5 Ways We Will Stop the Haiti Cholera Outbreak...TOGETHER

After  the devasting earthquakquake 9 months ago I started to follow some guys who have gotten in on action for Haiti. One of these human beings is @ShaunKing, a 31 year old husband, father, pastor, and grad student (in that order) in downtown Atlanta.  He is the Lead Pastor of The Courageous Church - a  new, diverse, exciting church in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Shaun  has been shot at, robbed, beaten within an inch of his life, and nearly killed in car crash, but just won’t die.  He has taken this as a sign that God hasn´t finished with him and has decided to squeeze all of the potential out of life as a sign of his thankfulness to God for so many second chances. Today, after the shocking news about the Haiti Cholera Outbreak, I found the message below on Shaun´s  facebook site. 

Help to spread the good prevention around. You´ll find the links in the text below.  
Show THAT YOU CARE, tweet the news stories and demand a solution.

Thank you for reading. 
Love and God bless. 
Cassarah (from the "it´s-all-for-love-webteam")

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"I am writing this quickly, but have thought it through and talked with people on the ground in Haiti and here in the states.  I will work with anybody who wants to be a part of this solution. We have already sent money, supplies, people, and more to Central Haiti and they are there as I type.

I hope I have built up credibility with you for getting things done.  If not, I urge you to find someone you trust that is a part of this solution before thousands of people die of a preventable illness that is cheap to combat.

1. I honestly think $100,000 that is spent well would solve this entire problem.  The items that we need to stop the spread of cholera and nurse people back to health are inexpensive.  Every dollar you donate @ aHomeInHaiti.org for the next 7 days will go directly to this outbreak.  This is the quickest way to get things flowing.  If you give today we will spend it right away on antibiotics, clean water, salt, sugar, iv's, antibacterial solution, and education tools.

2. We have a company offering to give us $100,000 for our causes in Haiti. What we have to do is SUPER SIMPLE. If you go to TripAlertz.comand sign up there, they will donate $1 to our cause - up to $100,000.  Over 10,000 people have signed up already and we have 90,000 opportunities left to raise $100,000! It take less than 20 seconds, is free (no credit card needed), is not a scam, etc.  The company is like the Groupon of travel.

3. Continue to make this a BIG DEAL on Twitter & Facebook.  Do NOT spread misinformation, but tweet the news stories, demand a solution, and show the world YOU CARE!  I am 100% sure that YOU & I are able to affect the news cycle and make this a priority for the world.  This is essential.

Let's make this the TOP NEWS story on the news tonight!

4. Help spread GOOD PREVENTION information in every way you know how.

Here is a PDF on cholera prevention in English.  Here is one in Kreyol.

5. This last one is about your heart.  Commit in your heart that you will see this solution all the way through. Kids are dying because they are drinking dirty, infected water and YOU can change it.  Let's do it.

UPDATE :: I am working with a few people & organizations on the ground and I will report how you can support them directly as I get the information."

~ Shaun King

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Webteam-Addition: Some more useful links:

• Current Map of the Cholera Epidemic 
 update from 10/23/2010 at 11:10 am

• Medical Treatment: Zinc Supplementation in Cholera                                      
• Free Health Materials in Kreyòl, Spanish and English
• Health map Haiti: New safe water installations

 

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Children's Day, October 2010 - The price of the Gold

For this month's Children's Day on our blog I wanted to write something about a project that aims at bringing smiles on children's faces - but in light of a news bulletin I watched yesterday,
I had to write about something else.

This is not a fully document piece of writing and I apologize for that. you will find much more well documented reports from the sources I mentioned and on the suggested links below.
This is aimed at only bringing attention to a situation that affects a large number of people and children especially as a high risk group.



Photo : The Ecologist

Gold. It's symbolism is associated to deity and power. It's shiny aspect has been the pride and joy of many. It is a big part of the global economy.
Throughout history has been part of the rise and fall of empires and people.
For communities and individuals have been a way out of poverty but much to often this claimed too many lifes and destroyed too much of other nature's riches. Gold mining is on debate in my country so this has very close ties to 'home".



Photo : guardian.co.uk

In the past weeks news agencies have been reporting on information from UN, Doctors Without Borders and World Health Organization about an outbreak of lead toxicity in northern Nigeria, the Zamfara State.
According to WHO, The Zamfara State Ministry Of Health released data about a pattrn of childhood death and illness in at least 6 villages in the Local Government Areas of Bukkuyum and Anka.
Doctors Without Borders reports that earlier this year, cases of lead poisoning in children and adults were confirmed in 5 villages in Zamfara State and newer data show an increase of the affected population area.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted a preliminary study say that in the affected villages more people have died this year then anywhere in the world over the past 40 years.
Mining has been banned for several months in the northwestern Nigerian State

International agencies are working in an attempt to contain the pollution but 
18,000 people are affected by mining activities 
(may that be mining of the gold or processing it).

