Just Because It's Not Happening Here..

by Nomad

Even though this video is eight years old, this PSA, produced for Save the Children Fund, is still impactful.. and timely, especially given the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This video shows how a girl's life is completely transformed in one year.

 
Originally it was entitled "If London were Syria." But I found it online with the new (and probably more universal) title "Just Because It's Not Happening Here, It Doesn't Mean It Isn't Happening."

Allan Law, the Sandwich Man of Minneapolis

by Nomad

You've probably never heard of Allan Law. There's no reason you should have. This former teacher's not a man in search of fame. However, I think he does deserve a bit of recognition for the selfless work he has done for the last 12 years.
Every night, while most of us are sleeping.
And when you ask Law, why he does all this good work, he just says,"Because somebody has to care."

Idaho School Fires Cafeteria Worker for Giving Free Lunch to Hungry Student

by Nomad

A story from Pocatello Idaho about a middle school cafeteria worker and her act of compassion which led to her termination.

Thanks to a school district, the children in Irving Middle School in Pocatello, Idaho learned a valuable lesson about empathy and compassion.
The message was loud and clear: 

Don't do it or you will be punished.

When school cafeteria worker ,Dalene Bowden, gave a meal to a 12-year-old student who told her she didn't have money, she never expected to lose her job. After her supervisor saw what happened, Bowden was reported. He then told her that she was to be put on permanent leave.  

Soon after that, a letter arrived from the school district  which explained that Bowden had been terminated for "theft involving school district or another's property and inaccurate transactions when ordering, receiving and serving food."

No other transgressions were registered or warnings of prior misconduct were noted in the letter. If there had been a history of employee related problems, there should have been some kind of list provided.
Additionally, there was apparently no arbitration process in cases of termination. All decisions by the school district seemed to both final and unchallengable.

The single-page letter reads:

Consequently, because of the nature of your actions, the District will not be maintaining your employment in any capacity.

Bowden offered to compensate the school district for the $1.70 meal, but that offer was rejected. In reaction to the school district's decision, Bowden has been forced to contact a lawyer.

According to the school's website, Irving Middle School claims it is all about "kindness and community." 

Back in 2013, Principal Tonya Wilkes and the school's former principal Susan Pettit (who, in the capacity of human resource director, signed the termination letter) were all about "teaching students the importance of virtues and a sense of belonging and looking out for one another." 

The Farewell Gift from the "Fair Lady of the Hill"

by Nomad

One woman's last bequest will help provide shelter to Australia's homeless youth.

Last Friday, in a small ceremony, the final request of Lily Fardell, known locally as the "Fair Lady of the Hill" was formally carried out.
I'm sure you've never heard of her. After all, she wasn't a celebrity and lived a pretty average life.
Mrs. Fardell, a resident of the city of Newcastle, (the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales),  died earlier this year at the age of 96.

Her four-bedroom, three bathroom home, the historic Pacific House, was located in the prestigious suburb called "The Hill." 

And what a splendid home it is.

The home itself was built in 1871 and was sold to a couple living in nearby High Street. It originally housed Thomas Smith, a pioneering Newcastle builder who served on Newcastle council and was elected mayor in 1896.

With her husband, Noel, Lily moved to the Pacific House in 1958. Both of them were teachers. They were the actually the second owners of the wide-verandah home which looks out upon King Edward Park.
Pacific House became renowned for generosity and acts of charity and by all accounts, her home was filled with decades of pleasant memories.

When the Christmas carols were on across the road, she would host 40 friends who would sing along, drink tea and enjoy the odd tipple of good wine.

In so many ways, it was all that a home should be. A place of shelter where good things are shared with family, friends and even strangers.

Xunhui's Story: You Won't Believe What Can Be Achieved by the Blink of an Eye

by Nomad

Helen Keller, Steve Hawking and many others have demonstrated that the human spirit can often overcome what would seem to be impossible obstacles. From China comes one woman's story of determination, courage, and compassion.

Although she has been in a wheelchair since 2006, in almost complete paralysis, 62-year-old Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patient, Gong Xunhui has actually managed to write a 150,000-word book on her life. She did this remarkable feat by blinking her eyes. 

Three years ago, Xunhui’s family bought her an eye-tracking assistive device that she could use to communicate and also control a computer.

