A Word of Thanks...

I'd like to personally thank Mr Luke Easter for posting the third revision of his poetry A Strong Woman vs A Woman of Strength as a comment in my blog on the same subject. It was indeed a pleasant surprise and very much appreciated.

For those interested in poetries, please visit his website at http://www.lyricsbylucas.com/

Pirates of the Carribean III

I saw Matt's post on "Pirates Help Make A Wish." My kids have been eagerly waiting for this third movie of Pirates of the Carribean and are so excited whenever they see the trailer. It's heartening to know that The Walt Disney Company launched a generous move to raise $3 Million to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation.

The Make A Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Tickets for the May 19 World Premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation of America and Make A Wish International have already been sold out in just 14 days.

For more details, please visit the link to Matt's blog "Empathy." He has worked wonders in spreading the good deeds of many cause-oriented groups.

The One Campaign and American Idol's 100,000 Challenge

Last Wednesday, April 25, One Campaign supporter, Bono came out in the American Idol to join forces with the show in promoting the fight against poverty and aids.

As of Friday, 75,000 people have added their voices to the fight against extreme poverty. With this strong show of support, the One Campaign made a move to increase the target to 100,000 in one week. And so it was...

To help reach that 100,000, e-mails were sent to ONE members to get one of their friends to join ONE. (I cheated, I sent out 3, lol)

Possible to reach that 100,000 mark in one week? Oh yes!!! It probably has gone beyond that by now.

I find it amazing though not really surprising that the ONE Campaign can move U.S. candidates to support their cause. I'm not going to delve into the political aspect of it since I'm not American nor a political-minded person. But as of today, there are now 50 candidates who have signed-up supporting the ONE Campaign's fight against poverty and aids...just 10 short of the ONE's target of 60.

There are now over 2 million ONE Campaign members worldwide and still growing. With an organization like ONE showing transparency and clear sincerity in its cause, support will always be there. All praises to ONE and its organizers.

Below is Josh Groban with the African Children's Choir singing one of my favorite songs "You Raise Me Up" at the "Idol Gives Back" show last Wednesday...enjoy

The UN's CYBERSCHOOLBUS

Everytime I visit the United Nations Website and read the Cyberschoolbus, it makes me really appreciate institutions like the United Nations. It not only works for the welfare of the poor and less priviledged in general, but also provides sites like Cyberschoolbus for educators and ordinary readers like me to use as information and resource material.

The Cyberschoolbus has very good reference materials for teachers and offers a variety of curricula that range from peace education, poverty, human rights, work rights, and ethnic and racial discrimination among others. It also provides links to a host of UN-sponsored educational websites.

It has been selected by ISTE author James Lerman as one of the best web sites for teachers on the Internet. ISTE is a nonprofit professional organization with a worldwide membership of leaders and potential leaders in educational technology.

I am not a teacher but have found Cyberschoolbus very informative and useful, mostly because the subjects are what interest me most...

The Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007

It made me wonder as I scrolled down the list of countries using child soldiers, if the Philippines was among them. I realized though that the documentary I saw on tv was on child soldiers recruited by rebel armies fighting against the government. Nevertheless, it still means that the problem on child soldiers exists in my own country.

The U.S. State Department reported that governments in 10 countries are implicated in the use of child soldiers. It's ironic though that 9 of the 10 countries are being supported by the US through military assistance.

Before the Senate, the World Vision asked the US government to help end the use of child soldiers globally. There is now an estimated 250,000 children exploited as child soldiers in state-run armies, paramilitaries, and rebel groups.

A bill called Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sam Brownback (R-S). The bill would put restrictions on U.S. military assistance for governments that use child soldiers.

World Vision urged support for the legislation to encourage governments to prohibit, demobilize, and rehabilitate child soldiers from national forces and government-supported militias.

For the full story, please visit the link of the World Vision site.

Finding My Life's Purpose...a Second Look

I often get affected by touching and emotional stories or blog entries I read. When that happens, my natural reaction is to let my emotions out by writing about it in my blog. At times though, I get too emotional and later find myself deleting or saving them in a private file once I've calmed down.

Today I found myself getting sentimental again when I read an entry from someone's blog. There were a few lines that touched me most because I could relate to them in my own life. It almost brought me to tears as I tried to finish the whole entry.

