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EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN CHINA
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Frederick Douglas
Buckle your seat belts! LWB Education has been movin' and groovin' to provide as many children in China's orphanages with opportunities to learn and grow as possible. It's been a busy month.
Believe In Me III is opening at the Huainan SWI in Anhui Province as soon as a teaching staff is hired. Fifty-five beautiful, active children are in need of education help in a variety of forms including tutoring for children already in public school but who struggle to keep up, as well as special needs children that are not able to attend local schools due to their disabilities. Tutoring, kindergarten-preparation and preschool classes have been formed and teachers are being sought now to work with them. Thirteen children are still in need of sponsors to provide for their education. Sponsorship fees are $20 per month. Sponsors receive a photo of their child as well as quarterly reports of their academic progress. Those interested in sponsoring a child's education at this school can contact BIM III Coordinator, Sandy Hartman for more details: sandy@lovewithoutboundaries.com
Believe In Me IV will be opening at the Jingzhou SWI in Hubei Province. Currently, a team of LWB volunteers is being assembled to manage this school. There are 35 special-needs children and preschoolers at this orphanage in need of schooling. As of yet, none of them are sponsored. Those interested in sponsoring a child's education in Hubei Province can contact Linda Mitchell: linda.mitchell@lovewithoutboundaries.com
In addition to our newest schools, LWB is proud as can be of our existing schools in Guangdong and Hunan Provinces. Believe In Me in Shantou has teachers that have worked for the children of our programs for three years. We are so pleased with their efforts to provide nurturing and rich educational experiences for our preschoolers. These teachers have been outstanding resources for all new LWB teachers hired after them. Next month, one of the older Guangdong teens with dreams of becoming a teacher will join LWB teachers in Beijing for advanced Montessori training. We are so hopeful that this young woman will develop a successful career as an educator.
We cannot say enough good things about BIM Too in Changde. A team of Education volunteers visited this school last month and were just delighted by the progress they have made. There is light in the eyes of these children. They laugh, sit on your lap for a story, ask questions and are eager to show you what they are learning. Several children have been adopted from this program and we are pleased to know that they received extra care from wonderful teachers who loved them before going to their new families. As you read this, there will be a short summer break at the school to allow our teachers to attend advanced Montessori training sessions.
LWB's new tutoring program in Loudi continues to be a success. Several students have made leaps and bounds of progress with the help of their tutors. Way to go, Loudi!
Thank you to all the sponsors and donors of LWB Education! None of this success or growth has been possible without your moral and financial support. On behalf of every child touched by you, we say thanks and thanks again!
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DARFUR ORPHANS STRANDED IN CHAD
[SOS Children’s Villages, Darfur, March 12, 2007]
Since September 2006, SOS Children's Villages has been helping refugees from Darfur who are now stranded in Chad.
At the immense Oure Cassoni refugee camp, where 26,000 people have to live in the harshest conditions in the desert, teams from SOS Children's Villages, led by Yolanda van den Broek, are concentrating on providing support for seriously-traumatised children and women. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited some of them with Yolanda at the end of February.
In Oure Cassoni, just five kilometres from the border with Sudan, the people would struggle to survive if it were not for the aid of NGOs and UN organisations. SOS Children's Villages works closely with the UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee on the ground to find families that have the most urgent need for therapeutic and medical care. The organisations coordinate relief efforts with each another.
At the end of February, Angelina Jolie visited the Oure Cassoni refugee camp to gain a picture of the dramatic situation and make the international community aware of the plight of the people from Darfur. During her two-day visit, she and Yolanda van den Broek also visited three families who are being cared for by SOS Children's Villages.
Ms Jolie was visibly shocked that the people's situation had not really changed since her last visit three years previously. On the other hand, she was touched by their unending hope of returning to Darfur, of peace troops and retribution for the crimes committed. She was also noticeably impressed by the work of the aid organisations, whose staff have in many cases been working on the ground for years and continue to work with determination in such harsh conditions.
The UNHCR has set up twelve camps for more than 230,000 Darfur refugees in Chad; Oure Cassoni is the furthest north. Until SOS Children's Villages began its relief programme in the camp, there was no professional support for traumatised children and mothers there. Most of them had had terrible experiences in their country and when they fled from it, such as little Mahamat. Yolanda tells us that Mahamat represents thousands of children who have been seriously traumatised and urgently need psychological and medical care, as well as peace and security.
The war in Darfur is a humanitarian disaster. Many people had to leave their homes after they were plundered and burnt down, women and young girls were raped, livestock was stolen, and people had to flee their homeland with literally nothing. The people from the Zaghawa ethnic group are tough and strong; they do not say much about their feelings.
Most men would say that the loss of their homeland hurts them the most, but we can only hazard a guess as to what people have really gone through. I am sure that with time more will be told about what has gone on. We are discovering more and more deep traumas and hearing of increasing cases of shocking experiences. It is hard to select just one case, because there are so many that should be told.
