Chronicles of our family as we researched adoption and our eyes were open to the needs of the children in Africa.
Spraying houses with insecticide — which in 2008 cut malaria infections in half — is also forbidden. Why? Because of objections from Uganda's organic-cotton farmers, who supply Nike, H&M and Walmart's Baby George line. Chemical-free farming sounds like a great idea in the West, but the reality is that Baby Omara is dying so Baby George can wear organic.
1.) I fell in love with 'the orphan' early this year. My husband & I began the process of adoption but we are currently at a standstill. Nothing more than getting all the paperwork & never going further. Why? Because to put it simply, we are very scared of the emotional issues attached with older child (or toddler) adoption. I'm more than ready to move forward but this is a two person team & I'm sure that we won't be filling out any of those papers in the near future.
2.) My husband is an avid mountain biker. We travel all over Michigan to attend races. It's fun.
3.) We recently were introduced to BMX racing. My 6 year old was hooked on day one!
4.) I have two kids. Caleb is almost 12, Hunter is 6. I've been married for 12 & 1/2 years now and I'm only 31. Uh umm... I mean I'm twenty-eleven. That's better.
5.) I have 3 sponsored kids through Compassion International. I LOVE them. I want so badly to go visit them all, to shower them with gifts and goodies. I hope I have the chance to meet them someday. Sponsorship is addictive! It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.
6.) I am a local director of a Foundation named "The for a Day Foundation." We throw parties for children with cancer. Makeovers, goodies, pictures, and visits with firemen & beauty queens. (If you want to start a chapter at a local children's hospital ask me how!)
7.) I love Ethiopia. I think the people are beautiful. It's number 1 on my list of places I want to visit someday.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
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"The miracle we hope for is not always the miracle we receive."
"The BEST and most BEAUTIFUL things in the WORLD cannot be SEEN or even TOUCHED. They must be FELT with the HEART." Helen Keller
Perpetual Change is a non-profit organization that exists to inspire change. It does not take much for one to greatly affect the life of another. Together with you, Perpetual Change accomplishes this through Orphan Care, an Adoption Promise, and Advocacy of the Voiceless.
“Get people talking, Get people motivated, Get people involved”
Become the Perpetual Change!
In China, white people can be rented.
For a day, a weekend, a week, up to even a month or two, Chinese companies are willing to pay high prices for fair-faced foreigners to join them as fake employees or business partners.
Some call it "White Guy Window Dressing." To others, it's known as the "White Guy in a Tie" events, "The Token White Guy Gig," or, simply, a "Face Job."
And it is, essentially, all about the age-old Chinese concept of face. To have a few foreigners hanging around means a company has prestige, money and the increasingly crucial connections -- real or not -- to businesses abroad.
"Face, we say in China, is more important than life itself," said Zhang Haihua, author of "Think Like Chinese." "Because Western countries are so developed, people think they are more well off, so people think that if a company can hire foreigners, it must have a lot of money and have very important connections overseas. So when they really want to impress someone, they may roll out a foreigner."
Or rent one.
Last year, Jonathan Zatkin, an American actor who lives in Beijing, posed as the vice president of an Italian jewelry company that had, allegedly, been in a partnership with a Chinese jewelry chain for a decade.
When is being foreign a career advantage?
Zatkin was paid 2,000 yuan (about $300) to fly, along with a couple of Russian models, to a small city in the central province of Henan where he delivered a speech for the grand opening ceremony of a jewelry store there.
"I was up on stage with the mayor of the town, and I made a speech about how wonderful it was to work with the company for 10 years and how we were so proud of all of the work they had done for us in China," Zatkin said. "They put up a big bandstand and the whole town was there and some other local muckety-mucks."
The requirements for these jobs are simple. 1. Be white. 2. Do not speak any Chinese, or really speak at all, unless asked. 3. Pretend like you just got off of an airplane yesterday.
We cannot send our field offices items that exceed 8-1/2" x 11" and 1/4" thick.
ITEMS THAT CAN BE SENT
Band-Aids
Baseball and football cards
Bookmarks
Calendars, smaller than 8-1/2" x 11"
Construction paper
Greeting cards
Laminated flowers and leaves
Magazines, less than 1/4" thick
Origami
Pages from coloring books
Pages from watercolor paint books (may not send paint brushes)
Paper dolls
Photos of you and your family
Postcards
Scrapbook paper
Scripture cards
Small posters
Stamps
Stickers
We cannot send any metal (including jewelry, ornaments and magnets), perishable items (gum, candy, flower seeds), or any larger items (soccer balls, clothes).
Unfortunately, we can also no longer send the following:
balloons
books and booklets
CD's/DVD's
ceramics or glass
cloth items
elastic hair bands
foam crafts
plastic
plastic rulers
ribbons
stencils
tassels
Please remember to put your sponsor number and your sponsored child's number on your letters to ensure that your child receives your letter.
FUN IDEA: Collect pictures of your family and make a small photo album for your child.
Items needed:
Variety of family pictures
Five to 10 pieces of construction paper or fun scrapbooking paper
Glue or double-sided tape
Two small pieces of string
Glue or tape a picture onto each page and indicate who is in the picture, what this person likes and dislikes, his or her hobbies, age, birth date and other fun facts. Continue with remaining pictures. Finish the album by stapling the paper together or tying the paper together with two small pieces of string to keep album intact.
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| From Letters /Ethiopia & Haiti |
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| From 2010_05_15 |
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| From 2010_05_15 |
Support Africa
The country Africa is a place filled with poverty and we need to send money to support them and their families in their time of need.
Basic needs of people are not being met. One out of six Africans do not have enough money to cover basic needs like water, food, and shelter. The average income of someone who lives in African is less than one dollar a day. A way to save money to send to Africa is to skip two trips to Starbucks every week this could save you $5 a week which equals over $250 in a year. You could send your savings to the needy in Africa. In East Africa alone there are 86.8 million people that are undernourished. One person dies every 2.43 seconds (worldwide). 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean or safe drinking water and often have to walk miles just to find water, most of the time this water is not clean.
I believe that the opposite of poverty is not being rich but instead simply having enough. This means that you have enough of what you absolutely need to live happily. You might be wondering how you can help. If you have two video game systems you could sell one and send the money to a charity that supports Africa. My family is sponsoring an 8 year old girl in Ethiopia named Efrata. She lives with her mom, her dad has passed away. Her mom makes $17 a month when she has a job. Efrata has to find water and carry it to their home every day. She sleeps on the ground and doesn’t have enough food. I am selling items in a garage sale to raise money to send to Efrata.
In Africa alone there have been 28 civil wars since 1980. From 1998 to 2002, 4 million Africans have died because of these wars and that totals up to 13 million refugees. There are hundreds of different diseases like AIDS, polio, and malaria, and one million people die each year just from malaria. In Sub-Sahara Africa there are 34 million orphans. To compare there are 24 million more orphans there than the entire population of Michigan. Could you imagine your life without parents to lead you in the right direction?
So go online to find a charity that supports Africa and donate as soon as you can.
