BLESSED ARE THEY...

“Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.” - Jonathan Swift

The New What’s Going On Blog has set as its theme the topic of “weariness”. A feeling familiar to all of us who have trouble dealing with modern days and the worldwide status quo… All of us who feel desperate, despondent, frustrated, downhearted, miserable, and yes downright exhausted and weary. Fatigued in spite of all of our attempts to right the wrongs, and make the crooked straight. My poem gives perhaps a little rest, respite and blessings to all of the dog-tired humanity who still try to make the injured world a better place, despite all odds…

Blessed Are They…

Who in adversity find hope,
And who in hardship cope
With endless woe and ill –
Who out of blackness, light distill.

Who even in injury forgive,
Finding courage to live and let live.
In meekness, their strength’s untold
They stand tall, resolute and bold.

Who have the energy to love
Even all those unworthy of
A sentiment so noble, tender;
Their own heart ready to surrender.

Who trust and still believe
All those who seek reprieve;
Who credit all of base humanity
With virtues that preserve sanity.

Who strive for peace and calm
And who on injuries pour balm;
Giving repose to all who are tired,
The sweetest respite they’ve desired.

Who make the crooked run straight
And the trivial things be great;
Who have humility, patience, charity
Giving their all with grace and verity.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 476 - TIME TRAVEL...

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things, not the great occasions , give off the greatest glow of happiness.” ― Bob Hope

I long for Christmases past… Of more innocent times, when wars and conflicts were all over and done with and WWII was thought of as the last great mistake of humanity. I long for the times when common decency, was just that - common and everyday, and could be relied upon even when meeting strangers in the street. The times when the Holy Land was really holy and holy for all, no matter what their religion was. I wish for the return of those years when shame was still felt by people, when even adults blushed, and when politicians dreaded public opinion a great deal as it could bring them down in humiliation for even minor misdemeanours.

I long for respect - respect for other people, respect for oneself, respect for nature, respect for life, respect for this piece of insignificant space-dust that we call our planet Earth. The respect that the indigenous cultures of this world had brought up their children to deeply live by for generations. I hanker for the family that I grew up with: A family whose members were tight-knit and loved each other, supported each other, had time to talk with, and listen to, each other. Where joys were shared and were multiplied manifold, and the sadnesses shared were divided and thus dissipated.

I wish for the return of those days where terror was a thing encountered only in scary movies, not that terror which is spawned by demented dictators or religious fanatics and their adherents. The terrorism that nowadays sacrifices innocents such that extremist ideologies are imposed upon millions. I wish for petty despots motivated by megalomaniac egotism, greed and shallow dreams of world domination to become only blots, dark stains in the history books, held up as examples to be avoided, and their horrible names to be uttered with disdain and indignation.

I long for Christmases past, when gifts were simple and love was more genuine, when times shared together and company enjoyed were more important than any well-known brand of merchandise, when people, not things, mattered. When consumerism was measured by how many logs were thrown in the fire so that the light and warmth of it was enough to melt any coldness in our hearts. Not the consumerism that generates trillions of dollars for the multinational companies at the expense of all the ordinary people.

A Travel Tuesday to the past this week, to the time and place where nostalgia takes me. A Christmas past, where as I child I experienced all those things that I now long for. Have a Merry Christmas if you can this year, and if you do, spare a thought for those who are living in hell not so far away - death, destruction, injustice, persecution, violence, racism, discrimination, misery, intolerance, extremism are only as far away as next door. Be grateful for the joy you experience and share as much of it as you can with others. My Christmas gifts this year are all merged into a donation for Doctors Without Borders, they do a great deal to help others in need…

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POETS UNITED - THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

“It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.” - Mary Wollstonecraft

This week, Poets United in its Midweek Motif challenge has as its theme, “The Kindness of Strangers”. I was in two minds about this as soon as I saw it. Kindness is a virtue and we should all be kind to one another, be they family, friends, acquaintances or strangers. But although I have been the beneficiary of the kindness of strangers, I have also been a victim of it. If I were to choose, I would choose the tough love of family, rather than the charitable kindness of strangers…

The Kindness of Strangers

My mother drank and beat me blue,
No tenderness in her stirred;
My father swore and stones he threw
He never had a kind word.

My brothers ran away from there
And from them nothing, ever;
My sisters screaming harpies were
A kiss, a hug? No, never.

