tagged w/ Orphans
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How are American kids (and adults) supporting orphans in Mexico, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Africa, and Nicaragua?
Rebecca Neuenswander, Founder of the HALO Foundation (Helping Art Liberate Orphans), gives you a first hand look at what Americas youth are doing to help orphans around the world. No dogma, just food, water, shelter, clothing, education, and art therapy.
HALO Foundation
www.haloworldwide.org
Production Stills
www.flickr.com/photos/fryflux/sets/72157602080873494/
Credits
www.ambitiouspixels.com
How are American kids (and adults) supporting orphans in Mexico, India, Cambodia,... more
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Gazi Abdullah, a gentle, articulate 11-year-old considers himself fortunate. He describes a life filled with friends, games of cricket, and top scores in math.
But it hasn't always been so. Without a trace of self-pity, he tells how his father was killed in crossfire between separatist militants and the Army when he was two years old.
"After that our home was not in a good condition," he says, alluding to the wretched poverty that he, his mother, and his sister endured for years.
Today, Gazi lives at an orphanage in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, with 350 other children ages 6 to 18, more than half of whom are victims of Kashmir's 20-year insurrection against India.
Between 60,000 and 100,000 children in this state of 5.5 million people are thought to be orphans – a term here that refers to children who have lost their fathers and whose mothers are too poor to look after them.
Before 1989, when separatists began their uprising against India, Kashmir had few orphanages. Srinagar had just one, with fewer than 20 children. But today there are half a dozen large institutions in the city – and even more scattered throughout the Kashmir Valley.
"This was never part of our culture before all the violence," says Saifullah Khalid, the principal of the Muslim Welfare Society-run orphanage where Abdullah lives.
"Before, people would never have taken their brother's children to a strange place and left them there," he says, gesturing at the orphanage's bare, unfurnished interior. "They would have adopted them. But with the huge numbers of deaths, this became impossible," he says.
Kashmiris have responded generously to the plight of orphaned children by donating to the orphanages, "especially at Ramadan," says Dr. Khalid. This orphanage, like several others here, receives some funding from the Indian government that allows the organization to give monthly bursaries to several hundred fatherless girls, which allow them to remain at home and in school.
"And we do what we can with these boys," Khalid adds, briefly pressing his hand to his heart, "to give them the love and affection that they miss from their families."
Nighat Shafi Pandit, a well-known Kashmiri activist and chairwoman of the Help Foundation that runs schools for orphans and other poor children in and around Srinagar, says that at the height of the conflict in the mid-1990s, there were days when up to 100 people, mostly men, were killed.
She regrets that the government did not give more support more quickly to the widows these deaths created that could have allowed their children to remain at home.
************CONTINUES BELOWGazi Abdullah, a gentle, articulate 11-year-old considers himself fortunate. He... more
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The Ugandan Orphans Dance Troupe is a truly amazing dance group, which is comprised of twenty-two orphans who make international tours in order to financially support themselves and other children at two orphanages in Uganda. Most of the members have lost one or both parents to AIDS and have had parents killed by Ugandan rebels.
This article presents a number of absolutely stunning photographs, as well as the touching documentary about the Ugandan Orphans Dance Troupe, “Transcendent Spirit: The Orphans of Uganda.” It also includes two videos of vibrant dance performances by The Ugandan Orphans Dance Troupe.
The Ugandan Orphans Dance Troupe is a truly amazing dance group, which is comprised of... more
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Extraordinary People
It's often difficult for children fleeing war zones to adjust to living in the U.S. Flavia Colgan tells Maggie Rodriguez about a soccer coach who's keeping these kids focused on and off the field.Extraordinary People
It's often difficult for children fleeing war zones to... more
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Haiti's orphans desperate for aid
Sept. 20 - The UN says tens of thousands of children have been orphaned in the wake of three consecutive hurricanes: Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike.
Haiti's orphans desperate for aid
Sept. 20 - The UN says tens of thousands of... more
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Zimbabwe lifted an almost three-month-old ban on the work of aid groups on Friday. The government had imposed the ban because it claimed some of the groups had been backing the opposition during a bitter election season in which President Robert Mugabe was fighting for his political survival.
The suspension of the groups’ field operations deprived more than a million orphans, schoolchildren, the elderly and other impoverished Zimbabweans of food and other basic assistance, according to the nations that donated the aid.
The effects of the aid restrictions will linger. The United Nations World Food Program had planned to feed 1.7 million Zimbabweans next month, but was unable to deploy its partners on the ground, the suspended aid groups, to identify and register the needy this month.
“We will not be able to reach most of those 1.7 million people,” said Richard Lee, a spokesman for the World Food Program. “We will try to reach as many as possible, but we haven’t even begun to do the essential preparatory work.”