Read the full article HERE
Visit SOS Children’s Villages main website HERE
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR NEW ORPHANAGE IN BANGALORE, INDIA
This project is run by the Bethesda Mission, which was started in1999 in Bangalore. It is registered with the govenment of India and it is part of a faith-based mission serving the rural/slum and tribal population. Aradhana is a boys children's home, located in a very remote village called Tumkur. There are around 70 children in our care. ARADHANA means worshiping the Lord through our actions. Our focus is to offer spiritual life, education and health to our beneficiaries.
Our future plans include building a school, a laboratory and a Balwadi (a school for children of migrant laborers and HIV infected parents). The children's home that we have is only for boys and there are 17 girls waiting to be taken into another home. Rev. Daniel Edwin is the project director and he will communicate with the volunteers. Daniel started the ministry to help needy rural, tribal and slum women and children.
Volunteer Accommodation Cost:
1st month US $350
Subsequent months + US $200
This price includes food and a room for each volunteer.
We need talented volunteers or couples / family who would like to come spend time with rural, tribal, slum women and children. The volunteer should have a love for them and good character through which to act as a role example.
Volunteers can get involved in the following activities:
1. Teaching
2. Training the youngsters in various skills
3. Conducting medical clinics
4 .Awareness programs
5 .Screening programs
6 .Vocational training
7 .Visiting the houses and slums
8 .Immunization programs
9 .Fundraising
This is a new project and we don't yet have any volunteers' experiences.
Visit the website: ARADHANA
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OPRAH WINFREY OPENS SCHOOL FOR POOR CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA
[March 18, 2007]
United States talk show queen Oprah Winfrey launched a revolutionary school institution for poor children, in the remote town of Kokstad, eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.
Pupils of the 12-million-rand (1.6 (m) million US dollar) Seven Fountains Primary School performed energetic and colourful dance numbers in celebration of the opening and to welcome the billionaire celebrity.
As students and teachers danced and sang they cried out: "Long live Oprah," in praise of her work and commitment to education.
Seven Fountains Primary School has been described as an innovative, environment-friendly institution. The school has 25 classrooms, a library, computer centre and two sports field.
It boasts a recycling system that harvests rain water and uses seesaws and merry-go-rounds to pump water. The school also uses solar power and has landscaped gardens that supply vegetables for school meals. Winfrey hopes the school will become a model for public education in South Africa.
But celebrations at the opening were overshadowed by media reports that suggested another school opened by Winfrey -- an exclusive girls’ academy, was too strict.
Winfrey was quick to deny the claims, insisting she had the students’ best interests at heart. “The two parents who were in the paper said to me that they did say the school was strict but the school was also fair and it was necessary to be strict, and I said to the parents: “If you feel the school is too strict, you are welcome, I bless you in removing your child from the school, big school,” because my number one priority is the safety and well being of the students," Winfrey said.
The private girls' academy was funded by Oprah's Angel Network, a public charity that supports organisations and projects focused on education and literacy. Winfrey first visited the school when it was located on a farm in the area in 2002, bearing gifts, clothing, books and teacher training materials. She was impressed by the school's 1,000 eager pupils and dedicated staff and during a follow-up visit in 2003, Winfrey's Angel Network committed itself to building a new school.
But since it opened, some parents have complained to local media about rules limiting the number of visits each month to the 152 girls at the school and restricting their cell phone calls and consumption of junk food. There have been other complaints about a lack of respect for African culture and tradition after one of the girls was allegedly refused permission to attend the funeral of a member of her extended family.
John Samuel, chief operating officer for the academy, said unhappy parents who had raised their concerns with Winfrey on the phone had been reassured. The Seven Fountains Primary School is Winfrey's second education project in South Africa.
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HEALTHY CHILDREN USED AS GUINEA PIGS IN QUEBEC
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[Montreal, Canada, February 2007]
Freedom Magazine, le Commission des citoyens pour les droits de l’Homme Québec and survivors of the Duplessis Orphans today held a press conference at the Atwater Library to demand an investigation into the massive human rights violations still unresolved surrounding the incarceration of tens of thousands of normal Québec children in psychiatric institutions during the reign of Québec premier Maurice Duplessis. It is estimated that up to 100,000 healthy children were falsely labelled as mentally ill and put in institutional care between 1940 and 1960. Many of the children were used as guinea pigs and experimented upon with unapproved psychiatric drugs, given unnecessary brain operations, electric shocked and labelled for life as mentally ill.
Christine Hahn, an award winning journalist for Freedom Magazine, who for the last seven years has been investigating the history of the Orphans, is outraged that there has been no official investigation into the atrocities suffered by these individuals who still suffer today.
"When I first started looking at this case in the year 2,000, I was told that the Duplessis Orphans story was old, that there was nothing new to report and that the issues surrounding their horrific abuse had been resolved. But nothing could be further from the truth. During the past seven years, I’ve been able to uncover a shocking amount of criminal acts done to this group and the revelations continue.