At least 400 children have died from poisoning.
(Reuters)



Photo : The Nigerian Inquirer

Further more the communities are reluctant to offer information about lead-related illnesses or deaths - gold is the mean of escaping a life of severe poverty2 hours extracting it from the ground could be the equivalent of 2 months cultivating millet.
Sacrificing children and the surrounding environment is not the grounds for sustainable development. I'm not denying the right of each individual to the pursuit of better living nor am I judging those who do.The problem should be tackled by local, national and international authorities in the sense of creating legal background and means to implementing long term development programs from which the communities will be able to profit from without compromising the future.

The Nigerian Inquirer - The Tragic Gold Mining Affair in Zamfara State
http://www.nigerianinquirer.com/2010/07/06/the-tragic-gold-mining-affair-in-zamfara-state/

Reuters - 400 Nigerian children dead from lead poisoning: MSF
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69439J20101005

Michael Jackson In His Own Words

I have taken this from Michael's Dancing the Dream. I love this book & i'm sure all of you do too it's hard to pick just one piece to post because they are all so great but here you go & I hope you enjoy it :)

That One In The Mirror

I wanted to change the world, so I got up one morning and looked in the mirror. That one looking back said, "There is not much time left. The Earth is wracked with pain. Children are starving. Nations remain divided by mistrust and hatred. Everywhere the air and water have been fouled almost beyond help. Do something!"
That one in the mirror felt very angry and desperate. Everything looked like a mess, a tragedy, a disaster. I decided he must be right. Didn't I feel terrible about these things, too, just like him? The planet was being used up and thrown away. Imagining earthly life just one generation from now made me feel panicky.
It was not hard to find the good people who wanted to solve the earth's problems. As I listened to their solutions, I thought,"There is so much good will here, so much concern." At night before going to bed, that one in the mirror looked back at me seriously. "Now we'll get somewhere," he declared. "If everybody does their part."
But everybody didn't do their part. Some did, but were they stopping the tide? Were pain, starvation, hatred, and pollution about to be solved? Wishing wouldn't make it so--I knew that. When I woke up the next morning. that one in the mirror looked confused. "Maybe it's hopeless," he whispered. Then a sly look came into his eyes, and he shrugged. "But you and I will survive. At least we are doing alright."
I felt strange when he said that. There was something very wrong here. A faint suspicion came to me, one that had never dawned on me so clearly before. What if that one in the mirror isn't me? He feels separate. He sees problems "out there" to be solved. Maybe they will be, maybe they won't. He'll get along. But I don't feel that way-- those problems aren't "out there" not really. I feel them inside me. A child crying in Ethiopia, a sea gull struggling pathetically in an oil spill, a mountain gorilla being mercilessly hunted, a teenage solider tembling with terror when he hears the planes fly over: Aren't these happening in me when I see and hear about them?
The next time I looked in the mirror, that one looking back had started to fade. It was only an image after all. It showed me a solitary person enclosed in a neat package of skin and bones. "Did I once think you were me?" I began to wonder. I am not so separate and afraid. The pain of life touches me, but the joy of life is so much stronger. And it alone will heal. Life is the healer of life, and the most I can do for the earth is to be its loving child.
That one in the mirror winced and squirmed. He hadn't thought so much about love. Seeing "problems" was much easier, because love means complete self honesty. Ouch!
"Oh, friend," I whispered to him, "do you think anything can solve problems without love?" That one in the mirror wasn't sure. Being alone for so long, not trusting others and being trusted by others, it tended to detach itself from the reality of life. " Is love more then real pain?" he asked. "I can't promise that it is. But it might be. Let's discover," I said. I touched the mirror with a grin. "Let's not be alone again. Will you be my partner? I hear a dance starting up. Come" That one in the mirror smiled slyly. He was realizing that we could be best friends. We could be more peaceful, more loving, more honest with each other every day.
Would that change the world? I think it will, because Mother Earth wants us to be happy and to love her as we tend her needs. She needs fearless people on her side, whose courage comes from being a part of her, like a baby who is brave enough to walk because Mother is holding out her arms to catch him. When that one in the mirror is full of love for me and for him, there is no room for fear. When we were afraid and panicky, we stopped loving this life of ours and this earth. We disconnected. Yet how can anybody rush to help the earth if they feel disconnected? Perhaps the earth is telling us what she wants and by not listening, we fall back on our own fear and panic.
One thing I know: I never feel alone when I am earth's child. I do not have to cling to my personal survival as long as i realize, day by day, that all of life is in me. The children and their pain; the children and their joy. The ocean swelling under the sun; the ocean weeping with black oil. The animals hunted in fear; the animals bursting with the sheer joy of being alive.
This sense of "the world in me" is how I always want to feel. That one in the mirror has his doubts sometimes. So I am tender with him. Every morning I touch the mirror and whisper. "Oh friend, I hear a dance. Will you be my partner. Come"

Michael Jackson's name uncovered !.