The groups have long said they provide aid based solely on need, not politics. But Zimbabwe’s minister of information, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, on Friday reiterated the government’s charge that some of the international aid groups had backed the opposition against Mr. Mugabe, providing food only to opposition supporters and funneling aid money into the coffers of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.
“During the elections they were monsters,” he said. But now, he added, “since there are no elections, we hope they will now go back to their core business.”
“I hope some have now repented,” he said.
The aid groups have challenged the government to prove its case. Asked which nongovernmental organizations had used food for political purposes, Mr. Ndlovu declined Friday to name any. “They know themselves,” he said.
The United States, which last year provided $171 million in food aid to Zimbabwe, said that it was Mr. Mugabe’s government that used food for political ends. This week, the American ambassador to Zimbabwe, James D. McGee, wrote to the social welfare minister, Nicholas Goche, demanding that the United States government be reimbursed for the theft of 20 metric tons of American-donated food. The aid had been meant for schoolchildren, but was instead confiscated by the authorities and handed out at a ruling party political rally.
In the letter, Mr. McGee also said that 170,000 schoolchildren had been denied food donated by the United States because of the ban, while 455,000 people had missed out on water, sanitation and public health programs. Mr. McGee said the government must immediately lift the restrictions and stop harassing aid workers.
“However, if you choose not to act, we will hold you personally responsible for the inhumane suffering caused by this ban,” Mr. McGee wrote.
Mr. McGee said in an interview Friday that the government’s restrictions on aid groups were a crime against Zimbabwe’s people. “This is purely politically motivated,” he said. “To talk about NGOs being politicized to get support for the opposition, it’s garbage.”
Aid officials had expected the government to end the ban after the June 27 presidential runoff, which was widely denounced as a sham. The opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, dropped out days before it was held, citing state-sponsored violence against his supporters. Zimbabwean political analysts said they believed that the government instituted the ban to clear the rural areas of aid workers who could have witnessed the worst of the state-sponsored violence against the opposition.
But the ban dragged on for two more months after the runoff, prompting a plea from Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, for restrictions to be lifted to avert what he called “a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”*continues*Zimbabwe lifted an almost three-month-old ban on the work of aid groups on Friday. The... more
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A test tube baby in India may become the world's first surrogate orphan after the Japanese couple who were to adopt her split up.
Ikufumi Yamada was due to adopt the girl with his then-wife Yuki Yamada but since their divorce she no longer wants anything to do with the child.
The law in India allows commercial surrogacy but does not allow single men to adopt.
This means Mr Yamada, 41, cannot take the baby from the hospital in Jaipur city, in western Rajasthan state.
Dr Sanjay Arya, who is caring for the baby, said the surrogate mother has also left the little girl, who is now being looked after by Mr Yamada's mother.
"The grandmother becomes very emotional when she is told that the child cannot be taken out of India," he said.
"The lawmakers will have to find some solution for this."
Without adoption papers, the baby girl cannot be issued a passport or leave the country, he added.
Experts say commercial surrogacy is growing in India. There are no exact figures but doctors work with surrogates in every major city.
The women are impregnated in-vitro with the egg and sperm of couples from all over the world who are unable to conceive on their own.
Surrogate mothers, often poor women with little education, earn around £2,500, plus all medical costs, for the service.
Most couples end up paying the surrogacy clinic about £5,000 for the entire procedure, including fertilisation, the fee to the mother and medical expenses.A test tube baby in India may become the world's first surrogate orphan after the... more
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Bogor, West Java, in Indonesia
Tigers don't normally snuggle with orangutans. The big cats are meat-eaters, after all. But when Demis and Manis the tiger cubs were rejected by their mother, zookeepers at Taman Safari Zoo thought they might like the company of two other orphan siblings: Nia and Irma the orangutans.
"The first time I put them together, they just played," says zookeeper Sri Suwarni. The four shared toys, wrestled, and took naps together. Then one morning, Nia and Irma began hugging Demis the tiger, and he lick-kissed them back! "That's when I knew they were true friends," Suwarni says.
As the tigers grew, their natural instincts started showing, so Suwarni moved them into a separate exhibit. Now two other apes Suwarni is raising have also made a new friend—a leopard cub.
Bogor, West Java, in Indonesia
Tigers don't normally snuggle with orangutans.... more
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"The Israeli military has begun shutting down orphanages, schools, bakeries and other organizations associated with the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS). In response, the ICS has received support from Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, among others.
• The Israeli military alleges that the ICS has links with Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization. The ICS has cited documents where the Palestinian Authority has approved the organization's work, denying the claim that it is affiliated with any terrorist organization.
• Israel and Hamas recently agreed upon a six-month cease-fire, to begin at 6 A.M. on Thursday. The ceasefire only applies to the Gaza strip, whereas the Islamic Charitable Society operates primarily in the West Bank.