After it was installed, the first line she typed was: “I am very happy today, and after I get better at typing with my eyes, I will probably write an autobiography.”

Her book recounts Xunhui’s 12-year journey with ALS. According to the article, Xunhui would like to publish an autobiography and use the earnings to help other ALS patients.  

when she learned that many patients couldn’t afford 20,000 yuan ($3,000) respirators, and would eventually die of suffocation, she decided to use all the proceeds from her book sales to donate respirators.

Across the US, there are more than 12,000 people who have a definite diagnosis of ALS. That's according to a report on data from the National ALS Registry. 

Called Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS is, in fact, one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Although the disease affects all races, and ethnic backgrounds, ALS is more common among white males, non-Hispanics, and persons aged 60–69 years. Despite that, younger and older people also can develop the disease. Men tend to be affected more often than women.

Gong Xunhui beat the odds. Most people with the disease only survive three to five years. 

Pretty incredible story.

For the full story, follow the link below.

Leftovers: Hard Times for Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey

by Nomad

An unfortunate incident in an Istanbul fast food restaurant highlights the plight of refugee children in Turkey.

Last week, Turkish newspapers reported on an incident in Istanbul which you might not have heard about. It was pushed as one of those sign of the times stories.
According to one article, a young Syrian boy was assaulted by a manager at a branch of Burger King in an Istanbul neighborhood. Why?

The hungry child was seen eating french fries left over by a previous patron.

Eyewitnesses said the boy, who was apparently homeless, was eating french fries from discarded trays and collecting leftovers when the manager of a Burger King in Şirinevler on Istanbul's European side approached him and started slapping him before throwing him out.

Customers at the fast food restaurant were appalled by manager's reaction. They immediately recorded the details and used social media to publicize them. The photos showed the child with a bloody nose, sitting outside the establishment.  

Vancouver Restaurant Offers Free Meals to 50 Needy Residents

by Nomad

Matthew Robinson, reporter for the Vancouver Sun, tells us how the owner of one waterfront restaurant has decided to open his doors to the most needy in the community.

Now he is encouraging other restaurants to do the same.

Last Wednesday, Derek Oelmann and his staff at Vancouver's False Creek restaurant, Ten Ten Tapas,  hosted 50 low income and homeless people who live in the neighborhood. It was not the first time. Oelmann opened his doors twice since last December. 

In an interview, Oelmann said:

“What I’d like to see is this replicated by other restaurants...We did this relatively easily and inexpensively and could you (restaurateurs), once a month, open up your doors to the community?”

The idea is the flip side to new laws in the US against private citizens feeding the homeless.  Oelmann admits that there were some residents who were not exactly pleased. Homeless shelters have also had some of the locals upset apparently. However, other restaurant owners and private citizens have offered to help.

Ebola's Other Victims: The Orphans the Epidemic Left Behind

by Nomad

As the Ebola epidemic continues to claim lives in West and Central Africa, one of the indirect effect has been the children orphaned by the humanitarian crisis.

What does the future hold for these children? The answer lies in how much help they receive now.

Meet 8-year-old Lamin Borbor, one of the hundreds of orphaned children in Ebola-ravaged Sierra Leone. After losing both parents to Ebola, Lamin's new home is the Interim Care Centre (ICC) in Kailahun town, in the east of the country.  

In a recent news article, Lamin told a reporter for IRIN:

"I was brought here because I had nobody to take care of me. My parents died of the Ebola virus. but I have no fear [because] the people are taking good care of me at the centre."

Meanwhile Sierra Leone's Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs (MSWGCA) and international agencies struggle to find solutions for the orphans of Ebola. Although the Kailahun ICC is being managed by the government. the funding comes from organizations such as Save the Children and UNICEF. 

At this time it is the only center in Kailahun but a second facility for Ebola orphans has been opened last month in Port Loko, in the north of the country. Most doctors consider this to be ground zero for the epidemic in West Africa. At the moment, at least.

So how many children like Lamin are there? The exact numbers of Ebola orphans from all of the stricken countries is hard to place. (That's also true of the actual number of Ebola victims.) Three days ago, one UK charity, Street Child, released a report that estimates that in Sierra Leone alone it has left 7,000 children without parents. They also admit that that's probably a very conservative estimate.

A revised survey paints a far grimmer picture. Accounting for the current death toll, under-reporting of cases within the population, and data reports from local teams, the organization estimates there are at least 20,000 children in the region who have been effectively orphaned by Ebola – left with no-one to care for them. 

