Tuesday, December 24, 2013
No Parents Left Behind: Gifts from the Heart Change the World
No Parents Left Behind: Gifts from the Heart Change the World: Christmas is around the corner. The streets of my town are filled with sweet smells, colorful garlands and bright decorations. Chri...
Gifts from the Heart Change the World
Christmas is around the corner. The streets of my town are filled with sweet
smells, colorful garlands and bright decorations. Christmas songs are playing on the radio and
many people are eager to go shopping from Black Friday until December 24th …in
search of gifts for their families and friends! At this time of the year almost everyone
thinks about giving to others.
What is it
in a gift that makes everyone so excited and happy? So happy that it makes them cry with joy and
excitement? Well, to start with, a gift
means that you are special! It means
that somebody cares about you!
A gift that is carefully selected
with someone in mind (whether it was purchased in a store or made at home) has
the power to change you and your relationship with the receiver forever. The reason is because no matter what continent
you live on or what language you speak, our needs as human beings are very
similar - we all need to feel appreciated.
Additionally, we all need to feel unconditional love; we all need to
feel accepted; and we all need have a place to belong. These are some of our most basic needs
because the list can go on and on. Naturally,
as human beings we all yearn to have these needs met at one point or another in
our lives. We want to know that we are
important to others, that they value us and care and that we are accepted and
trusted. That is the simple power of a
gift - it tells you that someone cares and that you are loved without having to
ask for anything. The funny part is that
sometimes the giver has no idea what their gift can do for the receiver.
Christmas means giving; and to not
give is to ignore its true spirit. If
the focus of Christmas was only about receiving, then it would become shallow
and more about materialism. In giving, I
am not talking about expensive things, jewelry, etc… I mean that Christmas is about giving of
yourself, your time, your service, your love, your compassion, your empathy,
your food and your heart to others in need.
I always love this season! I love to see people slow down to stop and
give you a smile or greeting. I love to
see the random acts of kindness that starts with the Thanksgiving holiday. I was excited and moved when a local Boy
Scout troop collected 5 turkeys with all the trimmings to donate to families in
need, then later in December when I saw a teacher buy a coat for a student who
was cold and so poor he didn’t have one.
Giving to others leaves you with a
wonderful feeling! I love the
feeling of giving!! With this simple act
of thinking of others rather than yourself, you are transforming others without
realizing that you are transforming yourself.
Giving has the power to make you happy and for some reason I always feel
like I gain more from the act than the receiver of my gifts. Again, I am not talking about expensive
things or big gifts - I am talking about gifts that matter and melt the heart
of both the receiver and giver. I love
this feeling! I am trying to have it
with me 365 days a year because these little acts make me a better person every
day. As such, there is no a price tag
that can buy the happiness I feel.
So this Holiday season I invite
you to take time with your family and to carefully select your gifts for those
that will receive them. If you do so, your
gifts will change the lives of the receivers - and yours too, forever! I would also like to invite you to be part of
something that has lasting memories. If
you want do something extraordinary you can donate here and change a life
forever!
http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/images/friendraiser_uploads/1741954154.orig.gif
Sunday, December 15, 2013
No Parents Left Behind: This Season Celebrate and Give the Gift of Life
No Parents Left Behind: This Season Celebrate and Give the Gift of Life: Little Fiona from Uganda I am a wife, a mother, an educator and a former nurse from Mexico. I ch...
This Season Celebrate and Give the Gift of Life
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| Little Fiona from Uganda |
I am a wife, a mother, an educator and a former nurse from Mexico. I champion,
support, and advocate for Shot@Life to make sure children around the world have all the vaccines and health care needed to grow to celebrate their 5th birthday, grow older go to school. Here is Fiona, from Uganda who with her siblings and other children will benefit from our efforts.
Mothers all around the world have the same dreams and hopes for their children. They want their children to be healthy and protected from harm, especially bodily harm. They want them to live to have many birthdays. These mothers worry about childhood illnesses that can take the lives of their children. These include diseases like polio, measles, diarrhea and pneumonia. Can you believe that pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide?
At this time of the year I see friends and know of people who catch pneumonia. Already this year some of my friends got so
sick that they needed to go to the hospital; and others had symptoms not so
aggressive but still had “walking pneumonia”. Almost every year my husband has
walking pneumonia, and it pains me too, when I see how miserable he feels.
Pneumonia is a condition in the lungs where
the lung tissue gets infected. Breathing becomes difficult and oxygen can’t
pass through the lungs into the bloodstream.
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| In the hills of Taxco, Mexico |
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| Tlamacazapan, Gro. |
The impact of pneumonia is at its worst among the poorest and most marginalized countries where most children are malnourished. Many are also infected with HIV while living in poor or remote communities, which is where it is most likely for a child to become infected with pneumonia.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia kills an estimated 1.1 million children under the age of five every year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia kills an estimated 1.1 million children under the age of five every year.
Facts about pneumonia:
- Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide.
- Pneumonia kills an estimated 1.1 million children under the age of five every year – more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
- Pneumonia can be caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi.
- Pneumonia caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, but only 30% of children with pneumonia receive the antibiotics they need.
- Pneumonia can be prevented by immunization, adequate nutrition and by addressing environmental factors.
Shot@Life’s mission is to
ensure that children everywhere are given access to the vaccines that can save
their lives from pneumonia, rotavirus (diarrhea), measles and polio.
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| Mom and child in the streets of Queretaro, Mexico |
Here’s where you can begin to make a difference: Shot@Life & Global Solutions
Friday, December 6, 2013
No Parents Left Behind: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given
No Parents Left Behind: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps given Christmas is around the corner and this year’s Given Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to st...
Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given
Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps given
Christmas is around the corner and this
year’s Given Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to start the Holiday season of
giving.
So on Tuesday, December 3rd I taught the gift of sharing and knowledge to our students. I spoke to them about giving, compassion, empathy, charity, love and service. I showed them about children like them in Uganda and Mexico and other developing countries who can't go to school because they cannot afford it. Kids who are sick, hungry and are in need of food, clean water, clothes, shoes, medicine and vaccines.
I shared with them my pictures of Uganda about from students from the Railaway school, answered questions and afterward, I asked them to write down what they would give to these children in Uganda.
So on Tuesday, December 3rd I taught the gift of sharing and knowledge to our students. I spoke to them about giving, compassion, empathy, charity, love and service. I showed them about children like them in Uganda and Mexico and other developing countries who can't go to school because they cannot afford it. Kids who are sick, hungry and are in need of food, clean water, clothes, shoes, medicine and vaccines.
I shared with them my pictures of Uganda about from students from the Railaway school, answered questions and afterward, I asked them to write down what they would give to these children in Uganda. 
We made a list on the board and later we made and colored a booklet for them to take home. We learned new sight words and had a very good discussion about giving to others. 
Our class ended with me distributing gloves, hats and coats to our all of our ELL students.
Also, today I started a new season of fundraising for the Shot@Life campaign. Shot@Life is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that educates, connects and empowers Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
Can you help me this Holiday season to provide the gift of life and protection, for other children like these, from deadly diseases - like polio, measles, pneumonia and diarrhea? You can give a child the gift of life. Donate here http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/site/TR/Events/ShotLife?px=3255392&pg=personal&fr_id=1080
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