I grew up stunted, gnarled and bent
Silent, scared of all the dangers,
And learned, alas, to be content
With kindnesses of strangers.

Our house a place of hellish strife,
Screams, beatings, evil torture;
I would be killed by gun, by knife
My fate as black as vulture.

Abused, defiled, and sold as flesh,
My life a nightmare hateful;
My anger born each day afresh,
My loathing greatly baleful.

And when I managed to break free,
And when I ran to shelter,
It was to strangers that I’d flee
But in their kindness welter.

For strangers may be kind and good
And their deeds may be well-intentioned;
But like a mother’s love for brood
None other can be mentioned.

A stranger’s kindness is not love
And may have many reasons;
It waxes, wanes as it behove
And change, as change the seasons.

I’d rather have my kith and kin
Look after me and love me;
A home to be so safe and cosy in,
With a snug loving roof above me.

THESAURUS THURSDAY - CORNUCOPIA

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.” Proverbs 25:21 – King James Bible

On my way home after work yesterday, I stopped by the supermarket to get some groceries. While there, I saw a couple of employees getting rid of items from the shelves. I was curious as it appeared that they were trashing them. I stopped and asked, and sure enough, the items were being thrown out as they had reached their ‘use-by’ date. I enquired whether the food was going to be taken to the tip or whether it would be given to be used somewhere – I don’t know where, but it seemed an awful waste to throw it out. They did not know for certain, but one of them thought the food would be taken to the tip.

I looked this up on the web and found a useful Government site from which I quote: 
“Manufacturers err on the side of caution: Manufacturers usually choose a ‘best before’ date well before the time when the food would be expected to deteriorate and spoil. A conservative ‘best before’ date is designed to encourage you to eat the product while it is fresh and at its best, so you should consider ‘best before’ dates as a guide only. Frozen and canned products, in particular, tend to keep their quality for some time after the ‘best before’ date has expired. Within reason, provided the food looks and smells as you would expect, it should be safe to eat, even if the ‘best before’ date has passed.”

Hence my thoughts about the food being donated to charity and used immediately, being a good idea. I presume it is cheaper for the supermarket to dispose of the food rather than organise pick-ups or deliveries, etc. There is always the threatening spectre of costly law-suits, also, I guess. It just seems a terrible waste, especially when people are going hungry every night.

This experience inspired the word of Thesaurus Thursday, which is cornucopia, seemingly apt for the excess and variety of goods available in our supermarkets this day and age…

cornucopia |ˌkôrn(y)əˈkōpēə| noun

a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn.

• an ornamental container shaped like such a horn.

• an abundant supply of good things of a specified kind: The festival offers a cornucopia of pleasures.
DERIVATIVES

cornucopian |ˈkɔrn(j)əˌkoʊpiən| adjective
ORIGIN early 16th cent: From late Latin, from Latin cornu copiae ‘horn of plenty’ (a mythical horn able to provide whatever is desired).

The Cornucopia, which symbolises abundance, is usually seen as a curved goat’s horn, filled to overflowing with fruit and grain, but which could be filled with whatever the owner wished. Often nowadays the horn has been replaced by a horn-shaped basket, especially in ornamental table pieces or decorative tableaux.  The Cornucopia has always been associated with Thanksgiving in the United States, though it was a symbol long before this holiday existed. Man has always been thankful for the abundance provided by Nature.

The Cornucopia originally came from ancient Greek mythology (Κέρας της Αμάλθειας – Amalthea’s horn) and the term is carried on today with a similar meaning. The oldest account of the origin of the Cornucopia tells that Zeus was committed by his mother Rhea to the care of the daughters of Melisseus, a Cretan king. Amalthea, one of the nurses, hung Zeus in a cradle from a tree, so that he could be found neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor in the sea. They fed the infant deity with the milk of a goat. While the infant Zeus was playing with the goat, he broke off one of the horns of the goat and gave it to his nurses, endowing it with the wonderful power of becoming filled with whatever the possessor might wish.

