I was perplexed by the negative feedback on this video. So much hate coming from an effort to share love with others. Personally I am not, nor ever was, a Michael Jackson fan but I think the sentiment behind the production is bigger than any one person involved and God has always used cracked pots to accomplish his work.
Don’t let hate win. Do what you can to help.
In a recent interview Karen Lewis talked about current status on the construction of Sonshine Hacienda Children’s Care Center in San Felipe, BC, Mexico and shared information about upcoming fund-raising events to be held in support of the Center. For more information contact Karen or Gary Lewis at missionaries2@yahoo.com.
Read more about San Felipe Food Bank:
Basic Food Needs
One of the favorite past times for San Felipe snowbirds and expats is looking for ways to contribute to the local community. One does not have to go to Haiti to see families in dire need of the basic necessities, like food for their tables.
Mark LaPointe has taken these needs to heart and spends a great deal of his day gathering, packaging and distributing food to families in need, right here in San Felipe. Having gone through all the paperwork necessary to run a non-profit organization in Mexico, his goal is to act as a central San Felipe food bank that will distribute groceries to other agencies who have food distribution points. In the mean time he puts together food parcels that are distributed three days a week by his group and others. One local group delivers food to the elderly and shut-ins.
In an effort to help support the growing need for more food, Mark, through the generosity of a local property
Oriental Rug at Bargain Price
owner, has set up a central collection point on Mar de Cortez where the organization will be conducting an auction every other Saturday. The first auction was held today, January 30, 2010. Items brought in to auction and a small percentage of the selling price is donated to the food bank. Some people opt to just donate things to be auctioned, with the total sales price going to the food bank. Items donated and not sold (or items not collected promptly after the auction) will be moved to an adjacent thrift shop where a portion of the sales is also promised to the food bank.
For more information about the San Felipe Food Bank contact Kyle +011 686 171 6898 Mark LaPointe at +011 686 576-0176.
Our hearts to go those thousands in Haiti who have lost not only their homes but friends and family members.
It is sad that disasters also bring out those who seek to prey on those wanting to help. If you seek to contribute to the efforts to help in Haiti, please direct your contributions to a reputable organization that will be sure to use the money for the benefit of those people in Haiti who need help the most.
I believe World Vision is one such organization.
You can find a list of other Charitable organizations that offer aid to Haiti.
Last Spring I attended a conference in San Diego and had the pleasure of sharing my room with a Sharon Dziruni, a lovely lady who is currently living in the UK but was orignally from Zimbabwe. Sharon and I share a common interest in learning to reach people on the internet. Sharon has been an inspiration to me in several ways. First she has made major advances in building a web site to answer questions and meet the needs of many women. Second, she has expanded my vision to see the challenges women face in other parts of the world.
Through Sharon, I became acquainted with a young woman by the name of Taremeredzwa Nomatter Mapungwana. Taremeredzwa is an 18 year old girl from Mutare, Zimbabwe who hopes someday to be a doctor. Both of her parents are teachers at a local primary school.
However, Taremerdzwa is suffering from a non-cancerous aggressive benign tumor involving facial bones (CEMENTO OSSIFYING FIBROMA). This has affected both of her jaws, and has spread to her eyes as well as her neck. She is about to undergo surgery to remove the tumor and complete a re section of the mandible as well as a partial re section of the maxilla (i.e. removal, grinding and re-arrangement of the lower part of her face).
Through an appeal on Facebook and generosity of many Taremeredzwa has been transported to England and is getting the surgery and medical care she needs. If you would like follow her story you can see it on Facebook “Taremeredzwa- We care” page.
Taremeredzwa still faces tremendous obstacles along her road to recovery. However, Taremeredzwa is only one girl of thousands in Zimbabwe who need our help. Zimbabwe is one of many countries where young girls are being victimized. While reading about Taremerdzwa I was lead to an organization called Girl Child Network.
Betty Makoni founded the Girl Child Network (www.gcn.org.zw) in Zimbabwe in 1998. She and 10 high school girls established a girls club in a local high school to combat the kind of terrible sexual abuse that Betty herself had undergone and that many girls were enduring from teachers, relatives, and even, officials. They marched across the country; they organized campaigns to teach girls their rights; they built empowerment villages to enable abused girls to heal and support each other.
I was so impressed by the work of this lady that I felt moved to write this article and share both Taremeredzwa’s story and that of Betty Makoni and Girl Child Network. Betty has been selected to be one of CNN’s top 10 Heroes of 2009. She gets my vote. Cast your vote for your favorite CNN 2009 Hero below.