Along with the well-documented acts of physical abuse, I was able to document that these innocent children were used for the illegal testing of the drug chlorpromazine, better known as Largactil. Other evidence—which is still being uncovered—points to an organized eugenics program targeted at the Duplessis Orphans. But in spite of this mounting evidence, in spite of the fact we have documented criminal acts by the psychiatrists who “treated” the Orphans, no one has been charged. Not one psychiatrist has lost his license or ever been disciplined by a medical regulating body."
Hahn was supported in her call for an investigation by Rod Vienneau who has been representing the Orphans for almost two decades in their fight for justice. Vienneau, the président de la Commission pour les victimes de crimes contre l’humanité, stated that “since 1992, the Orphans have been demanding that these false labels of mental disorders be removed from their medical files and that an independent public investigation be set up to bring to light all the circumstances surrounding this travesty of human rights and to bring charges against those responsible.”
Denis Coté of le Commission des citoyens pour les droits de l’Homme Québec pointed out that little has changed for children in public institutions in Québec.
"The horrible history of the Duplessis Orphans is repeating in Québec orphanages and Youth Centres today. Recent statistics show that more than 40% of the children in such institutions are on more than one psychiatric drug at the same time. These drugs are known to have side effects such as hallucinations, hostility, suicidal thoughts and cardiac problems. Yet psychiatrists will treacherously use these side effects to increase dosages or add a second, third, or even a fourth drug to the mix. These children are transformed into zombies and are not helped but only betrayed."
Last September in Denver, the National Federation of Press Women awarded Freedom Magazine, published by the Church of Scientology International, 1st place in the category "Writing for the Web" for Ms. Hahn and Freedom editor Thomas J. Whittle's feature article "Crime of the Century?" on the horrific abuse suffered by the Duplessis Orphans.
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PRIEST ATTRIBUTES MEDICINE AND NOURISHMENT WITH KEEPING HIV UNDER CONTROL
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[post-gazette.com, September 28, 2006]
Wearing tie-dyed, beaded vestments crafted by Africans, the Rev. Dr. Angelo D'Agostino told the congregation of St. Clare of Assisi Church in Clairton about the plight of AIDS orphans in Africa. Father D'Agostino, 80, a Jesuit priest, and a physician, officiated at the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sept. 17. He visited at the invitation of the parish apostolate committee.
During the homily, he spoke of the three Nyumbani (Swahili for "home") programs he founded in Kenya: Nyumbani Children's Home, Lea Toto Community Outreach and the Nyumbani Village. There are 11/2 million orphans in Kenya, he said, and 25 million orphans in Africa. To dramatize the tragedy of HIV-infected children and the triumph of children raised in his orphanage, he told this anecdote:
A newborn boy was half-buried in the ground by, it was assumed, his HIV-positive mother, who feared her baby was certain to succumb to AIDS. The baby was found three days later and brought to the Nyumbani Children's Home in Nairobi. The home, founded in 1992, provides nutritional, medical, psychological, and spiritual care to abandoned children who inherited the HIV virus from their mothers.
The boy, who initially tested positive for the virus, later tested negative, and was adopted by a travel guide, who has taken the child on trips all around the world.
Since 2003, there have been no deaths at the orphanage, and Father D'Agostino credited medication and nourishment. The medicine keeps the disease under control, he said, reducing it from a fatal disease to a chronic disease, such as is diabetes.
Today, there are 96 HIV-positive children at the home, with 11 of those needing no medication. "Maybe I can help other kids and get the Nobel Prize," the priest said.
[Sadly, Rev. Angelo D’Agostino, SJ, MD passed away on 20 November 2006 – just two months after delivering this encouraging news]
Food, clothing and medical care is provided through the Lea Tota Community Outreach. His one-day Clairton stop was part of his limited U.S. visit to churches to raise awareness, donations and prayers for his programs. The programs receive funds through philanthropic relief efforts, government agencies of the United States and other countries, and worldwide donations. In the United States, it is supported by the nonprofit Children of God Relief Fund.
The success of the orphanage necessitated a place for the children to live as older teens. That led to the soon-to-open Nyumbani Village, a 1,000-acre site in the Kitui District for orphans to live with their grandparents in a self-sustaining environment.
After Mass, Father D'Agostino addressed the grade one through five religious classes, parents and visitors.
In attendance was Jocelyn Malik, 34, of the South Side, who is the manager of Corporate and Foundation Giving of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. She flew to Kenya twice at her own expense to volunteer at the orphanage. During her three-month stay in 1998, children were dying because of the lack of drugs. But that is no longer the case, she said.
"There is so much beauty and hope there," she said.
To donate or volunteer, visit: NYUMBANAI CHILDREN’S HOME or email info@nyumbani.org, or call 202-342-8488.
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