So the ‘Horn of Amalthea’ became the symbol of plenty, and whoever had it in his or her possession would never starve. The horn of plenty was regarded as the symbol of inexhaustible riches and plenty and became the attribute of several immortals. Another story tells about the fifth labour of Hercules. Hercules fought the river-god Achelous, who could take the form of either a snake or bull. Achelous failed to defeat Hercules as a snake and changed into a bull. Hercules ripped his horn off and diverted the river. This land became very fertile, and is a reference to the horn of plenty. Then the Naiads took the horn, consecrated it, and filled it with fragrant flowers. In the Roman version it was the Goddess Abundantia (Abundance) who adopted the horn and called it “Cornucopia”.

Some useful links regarding donating food to charity:
Australia:
Make Poverty History

http://makepovertyhistory.com.au

Salvation Army

https://salvos.org.au/

Youth off the Streets

http://www.youthoffthestreets.com.au/

USA:

America’s Second Harvest

http://www.secondharvest.org/

Children’s Hunger Fund

http://www.childrenshungerfund.org/

International:

Hunger Site

http://www.thehungersite.com/

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE 2015

“There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart.” - Daisaku Ikeda

The news from Nepal is getting worse and worse after last Saturday’s massive quake. The 2015 Nepal earthquake (also referred to as the Himalayan earthquake) occurred at 11:56 NST on 25 April with a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.8 or 8.1Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (Violent). Its epicenter was approximately 34 km east-southeast of Lamjung, Nepal, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 15 km.

It was the most powerful disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. As of 28 April 2015, more than 5,000 people were believed to have died as a result, with casualties reported in Nepal and adjoining areas of India, China, and Bangladesh. Within minutes of the earthquake, the Government of India, via the Indian Armed Forces, initiated Operation Maitri (English: Operation Amity), a massive humanitarian mission with the primary objective of conducting relief and rescue operations in Nepal. The Indian government also evacuated Indian and foreign citizens from Nepal.

The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 18 people. The death toll surpassed that of the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche, making it the most lethal day on the mountain. It triggered another huge avalanche in Langtang valley where 250 are missing. The quake and avalanches have changed the geography of the region and it is believed that Mt Everest may be a metre higher after the disaster.

Centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Kathmandu Durbar Square. Nepal’s government has declared three days of mourning after the quake. Continued aftershocks occurred throughout Nepal, with one shock reaching a magnitude of 6.7 on 26 April at 12:54:08 NST.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has announced that the death toll in Nepal’s earthquake could reach 10,000. Survivors’ despair is turning to anger at the government’s slow response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country, with food, water and other essentials in desperately short supply. At the moment, more than 10,000 people have been injured, however, there are warnings the full extent of the tragedy will not be known until rescue teams have reached “flattened” villages in remote regions.

You can help by visiting these websites where donations are accepted:

UNRefugees

AmeriCares

World Vision 

POETRY JAM - HOW TO

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” - Charles Spurgeon

Poetry Jam this week asks participants to: “…write a ‘how-to’ poem. The tone and intention of your poem are yours. What you write can be serious or lighthearted, genuinely helpful or even intentionally misleading.”

Here is my contribution:

How to be Happy

You start each day being thankful
For what you have,
No matter how meagre, or how inconsequential.
You offer up your gratitude
As if you were grateful for a treasure trove.

You keep yourself occupied,
In that which must be done,
No matter if it be work, a chore, or even a pastime.
You are gainfully employed as if your life depended on it,
As if you were performing the most momentous task.

You eat your meals, slowly,
With measure and moderation,
No matter how much is spread before you.
You eat only that which will just sate your hunger, and no more,
And feel as though you have partaken of a banquet.

You love with all your heart,
And let those around you feel wanted, needed,
Even if they do not reciprocate your affections.
You give of yourself liberally,
And feel your stores of good humour replenished endlessly.

You accept that which is offered you,
Willingly, gratefully, with deep appreciation,
For many will give you freely what they can ill-afford to give.
You accept lovingly, humbly,
And feel as though you have earnt heaven;
For truly you have, and you shall then be happy.

POETRY JAM - YOUR FAVOURITES

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” - Mahatma Gandhi

For this week, Poetry Jam enjoins its readers to write about “a toy or game you liked in your childhood”. Almost all readers of this blog will have a wealth of happy childhood memories where many hours were spent in carefree play. It is important to remember, however, that there are still children in the world who live and die in poverty.