One read, " Love does not wait. It will wait for some time, but leave when it deems the situation to be hopeless."

And the other, "Take a risk. Life will not and cannot get any worse than with the feeling that you never tried."

They're really the same words once told to me by some friends though just phrased differently. The words made me want to again read an entry that I posted last December about finding my life's purpose when I reacted to a blog entry of Matt. It also made me recall someone's comment to an emotional entry I posted some weeks back (that I also emotionally deleted) which I appreciated so much. He's right...I shouldn't always care what others think, or turn my life around 360 degrees because it would bring me back exactly where I am now (I always end up smiling when I recall this second comment, although I thought of going the opposite direction).

I again recalled a friend who once angrily wrote me an e-mail saying it was time and to make plans, that I was strong enough to make it...that was almost a year ago. He was right...it's time. I've already had regrets in some things I acted on too late. I don't want it that way forever.

All these made me assess myself again at how far I've gone in doing something about my life...of how much I want to give up to gain something for myself. Well, I'm still right where I was before but I have started to take steps...maybe a bit too slowly but I'm starting to move forward.

And oh yes, the French lessons I planned to enrol in. Someone constantly reminded me of my plan to enrol in French class (and I think got tired of reminding me, lol)... yes, yes, I'll get to it and enrol. And the Bali trip, well my friend is keeping the original schedule we talked about. If I have the time by then with all the system conversion going on at the office, I'll just book the flight and fly over there and enjoy a weekend with her and her friends. Or if the plan to send some of my people to Singapore for the branch conversion there pushes through, I may just join them there and have a few days off as well. I just soooo need a break away from it all.

Ashley Judd's Journal Entry from India....

I'm posting a blog entry from the One Campaign website. This one is from actress Ashley Judd's journal. I really admire people who, with all the fame and comfort in life, go out of their way to help the needy and less fortunate.

It makes me wish to do a little more than just what I can right now. But I guess every little bit helps...

For other stories from ONE supporters, click on the One.blog link.

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Ashely Judd's Journal from India, Day 14
Posted by Jenny Eaton Dyer, DATA
01:30 PM Apr 12, 2007

Actor and humanitarian Ashley Judd, board member of Population Services International (PSI) and Global Ambassador for YouthAIDS, addressed women's empowerment and wrote daily posts for the ONE Blog, during her March 2007 travels through India. This week, she posts her final entries from the trip.

Monday, March 26

The alarm went off. I had naturally awakened slightly before, and was so comforted and relieved to have had a long, deep sleep. I cleaned up and headed out the door to the Saddham Wellness Clinic, which we operate in the Red Light District. I had heard so very much about it, and had a real visual expectation. I assumed it would be sterile, light-filled, modern, technical. Although it is clean and tidy, it was hardly the vision I had been having, and I realized my vision was more of an intuitive sense of the radiance and luminosity of the people who work there. They are kind, loving, empowered doctors, all of whom who could be making a lot more money elsewhere doing much easier work emotionally. They commute to a horrible neighborhood. The 3 clinic rooms are tiny and bare. They provide a range of necessary services, but cannot meet all the sex workers’ and their children’s needs; they refer them to hospitals where they don’t know how they will be treated, or if the women will even follow through.

The process of bringing a Commercial Sex Worker (CSW) to the clinic starts within the brothel, via PSI's counselors regular and faithful visits. By virtue of this consistency, trust is slowly built. Eventually, the traveling brothel doctor, who simply treats all their conditions and doesn't ask questions/make statements about their line of work, will suggest a trip to the clinic, offering a known counselor to escort the woman to and fro. The entire protocol is designed to be gentle, non-shaming, supportive, empowering, humanistic. Although our primary purpose is to prevent pregnancy, STI’s, and HIV, as well as help these women access treatment, we address all their healthcare needs as well as their children's.

I met the pediatrician. He was so kind. The kids come in with a lot of upper respiratory stuff and intense emotional issues, some TB and Malaria. I visited the examination room; the only thing that remotely suggested it was a medical facility was the stainless steel table. In the 3rd and last room, barely a cubicle, I saw where the STI and HIV testing is done. We crowded in, and I asked these doctors how they help themselves, dealing as they do day in and day out, with all they see? The subject of shutting down one’s feelings comes up a lot when I ask this question.