It is simply impossible to know. Many children living in rural areas may be unaccounted for, while many others end up on the street or are living with neighbors temporarily. Some parentless families are being raised by older siblings.

In contrast to the aid organizations' estimate, the IRIN news report:

Nationwide, more than 3,400 children have been directly affected by the virus, including at least 89 children who have lost one parent and more than 795 who have lost both parents to Ebola, according to the MSWGCA/UNICEF-led Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR) network. There are no accurate figures for the number of separated children, a spokesperson for FTR said.

Whatever the true figures, it is clear that the Ebola orphan crisis will become a long term social problem for a nation that already has more than its share of problems.

Criminalizing Charity: The Shame and Hypocrisy of a Christian Nation

by Nomad

Do city ordinances which forbid the feeding of the homeless violate the religious liberty of Christians? Why has there been so much more outcry about gay wedding cakes and yet barely a whisper when it comes to outlawing a core commandment of the Christian faith?

There's no denying that, from the time of the struggling Puritan settlers until this day, Judaic-Christian values have had a profound influence on American culture. Certainly more than any other religious teaching. This is true not merely in the so-called Bible Belt but in other regions and other aspects of American social life.

Of course, no fair minded person would say that America has no room for diversity of religious thought or that Christianity should be forced upon any citizen. Simply because a religion has an influence doesn't mean it has any more right to become the only faith or the national governmentally-endorsed religion. Yet, it is true that much of American morality has roots in this particular faith.

Despite what Justice Scalia has recently said, the government is constitutionally mandated to remain wholly neutral, neither supporting nor rejecting any religion. At the same time, according to past Supreme Court rulings, the government must also steer clear of interference with degrees of religious faith: from the devout to the unbeliever, all must be respected.

Even with the equally-strong belief in secularism (when it comes to religion and government), on a person level, the humanitarian principles found in Judaic-Christian teachings are generally considered the bedrock of American philosophy. 

Among those Christian unchallengables is the call to charity, a command to help those in need, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked. This idea, of course, is not unique to Christianity but it is generally where Americans draw their inspiration for doing good works.  

After loving the Lord with the second uppermost command is that we "love our neighbors as we love ourselves." And the two points cannot be separate in the Christian theology as the Book of John observes:

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person?

The Book of James one can find:

If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

In the Old Testament too one can find similar thoughts. Proverbs 14:31 for example:

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

And in the same book:

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

With regular outraged anguish about "religious liberty" the Far Right Christians seem strangely silence and disinterested when it comes to criminalizing one of Christianity's most noble articles of faith.

*   *   *

Only last month we featured a post about laws against feeding the homeless. Here's what it looked like in action when a 90-year-old man was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last weekend. 

Hunger in the Heartland: How a Record-Breaking Spaghetti Dinner Could Help Nebraska's Most Needy

by Nomad

Omaha spaghetti fundraiser in September hopes to bring the community together to break records for a good cause. 

Ms. Lin Leahy is a woman with a mission. 

Three missions in fact. 

The first mission?
This 54-year-old professional chef in Omaha, Nebraska has gathered together her friends, neighbors and co-workers in order to break the Guinness World Record. 

How? 

Well, with 3,780 pounds of pasta, 4,000 pounds of meatballs, Leahy aims to set the record for the most people served in one meal. That means, by serving more than 17,000 persons.

But it's much more than just a publicity stunt.

More than a Pretty Plate
With a board of directors made up of volunteers, Leahy's non-profit tax-exempt organization the Power of O.NE will also attempt to raise $100,000 for the Food Bank for the Heartland. 

But then, it's not just about the money. 

Her third goal is more far-reaching. The organization wants to raise awareness of food insecurities and also to remind people that a sense of community is formed when neighbor helps neighbor.

So, on Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., she plans to serve 20,000 plates of pasta, sauce, meatballs and green beans for $5 each at various local locations. Nobody will leave hungry, even if they can't pay. They hope people who can afford it will give more.

According to an article by Betsie Freeman, staff writer  for  the Omaha World-Herald,

So far, the group has found donors for all the food. The volunteers have reached out to area high schools and secured 13 serving sites in every corner of the metropolitan area. They estimate they’ll need 500 volunteers, and several groups already are interested in helping.