Of the estimated 2.2 billion children worldwide, about a billion, or every second child, live in poverty. Of the 1.9 billion children in developing nations, 640 million are without adequate shelter; 400 million are without access to safe water; 270 million have no access to health services. In 2003, 10.6 million children died before reaching the age of five, which is equivalent to the total child population of France, Germany, Greece, and Italy. 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation while 2.2 million die each year due to lack of immunisations...

Our Favourite Toys

A hard life, where every day is a struggle,
Where putting bread on the table is hard labour,
Where drinking water is never taken for granted:
A life that cheats death every day.

A hard existence, where everyone works
To eke out a living, and children grow up early,
To till the barren soil, trying to raise a meagre crop:
A life that gives pleasures rarely.

A poor man’s lot, where bitter food is eaten greedily,
Where hunger never goes away completely, and disease kills,
Where most children never get a chance to grow up:
A life of want gratefully stopped short.

Our favourite toys:
A ball of rags kicked stealthily, in between chores;
Worn plastic containers, no good for reuse,
Make toy houses, cars and drums to beat:
In secret, while we steal a few moments to play.

Sticks, pebbles, twigs – and if you’re lucky –
An old bicycle wheel, to make of them whatever
Your boundless imagination desires,
Rubbish transformed into wondrous things;
And most precious of all:
Your little sister a living doll to care for…

If you are able to, please donate some money to ease poverty in some part of the world so children are able to live, and perhaps play:

UNICEF is the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF’s vision is of a world where the basic rights of every child will be met.

CARE Australia is an Australian charity and international humanitarian aid organisation fighting global poverty, with a special focus on empowering women and girls to bring lasting change to their communities.

World Vision is a worldwide community development organisation that provides short-term and long-term assistance to 100 million people worldwide (including 2.4 million children).

OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” - Les Brown

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

• 58 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 17 Africans
• 4 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be non-white
• 30 would be white
• 71 would be non-Christian
• 29 would be Christian
• 98 would be heterosexual
• 2 would be homosexual
• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from USA
• 80 would live in substandard housing 
• 70 would be unable to read 
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death
• 1 would be near birth
• 1 would have a university education
• 1 would own a computer...

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. The following is also something to ponder...

• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. 
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. 
• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. 
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...you are richer than 75% of this world. 
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. 
• If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
• If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. 

Consider donating some money to charity, because you are able to and because there are millions upon millions of people on earth who need support in order to survive just another day…

MERCY SHIPS

“Here are the values that I stand for: Honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.” - Ellen DeGeneres

I recently became aware of a fantastic initiative that promotes health and well-being in some of the most needy and disadvantaged populations in the world. It is the Mercy Ships, which is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients. Mercy Ships has operated in more than 70 developing nations around the world, with a current focus on the countries of West Africa.

The organisation has its International Operations Center (IOC) in Garden Valley, Texas. Mercy Ships also has 16 national resource offices in countries that include Spain, Britain, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Australia. A major inspiration for Mercy Ships founder and President Don Stephens was the work of the international hospital ship SS Hope. Stephens’ research showed that 95 of the 100 largest cities in the world were port cities. Therefore, a hospital ship could deliver healthcare very efficiently to large numbers of people. The birth of Stephens’ profoundly disabled son, John Paul, also inspired him to move forward with his vision of a floating hospital. A visit with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, further deepened his commitment to serving the world’s neediest people.

Mercy Ships currently has one vessel in service: the 16,500-ton flagship Africa Mercy, which measures almost 500 feet long. The Africa Mercy has greater capacity than all three previous Mercy Ships combined. The Africa Mercy is currently serving in the port of Pointe Noire, Congo, where its field service will last from August 2013 to May 2014. The ship was previously docked in Conakry, Guinea from August 2012 till May 2013. Before that it was docked in Lomé, Togo, for the first months of its 2012 Field Service. The Africa Mercy docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone for its 2011 field service, which lasted for 10 months. At the conclusion of each field service, the Africa Mercy goes into dry dock, where it is resupplied and receives any needed repairs or upgrades before heading to its next port of call.

Early in 2010, the ship was docked in Lomé, Togo for the 2010 field service. In August 2010, the Africa Mercy went into shipyard in South Africa, where it was equipped with new, more efficient generators. In 2009, the ship was docked in Cotonou, Benin from February to December, providing free surgeries and medical care. Mercy Ships also worked with Beninese citizens on agriculture and water development projects on the ground in Benin. In 2007, the ship made its official maiden voyage to Monrovia, Liberia, from the shipyard in England.

