? I'm considering it. Perhaps because I seem to like setting myself up for failure. Perhaps because I am crazy.
Or perhaps, because if I am able to accomplish it, I will be really proud of myself.
So here it goes. Posting every day in the month of November. Think I can do it?
* Link now corrected. Sorry... this is what happens when I am tired!
Or perhaps, because if I am able to accomplish it, I will be really proud of myself.
So here it goes. Posting every day in the month of November. Think I can do it?
*********
And in 'it's about frickin' time, U.S.A.' news, I was overjoyed to hear this story today :
Click to above to read. Be informed. And help end the stigma.
*********
See you in two days for NaBloPoMo. Wish me luck.
Peace.
* Link now corrected. Sorry... this is what happens when I am tired!
8.11.2009
all the cool kids read.
Throughout school and college, reading was always a big part of my life. It refueled me. Then I married an extrovert, and book perusing took a back seat to spending time with my family, and that was not being huddled up at home with a good read.
Then came along Tes, and if there was a burner further back than 'the back burner' - my old hobby would have been there. Except, of course, for the old adoption / parenting standbys, which brought me back from more than a few tearful moments.
But I've made an effort to put away the parenting books for awhile, and am trying to ease back into reading for enjoyment to see if it still has the same energizing affect it did for me 10 years ago. I made a promise to myself, no more The Connected Child, or Parenting the Hurt Child, or anything with the words 'parenting', 'child', or 'just lock yourself in the bathroom and plug your ears for 2 minutes, everyone will eventually stop tantruming' anywhere in the title.
I had a whole, well-stocked library system to chose from (yea Minneapolis libraries!) - what did I pick?
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
I know, not quite the 'rejuvenator' I was originally thinking. But this book is seriously... altering. As if I needed more fuel to my 'citizen of the world' fire, this work of non-fiction made me want to reach out and hug the author. And, even more-so, the individuals in the book.
It is exactly what I want to say when I try to talk to people about how we, as citizens of a very wealthy and powerful nation, can stand up and truly make a difference to people whose lives you can't even imagine living - but I can never get it to come out right. If this was happening in your backyard, you would be screaming from the tree tops. But, it is. Expand your idea of your backyard, and it is happening.
An excerpt from the prologue :
Yes. Yes. One hundred times yes.
In other words, I recommend this book.
And taking action.
A few personal recommendations, though there is a world of opportunities out there :
http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
http://www.kiva.org/
Oh - and I really did enjoy getting back into reading. Actively seeking the next text!
Peace.
Then came along Tes, and if there was a burner further back than 'the back burner' - my old hobby would have been there. Except, of course, for the old adoption / parenting standbys, which brought me back from more than a few tearful moments.
But I've made an effort to put away the parenting books for awhile, and am trying to ease back into reading for enjoyment to see if it still has the same energizing affect it did for me 10 years ago. I made a promise to myself, no more The Connected Child, or Parenting the Hurt Child, or anything with the words 'parenting', 'child', or 'just lock yourself in the bathroom and plug your ears for 2 minutes, everyone will eventually stop tantruming' anywhere in the title.
I had a whole, well-stocked library system to chose from (yea Minneapolis libraries!) - what did I pick?
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
I know, not quite the 'rejuvenator' I was originally thinking. But this book is seriously... altering. As if I needed more fuel to my 'citizen of the world' fire, this work of non-fiction made me want to reach out and hug the author. And, even more-so, the individuals in the book.
It is exactly what I want to say when I try to talk to people about how we, as citizens of a very wealthy and powerful nation, can stand up and truly make a difference to people whose lives you can't even imagine living - but I can never get it to come out right. If this was happening in your backyard, you would be screaming from the tree tops. But, it is. Expand your idea of your backyard, and it is happening.
An excerpt from the prologue :
... Bono launched the Red campaign-a marketing effort that soon had people snapping up iPods and T-shirts from The Gap in support of the Global Fund-and suddenly the crisis was trendy.
And yet the response remains muted. Few people outside Africa seem to understand the scale or the epic gravity of what is happening there. When I talk to people at home about the pandemic, I get the sense that they feel a dying African is somehow different from a dying Canadian, American or German-that Africans have lower expectations or place less value on their lives. That to be an orphaned fifteen-year-old thrust into caring for four bewildered siblings, or a teacher thrown out of her house after she tells her husband she is infected-that somehow this would be less terrifying or strange for a person in Zambia or Mozambique than it would be for someone in the United States or Britain.28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, by Stephanie Nolen
Yes. Yes. One hundred times yes.
In other words, I recommend this book.
And taking action.
A few personal recommendations, though there is a world of opportunities out there :
http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
http://www.kiva.org/
Oh - and I really did enjoy getting back into reading. Actively seeking the next text!
Peace.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
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