240 Orphans are about to lose their shelter and care, 1700 children are about to loose their education, and an additional 4000 students and 5000 needy families are about to loose their support base. They all rely on the facilities and care provided by The Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron which runs 2 orphanages, 3 schools, 2 bakeries (to provide food for the orphanages), a dairy, a sewing workshop, a big mall and a 30 apartment building.
These facilities are not likely serve the community much longer as the Israeli Military has issued closure and confiscation orders on all property of the Islamic Charitable Society. Why? Because the Israeli Military accuses the ICS of being connected to Hamas, despite the fact that they have provided all requested certifications. The books of the ICS are open to inspection by the authorities and are audited by the Palestinian Authority, the schools fall under full supervision of the Palestinian Ministry of Education and the curriculum is identical to that taught in Palestinian Authority Schools.
The case has been brought before the Israeli High Court which still has to decide on the matter. Normally this would mean that one cannot act until the verdict is made. In this case however, the military did not have the patience to wait for this and acted under a so-called ‘emergency regulation’.
The Israeli Military raids have started on March 6th when the central warehouse in the Al-Harayeq area was targeted and everything needed to supply for the children and families was confiscated. The gates of the nearly completed girls’ school were welded shut and one of the two bakeries which provided bread for the children was ransacked; all equipment was destroyed.
Members of the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) and other internationals started to spend the night at the orphanages to ensure that their would be an international presence to document the violations. In the mean time the orphans have been evacuated and are staying with relatives, it is unknown if and when they will be able to return to their homes.
As expected the raids did not stop and so far the Israeli Military has returned three more times. First, on April 15 to destroy the second bakery and to set the oven on fire with its own fuel. Second, on April 30 to destroy the sewing workshop of the girls school; confiscating and ruining all equipment and even cutting up the sewing tables. The destroyed materials were later found in the city dump. Third, on June 5 to raid the ICS branches in Beit Ula and Shuyuk (close to Hebron) in order to confiscate and ransack schools, kitchens, kindergartens and administrative offices. Materials were not only destroyed, some were confiscated, amongst them orphan’s files, examinations and even birth certificates from the school.
Nobody knows when the next raid will be and what type of destruction this will bring. However, many people are standing up to save the orphanages from destruction and the AIC supports these initiatives. Next week it is my turn to spend the night.
If you would like to know more or find out how you can support the Hebron orphans, please visit their website at http://hebronorphans.blogspot.com.""The Israeli military has begun shutting down orphanages, schools, bakeries and... more
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She is waiting in line for her monthly food ration...she is only ten years old.
With 40% of the population under poverty line, Iran is ranked 27th on the 'list of countries by percentage of population living in poverty' and more and more underprivileged individuals in Iran are turning to private nonprofit charity organizations for help.
Due to the number of people in need, most charity organizations can only afford to give each person less than ten dollars a month, along with some rice and vegetable oil.
What adds to the problem is the number of orphans who rely on these charity organizations as their only source of income and food. Sometimes these young boys and girls, such as the girl in this documentary, also have to find a way to feed their younger siblings.She is waiting in line for her monthly food ration...she is only ten years old.... more
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China's earthquake has separated thousands of children from their parents - and left them potential orphans. At Jiuzhou Stadium in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, everyone is looking for someone.China's earthquake has separated thousands of children from their parents - and... more
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Do you have adoption fever? Or do prefer to sow your wild oats? With the world becoming increasingly overpopulated, one has to weigh the pros and cons of taking care of children who face a life of abuse, hunger and destitution versus slaving away for the gene pool master.
Author of the Liverpool study "The Madonna Effect," Professor Kevin Browne, asserts that there has been an increase in international adoption due to media attention surrounding Madonna’s fight for David. His main criticism is that the stars are overlooking needy orphans from their own countries, and they have started a dangerous trend.
"I don't see how anyone who understands how complicated it is to adopt a child could say that someone chose to do that as a fad. It's just too difficult. It's too traumatic," Madonna has responded.
As debate surrounds the pros and cons of this “fever,” AIDS Orphans Day is approaching. The May 7th campaign hopes to draw attention to the more than 15 million children, estimated to be 20-25 million by 2010, who have been orphaned by AIDS and face malnutrition and increased susceptibility to exploitation, forced labor, prostitution, and child soldiering. FXB International, the host of AIDS Orphans Day reports that fewer than 1 in 10 AIDS orphans receives any external support, many experiencing discrimination that bars them from healthcare and schooling in their native countries.
You can probably guess where I stand. How 'bout you?Do you have adoption fever? Or do prefer to sow your wild oats? With the world... more
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NORFOLK, Va. – Aircraft carriers, fighter jets and top secret security clearance are no stranger to the largest military base in the world – Naval Station Norfolk.