In 2008, the Africa Mercy continued its service to Liberia, offering free surgeries, assistance in healthcare infrastructure development, and community-based preventive health care programs that benefited thousands of individuals and many communities. More than 1,200 surgical procedures and 10,000 dental procedures were completed, along with community health projects such as HIV/AIDS prevention and construction of wells and latrines. Before the Africa Mercy arrives in port, flyers are distributed to alert the public to the ship’s upcoming visit. An advance team begins a massive screening of thousands of prospective patients, to see which men, women and children qualify for a surgery. It is common for people to walk for days (and even from neighbouring countries) to find out whether they may be eligible for surgical treatment.

The video below shows the ship and describes some of the work carried out by the dedicated staff that sail within.

Please share this and if you can, donate and help to continue the good work that is carried out by these worthy people.

CHILD LABOUR

“Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time.” - Grace Abbott

In the late 19th century and early 20th, child labour was not only common but an accepted part of life in even industrialised, Western nations such as Britain, USA, Australia and many more. The world painted by Charles Dickens in his novels, where small children were exploited by a cruel society brought home chillingly the everyday reality for many of his readers who were amongst the privileged and well-to-do. The upper crust of New York and Chicago in the early 20th century lived their elegant lives and were oblivious to the plight of the children in the factories, mines and sweat shops that provided them with their wealth. The struggling farmers, drovers and other itinerants and their families in the Outback in Australia, were far from the mind of the comfortably well-off city dwellers in Sydney and Melbourne in earlier days.

We may think that child labour is part of history and that we do not have to contend with such a problem this day and age. However, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated that 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries—at least 120 million on a full time basis. Sixty-one percent of these are in Asia, 32 percent in Africa, and 7 percent in Latin America. Most working children in rural areas are found in agriculture; many children work as domestics; urban children work in trade and services, with fewer in manufacturing and construction.

The problem is most acute in the countries where the economy, social services and political systems are such that force many people to live below the poverty line. Poor families will rely on the work of their children for survival. In such situations, it is often that the children who work provide the only source of income… Child labour is often hidden away because it is not in the industrial sector, but rather in agriculture, in the household, in cottage industries or within the urban informal circle. Long-term survival and well-being of a family will often dictate the course of action to take and this, in the short term means forcing the children to work, sometimes at an age as young as 5 or 6 years.

Childhood is a magical time that should be full of love, innocence, happy memories and a family that nurtures, educates and supports. How many millions of children in the world are denied this right? Think of how our lifestyle in the West is encouraging child labour. The cheap imported products on our shelves are often produced in the sweatshops of developing countries where children may have been forced to work in order to survive. We can help and support these children in a different way, rather than by buying these products that perpetuate the problem.

Some historical information may be found here, where the British experience between 1750 and 1850 is outlined. Child labour in the USA between 1908 and 1912 is documented here. The UNICEF page is informative but also extremely distressing. The International Labour organisation has an excellent subsite devoted to child labour with strategies for the eradication of child labour. And as far as helping individually to stamp this out, World Vision has a rescue plan that may be sponsored.

Be aware, care and do your little bit to help!

DAFFODIL DAY 2014

“You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It’s a mindset.” - Dave Pelzer

Tomorrow, Friday August 22 is Daffodil Day in Australia. This corresponds with Southern Hemisphere Spring and when these beautiful bulbs flower in southern Australia. They have long been held to be a symbol of hope of the Spring that follows Winter, and thus they have been adopted as a powerful symbol of hope for cancer patients. Daffodil Day is one of Australia’s best-known and most popular charity events devoted to fundraising for research into cancer.

Cancer is one of the major killers in Australian society. Each day more than 100 Australians will die of cancer. Daffodil Day raises funds for the Cancer Council to continue its work in cancer research, providing patient support programs and cancer prevention programs available to all Australians. Daffodil Day helps grow hope for better treatments, hope for more survivors, hope for a cure for all cancers.

To the Cancer Council, the daffodil represents hope for a cancer-free future. Everyone can help in the fight against cancer by participating in Daffodil Day. Daffodil Day merchandise is on sale throughout August, and people can donate to Daffodil Day at any time.