Today is a great day for all of Michael Jackson's fans all over the world because finally Michael Jackson´s name was uncovered from the Gardner Street Elementary School Auditorium in Hollywood. After fifteen years having the name covered thank to the efforts of the Uncover MJ's name team and lots and lots of fans who dedicated time to wrote mails asking for the name to be uncovered, today it is. The It´s all for love blog team would like to congrats and say thank you to the Uncover MJ's name team for their hard work, for never giving up, and for believe that everything is possible. Also wants to say thank to Jodi Gomes and Mrs. Katherine Jackson because they also made this possible, by taking the time to know about the cause and to work side by side with the Uncover MJ's name team. And we can't forget to say a big THANK YOU! to all the fans who also made that this incredible moment happened, those fans who always being there by re tweeting something on twitter, or by posting something on their facebook walls, or by signing petitions and writing letters and e-mails talking about the cause, but not just this cause but lots of more causes that I'm sure in due time will reach the goal we're seeking. Today we've to be proud of what all of us made, working together, side by side.

I'm sure Michael is proud of us, their fans. He's celebrating in heaven, doing his dances and smiling with that big, bright and beautiful smile that only he has. But most of all I'm sure that today Michael can be sure that he has the best fans in the world. Fans who love him with an incredible passion, that support him in everything he wanted to do, fans who are loyal to him and his beliefs, and fans that now that he's in heaven will continue to make him more alive than never by keeping his legacy intact and trying to make the world a better place.

Today one of our missions were accomplished, but there's many more that we've to work together to make them come true. And if you allow me I'd like to close this by quoting something that Michael Jackson said in one of his songs:

"THERE´S NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE, IF WE RAISE OUR VOICE AS ONE.".

Today we did it, may let us to make this many more times and I'm sure we'll succeed in everything we want to accomplish.

You have the opportunity to read the statements made by LAUSD and MRS. KAtherine Jackson through Taj Jackson twitter account.

Statement made by Katherine Jackson.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/6ghahm

Statement made by LAUSD:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=166754980002531

Today more than ever:

IT ALL FOR LOVE.

L.O.V.E !

Faith and human spirit

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

Nelson Mandela

The next time we find ourself with our heads down, looking for signs or asking for answers, we should look inside and trust. Trust in God whom is always walking along us, trust in ourself because we have been blessed with many gifts, trust in each other and love.

Photo telegraph.co.uk

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 El Mercurio - Mosaic tribute 

http://www.emol.com/especiales/2010/fotos_AD/mosaico_mineros/index.htm

http://www.emol.com/

It´s all for L.O.V.E: Requiem For A Dream

It´s all for L.O.V.E: Requiem For A Dream

Watch or re-watch a brilliant video montage and really wonderful tribute from 3utterfly, which shows what Michael Jackson will always be remembered for .....

Happy Birthday, John Lennon

John Lennon


Imagine lyrics


Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky



Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...


 
You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one



Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...



You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one.

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We celebrate the life of John Lennon,
whose birthday is today...


R.I.P., John - we miss you.

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Thank you for the music and the inspiration

*Thank you for the music and all the inspiration, 

which makes you going to live forever.

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*Edit: enjoy Google´s tribut 

 

Special thanks to the creative guys from Google.

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Berlin´s Wall

20 years ago a country has gotten its freedom by its reunification...

    Credits to Heiko Burkhard

www.lilano.com

Berlin 1989 

They hated the Wall, but what could they do? It was too strong to break through.

They feared the Wall, but didn't that make sense? Many who tried to climb over it were killed.       

They distrusted the Wall, but who wouldn't? Their enemies refused to tear down one brick, no matter how long the peace talks dragged on.

The Wall laughed grimly. "I'm teaching you a good lesson," it boasted. "If you want to build for eternity, don't bother with stones. Hatred, fear, and distrust are so much stronger."
They knew the Wall was right, and they almost gave up. Only one thing stopped them. They remembered who was on the other side. Grandmother, cousin, sister, wife. Beloved faces that yearned to be seen. 

"What's happening?" the Wall asked, trembling. Without knowing what they did, they were looking through the Wall, trying to find their dear ones. 

Silently, from one person to another, love kept up its invisible work.

"Stop it!" the Wall shrieked. "I'm falling apart." 

But it was too late. 

A million hearts had found each other. 

The Wall had fallen before it came down.

~Michael Jackson, excerpt from his book " Dancing The Dream"

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