The clinic desperately needs additionally funding. They want to expand their services in a meaningful way, which would help reduce the number of women they need refer to hospitals, where CSWs often don’t follow through for a variety of reasons (discrimination, barriers to admission, cost, time, fear/lack of relationship). The clinic also wants to be able to provide healthcare and support to those who are HIV+. Recently, three of their women died of AIDS, homeless, turned out of their brothels. The last one, they washed her body and gave her last rights literally on the sidewalk along the gutter. The doctor wept as she told me this.

FC Barcelona Wins Sports award for UNICEF Partnership

(Actor Morgan Freeman listens as Joan Laporta President of FC Barcelona accepts the Laureus Spirit Of Sport Award during the Laureus Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. )

One Campaign supporter, Morgan Freeman participated in a ceremony in Barcelona, Spain last April 3, 2007 where sports stars and legends took centre stage at the Laureus Sports Awards to honor the president of football club FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta. Laporta was presented with the Spirit of Sport Award in recognition of the partnership with UNICEF to benefit children across the developing world affected by HIV/AIDS.

The partnership between FC Barcelona and UNICEF was launched in September of 2006 with a commitment of $1.9 million dollars per year over five years to fund UNICEF programs.

Every year, the Laureus World Sports Awards honours the globe’s best sportsmen and sportswomen and celebrates the universal power of using sports as a tool for social change. The Spirit of Sport Award acknowledges those in sports who take action to create a better world.

FC Barcelona’s innovative decision to raise awareness about the values of UNICEF was honoured as a perfect example of how sports can help the most vulnerable children.

It's good to know that an increasing number of sports and movie people have been openly supporting the fight against problems on HIV/Aids, poverty, hunger and abuse by joining or forming alliances with cause-oriented groups like UNICEF, World Vision or the ONE Campaign. Their actions have brought the much-needed highlight and focus on the urgency to address these problems.

I've often said, "Every little bit helps." It's true. We all can help a little bit, be it in giving some of our time, money, effort, even words that can help spread the word around that there is an urgency to act now and do our share in putting an end to many problems that plague the world.

To see the full version of the Laureus Spirit Of Sport Award please visit this link: http://unicef.org/infobycountry/spain_39295.html

The Doll and the Rose

I found this story very touching. I hope you enjoy reading it too and it touches your heart as it did mine. Just a reminder...if you drive, don't drink alcohol. If you drink, let someone else drive.

The Doll and the Rose I was walking around in a store. I saw a cashier hand this little boy his money back saying "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll." Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?'' The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.'' Then she asked him to stay there for 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her." I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there." His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.'' My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall." Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me "I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me." "I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister." Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "What if we checked again, just in case you do have enough money?'' "OK" he said "I hope that I have enough." I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: "Thank you God for giving me enough money!" Then he looked at me and added "I asked yesterday before I slept for God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mommy can give it to my sister. He heard me!'' "I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.'' "My mommy loves white roses." A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car, where there was one young lady and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy? Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young lady had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

World Vision to G8: Keep Your Promises on Global Aids...

The World Vision is again taking action to remind the G8 to keep its promise in helping fight HIV and AIDS.

This call to action is outlined in World Vision's "Keep Your Promises on Global AIDS, Act Now" policy briefing calling on the G8 to make good their promises in making treatment, care and prevention of HIV/AIDS accessible to millions by the Year 2010. Release of this policy briefing is an initial step of World Vision and other non-government organizaitons to influence the outcome of the 2007 G8 meeting, in Heiligendamm, Germany, on June 6-8.

What is the G8?

The G8, or "group of eight," represents the most powerful governments in the world — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, and the United States. The G8 leaders meet annually to discuss major global issues and make plans and commitments to address them. In 2005, at the urging of World Vision and other ONE Campaign members, G8 leaders meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, made a historic commitment to help end extreme global poverty.

The Gleneagles commitment was the greatest increase in the rich world’s commitments to the poor since the end of the Second World War. If fully implemented, the commitments made at Gleneagles will save the lives of some 12,000 children a day.

For more information about World Vision, visit the World Vision website.