I hope that I see a day where cancer is no longer a death sentence for many people, where treatments are effective and relatively free of side-effects, where people can take an active role in effectively preventing cancer. Worldwide research to which Australia is contributing significantly makes this hope a realisable one.

More about cancer here.

CHRISTMAS 2013

“To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year.” - E. B. White
 

It’s Christmas Day and there is always time today to sit and reflect a little. It is a time for family, feasting and gift giving – a time for peace and togetherness and of spirituality. Yet even in our contentment, our minds should have charitable thoughts for those who are not able to celebrate as well as we are able to. There are many hotbeds of violence and warfare across the globe and the economic crisis still claims victims in many countries of the world. Extremes of climate and foul weather have made many people miserable on what should have been a happy day. This year, tens of thousands of Britons remain without electricity on Christmas Day after torrential rainfall flooded homes and hurricane-force winds battered the country.
 

Christmas in Australia tends to be a very relaxed time. It is usually hot across all of the continent and this means the holiday is celebrated out of doors. Barbeques, garden dining, Christmas by the beach and fun in the sun is what Christmas means to most Australians. However, we also have a problem with the homeless and the disadvantaged even here in the “lucky country”. Charity organisations do much to relieve the plight of beggars, homeless, the impoverished, the mentally unstable and the abused. The Salvation Army is the largest provider of homelessness services in Australia, and a report reveals that the Salvos helped 22,594 homeless people in the six months to December 31 last year. Furthermore, Australia-wide this Christmas the Salvation Army expects to assist more than 300,000 people during the Christmas period (this being double what is seen on average per month during the year). They will distribute nearly 500,000 toys to families in need; feed Christmas Lunch to over 14,000 people; distribute 100,000 food vouchers and hampers. You can donate to the Salvos here.
 

The plight of refugees is a worldwide issue currently and perhaps Australia does not have a very good record in terms of assistance to refugees. Many Australians view refugees unkindly as they regard them as “queue jumpers”, economic refugees, illegal immigrants. However, it is dangerous to tar all refugees with the same brush, as there are many who are people in genuine need and who face survival problems if they stay in their own country. Many of these refugees will be in mortal danger if they stay put because of civil unrest, warfare, political upheavals or problems of ideological conflict.
 

Australia for UNHCR is an Australian charity that raises funds to support the work of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Australia. The aim of this organisation is to help Australians change the lives of refugees and displaced people around the world. As well as providing emergency relief like shelter, food, water, and medical care, the generous supporters improve refugees’ future opportunities, providing infrastructure, schools, and income generating projects. Monthly donors also provide vital funding for UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams who are on the ground saving lives within 72 hours, whenever and wherever crisis strikes. Australia for UNHCR donations can be made here.
 

I cannot help but think of the plight of many people in Southern Europe – Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal who are facing enormous economic problems. With youth unemployment close to 50% in some cases, draconian austerity measures in place, and many years of problems with negative economic development, have left many people desperate – so desperate that the only solution they see is suicide. Suicides increased by 45 percent during the first four years of Greece’s financial crisis, a mental health aid group recently stated that there are indications of a further “very large rise” over the past two years. The Athens-based group Klimaka said officially reported suicides rose steadily, accounting for an annual jump in deaths from 328 in 2007 to 477 in 2011, according to data from the Greek Statistical Authority. The group said, based on its own research, the number of suicides has continued to rise through 2012 and 2013. It should be kept in mind the official suicide rate in Greece is lower than the actual as there is still considerable stigma attached to suicide.
 

Every so often a dramatic act of despair catches the country’s imagination. In spring last year a 77-year-old retired pharmacist shot himself in the head in the central square of Athens, leaving a note saying that he could not bear the idea of “scavenging in dustbins for food and becoming a burden to my child...” And anybody who knows Greece well can probably think of at least one acquaintance whose death was prompted, entirely or in part, by financial desperation.
 

Christmas is a special time of the year. For children especially, it should be a happy, magical, bright and peaceful time. Yet how many children the world over not only will not have gifts this Christmas, but also will go hungry? Millions of children are poor; they lack access to safe drinking water, essential vaccines, education and nutrition; they are at risk of being exploited and abused. You can make a difference by becoming involved locally, but also donating to help children further afield. The crisis in Syria for example claims many innocent children daily. Save the Children is an organisation that does very good work and you can help here.
 

Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the time with your family and friends. If you can, help make someone else’s Christmas happy too.

MOVEMBER 2013

“Everything I do from now on, I’ll have a mustache. I can promise you that. I don’t care who I have to convince. If you see me with a mustache in a movie or on stage in the future, you’ll know that I pitched the idea.” - Ty Burrell
 
Tomorrow, the first day of November begins the “Movember” campaign, which encourages men to grow moustaches for the month in order to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. This has helped raise the profile of prostate cancer and encourages men to see their general practitioner and get tested for prostate cancer. Statistics such as “one in eight Australian men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime” provide an impetus for men to be aware of the disease and do their utmost to get screened and be treated at an early stage fi they need to be.
 
Of course, prostate disease is not the only reason for Movember. Testicular cancer, mental and health issues affect men in high numbers and these diseases also are highlighted during the month, with an emphasis on diagnosis, treatment and raising of funds for research. Movember challenges men to grow a moustache for the 30-days of November, thereby changing their appearance and the face of men’s health.
 
In October Mo Bros sign up at www.movember.com, and on the 1st of November with a clean-shaven face start their Mo growing journey. Then for the entire month, these men known as “Mo Bros”, effectively become walking, talking billboards for 30 days. Through their mustache growing efforts they raise awareness for the often ignored issues of men’s health, by prompting conversations wherever they go.
 
Another crucial part of being a Mo Bro is to raise funds for men’s health. Men donate their face, and much like taking part in a run or a walk for charity, ask their family and friends to sponsor their efforts. Movember’s not just for men. The women of Movember are known as “Mo Sistas”. They play a vital role in the success of Movember by supporting and encouraging the men in their life to get involved. Mo Sistas also get involved by signing up at www.movember.com, and participate by raising funds and awareness themselves. Essentially, Mo Sistas do everything that Mo Bros do, without a mustache.
 
Since its humble beginnings in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 3 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate across 21 countries worldwide. In 2012, over 1.1 million people around the world joined the movement, raising AUS $141.5 million.

CHARITY

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” - Melody Beattie
 
I am fortunate that I live in a country where I can lead a comfortable life, have a good job and where rights of the individual are not only respected, but assured. Looking at the news items from all over the world that are reported on a daily basis, I can only be grateful for my lot. Although I have to work hard and spend long hours doing my job both at work and at home I take heart when I consider that in many places, the unemployment rate is above 20% and many people have been jobless for years.
 
Looking at a world where war is still raging, terrorist actions abound and where many millions are refugees, I am thankful that I have a home to go to every night and that my life is peaceful. When I hear people complaining about their life here, in Australia I get rather annoyed. What they usually grumble about is inconsequential little details that have nothing to do with survival, petty matters that cause trifling annoyances – rich people’s problems…
 
I am appreciative of my early morning walks, every day. Although I live in big city of nearly five million people, there are many parks and parklands where from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. every day I can go for a walk and enjoy the serenity of a little time alone with my thoughts and have the bonus of the physical activity that I need so much, considering I spend the better part of my working day sitting at a desk.
 
There is always fresh, wholesome food on my table and a person to share it with that smiles and talks with me. I can turn on the tap and enjoy safe, clean drinking water and if it’s cold I can turn the heater on. A comfortable bed awaits me at night and the sheets are freshly laundered. How many people see all of these things as luxuries and even their daily bread and water is not assured them?
 
One does not have to go far to find misfortune. Even here in Australia, we have poverty and homelessness. There are people living on the street and they have to beg to eat and sleep out in the open. Fortunately, these are a minority. Nevertheless, they are needy and their circumstances in many cases are not self-inflicted. I have a lot of time for the charity organisations that do wonders in assisting these people. The Salvation Army, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, The Smith Family, Villa Maria, St John’s Youth Services are but a few of these organisations, which though donations and the hard work of volunteers do a lot to relieve the misery felt by many people in our community.
 
Further afield, Australian charity organisations do a lot for aid and development of third world countries and many Australians sponsor children through World Vision, UNICEF, Save the Children Fund, Compassion Australia and many more. If you are comfortably off, consider helping others. You can volunteer some of your time, you can provide know-how, resources or help that is always needed. You can donate some money and this web site is a good source and has contact details of most of the major charities.