If one suffers, we all suffer.
My husband is going to Pakistan in a few weeks to help distribute water filters to flood victims and to document one of the greatest natural disasters ever known to our earth. My thoughts and prayers have been focused on those who are suffering from waterborne diseases now more than ever as I ponder what my response to my suffering brothers and sisters in Pakistan will be.
If you are wondering the same thing and would like to take action for those who have been so devastated by the floods in Pakistan, leave a comment below or e-mail me at diane@photogenx.net and maybe we can come up with some solutions together.
Freedom is sweet.
>> October 7, 2010 –
Chocolate,
Freedom,
Halloween,
Hershey,
Not for Sale,
October,
Pennsylvania,
Slavery,
Trafficking,
Trick or Treat
Reverse Trick-Or-Treating
It's not everyday that you have cute little monsters, scary ghosts or awkward teenagers in sort-of-costumes knocking on your door but fall has arrived and the time for trick-or-treating is fast approaching. You know the costumed masses are coming so this year, instead of turning out your lights and pretending you're not home, giving out healthy snacks (I've done this) or quarters taped to tracts clearly explaining how to escape the doom of hell (I won't mention any of my parents' names), why not participate in a new way? This Halloween families across the United States and Canada* will help to-END forced labor in the cocoa industry
-ERADICATE poverty among cocoa farmers
-PROMOTE Fair Trade
-CHANGE Consumer Habits…
…all by giving Fair Trade chocolate back to adults and kids as they Trick-or-Treat in their communities on October 31st.
Global Exchange is giving out FREE Reverse Trick-Or-Treat kits (containing fair trade chocolate attached to an informational card about the problems in the cocoa industry such as child slavery, environmental degradation, and poverty and how fair trade provides a solution).
*Global friends, please get involved, too!!!
Chocolate Campaign
Join Not For Sale in the "Raise the Bar Campaign" by selling delicious Sweet Earth Fair Trade Chocolate, hosting a film screening of the new documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate, and asking others to sign to petition to make Hershey’s fair trade. Your efforts in this chocolate campaign will:
1. Raise awareness of the ongoing use of child labor and human trafficking in the cocoa industry;
2. Inspire thousands to sign petitions asking Hershey to be transparent in the sourcing of their cocoa beans, and begin sourcing Fair Trade Certified cocoa;
3. Raise funds needed for the Not For Sale Campaign to end child labor and human trafficking in the production of chocolate.
Not For Sale has partnered with Sweet Earth Chocolates so you can offer 100% organic Fair Trade chocolate to your friends and family! This chocolate comes from grower co-operatives that monitor their operations to ensure that forced labor was not used in the production of their chocolate.
Read more...
Next to Me
Sleeping at Last is making a yearbook! This band reserves a very intimate place in my heart since I walked down the aisle to one of their songs, Careful Hands, when Steve and I got hitched. Listen, exhale and check out the Yearbook Project that they are doing!
Like cold water to a very weary soul.
Have you ever had a day (or a month...or seven months) where you are tired and weary and feeling like you've lost a bit of perspective on why you do what you do? I certainly have had a lot of days like this since I got sick and my body has been fighting to keep up with my heart. Today I received news that gave me goosebumps and helped awaken my soul to the truth that the world is so much bigger than me.
If you have been reading for a while, you may remember when I posted about the opportunity that we had to spend time loving the children of Panama. While we were there we learned about an issue from Matt & Misty Hedspeth that we couldn't ignore- the adoption system (or lack thereof) in Panama. While we were learning about the government controlled orphanages, restrictions on child placement, the only 9 foster families in the whole country and the stigma surrounding taking a child from a different family, class or culture into your home, most citizens of Panama are left unaware that there are problems behind the walls of the brightly painted buildings that housed thousands of abandoned, forgotten or orphaned children.
Matt & Misty (a family rights lawyer) left their home in North Carolina a few years ago when they realized the desperation of the adoption situation in Panama. They founded Hearts Cry Children's Ministry to create efficiencies for orphans and wrote a proposal to the government to implement change in the system so that it would be compliant with international adoption standards. While we were in Panama the proposal was accepted, Heart's Cry Ministry was given office space in the president's office and just recently they have been able to place a few children in homes for adoption!
We created a publication for Heart's Cry Ministry to use with the proposal to bring the stories of the children to the hearts of the citizens of Panama. The book needed to be approved by the government before printing (since the children are under the guardianship of the government) and a year later- the book is approved for printing!!! (did you get goosebumps?)
If you would like to contribute to the printing and distribution of this book, please contact Heart's Cry Ministry.
"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land" Proverbs 25:25
Read more...
Every Nation, 24 hours and YOU.
>> October 3, 2010 –
diversity,
documentary,
film,
media,
one day on earth,
participation,
photography,
raise your voice,
world
Remember when I shared about "One Day on Earth" back in April? Well October is here and in just a few days it will be time to join thousands of inspired citizens all across the globe will record the human experience over a 24-hour period for the largest participatory media event in history! Visit the One Day site to register and contribute your voice!
Founded in 2008, ONE DAY ON EARTH is creating an online community, shared archive, and film. Together, we will showcase the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occur in one day. We invite you to join our international community of thousands of filmmakers, hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. Through the One Day on Earth platform, we will establish a community that not only watches, but participates. Read more...
A Wake up Story
This video from Healthy Child Healthy World is about safety for children but is applicable for all of us. We come in contact toxic chemicals each day. Thanks Jeanette for sharing it!
Read more...
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