Enter one Operation Blessing tractor trailer filled with pallets of clothes, however, and a new mission is born.
OBI has teamed up with U.S. Navy's Project Hand Clasp, a para-military organization, to reach out to orphans in South America. Project Hand Clasp accepts and transports educational and humanitarian materials overseas on a space-available basis via various U.S.. Navy ships. Tucked away among the 97,000 tons of other materials loaded onboard The George Washington naval ship are 10 pallets of winter clothes donated from OBI.
Operation Blessing is working in coordination with Project Hand Clasp and the U.S. Navy to get these supplies to the orphan children in desperate need of these types of clothes.
www.ob.orgNORFOLK, Va. – Aircraft carriers, fighter jets and top secret security clearance... more
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Prince Harry is "bitterly disappointed" after learning that his £1.1 million pound charity has given less than a tenth of the money its raised to the AIDS orphans it was set up to support. Sentebale, founded in honour of Princess Diana, has raised £1.15 million since it was set up two years ago, but has distributed only £84,000 to children in Lesotho while £600,000 still sits in a bank account. Another £250,000 of that money has been spent on staffing costs, with one official receiving more than £90,000, £75,000 on vehicles and equipment and £86,000 on setting up a website, according to the Charity Commission.
Setting up operations of a charity certainly takes time and resources... but for some, including the Prince, these numbers leave an uneasy feeling. Though a spokesperson says that by the end of August, the resources will be allocated directly to projects supporting the children. Prince Harry is "bitterly disappointed" after learning that his £1.1... more
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Renato Kaleshi, aged 35, who was raised in Albanian state orphanages, died of pneumonia on 12 February in Vlora after living for years in conditions of misery.
The degrading and unhygienic accommodation in which Renato Kaleshi lived and died highlights the failure of the Albanian state to fulfil its legal obligations to ensure that orphans, when they reach adulthood, have access to adequate housing and to assistance and protection.
Renato Kaleshi had been paralyzed since childhood, allegedly following a fall which occurred while he was under state care in an orphanage, and since 1993 had relied on a wheelchair for mobility. He also suffered from heart problems. For the last 11 years, he had been living in squalid conditions in the semi-derelict former residence hall of the Commercial School in Vlora, together with nine other adults orphaned in childhood (adult orphans).
The group live in great poverty in this building, which is infested with mice, reeks of drains and has broken windows. They have no individual privacy, sharing two or three rooms between them. Nor do they have any security of tenure. The building is now private property and the owner is reported to have asked them to leave. The municipal authorities, who are primarily responsible for ensuring alternative adequate accommodation, have repeatedly failed to do so.Renato Kaleshi, aged 35, who was raised in Albanian state orphanages, died of... more
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Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Sudan, and most recently, Kenya and Chad. With as much civil conflict that is occurring on a single continent, this apathetic world is raising a generation of orphans and broken homes.Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Sudan, and most recently, Kenya and Chad. With as much... more
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One foundation turns to art therapy as a means to save the growing number of orphans worldwide.One foundation turns to art therapy as a means to save the growing number of orphans... more
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The above footage is of Gilbert Brown; Costa Rican native, professional surfer and Pura Vida No Pro volunteer. Gilbert showed up at the PVNP fresh off a third place finish in the Pan American games. As a Central American surfer he is making a serious run at the ASP world tour, which would be a phenomenal accomplishment. Gilbert is a local surfing star and in the midst of fielding tons of attention for his performance at the pan-am games, was amazing in the way he interacted with the kids. And though the video above shows more of his touchy feely side, we have some footage of this guy ripping some head high Las Olas beach break. Stay tuned to the film for more...
The event went off very nice, with a number of kids getting up on their first waves. Marvin, one of the veteran campers, became the first kid from Casa De Suenos orphanage to enter the contest. He was part of the winning team and paddled in to a huge crew of fellow kids who came down to the water to meet him and congratulate him. Pretty rad.
OPP is very lucky to have been invited on this project and I think we can do it justice. There were dozens of volunteers from Charleston, Arizona, California, and I think every local surfer in the Jaco, CR area showed up to help.
The thing I hope we can get across in this video is that these folks flat have a good time while doing this. That it is an easy thing to build into an action sports or eco-vacation. Help a kid get up on a wave.
These guys come to Costa Rica, catch waves, have surf-rock star parties and they laugh -- a lot. But when those kids climb off that bus, it becomes a bonding experience and sheer fun and games for all. We first met Marvin at the orphanage our first day in San Jose and when asked about the PVNP, his shy response was "it is the best day of the year".
A huge shout out to Chuck H. for his phenomenal camera work and great attitude, Timo, the crew at Los Alos, Michael and Marcel, and all the people showing some big love and catching some big waves.The above footage is of Gilbert Brown; Costa Rican native, professional surfer and... more
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