Help For Those With Basic Survival Needs

A local man  stands among the growing seedlings.

It's a hard life, living in a rural area of a third world nation. Life becomes a search for the basics of survival every day, no matter how sick or well an individual is. It's quite difficult to focus on anything else.

Vigaho Phuombah Marcel and his organization, MOTHER CARE CIG, has been helping those who live in the northwest region of Cameroon to improve their lives, decrease poverty and become empowered. The organization also includes women as equal partners, since how women are treated is important in improving life for those on the margins. Members are encouraged to share their skills and best practices with others in order to improve and sustain results.



Because a number of those in the area are HIV+, or have AIDS, a project was developed to provide better nutrition in order to strengthen physical condition. The idea was to provide children and adults who live in the Belo and Njinikom communities with seedlings of the Moringa Oleifera tree. This tree was chosen because its pods, roots, and flowers are all edible. Then those who were given the seedlings were provided with workshops on how to care for the tree. That would mean at least one source of nutrition close to the family dwelling.

This year, Mother Care participated in a set of activities in Abuja, Nigeria. A women's forum was held at a local church. It started out with some basic health screening. Participants were able to find out their blood pressure level and a nonfasting blood sugar level. Then there was a presentation on diabetes and hepatitis by one doctor from the national hospital. A second physician spoke about HPV (human papilloma virus) which can cause cervical cancer. Then Well Project's Global Ambassador, Bose Olotu Oladayo, spoke about HIV. The attendees were then given an opportunity to ask questions, addressed toward the three speakers. The total attendance was 120 women.

A member of the health team providing blood sugar and BP screening.

Afterwards, Ambassador Bose visited a camp for internally displaced people in Kuchigoro Abuja. The refugees came from the northern part of Nigeria, where the Boko Haram is active. Most had lost everything due to the bombings and killings. A significant number had lost loved ones; there were children who were orphaned. More than a thousand children and young adults reside in this camp. They receive psychosocial, emotional, nutritional, and healthcare support. This is what has befallen Nigeria's young. The Love in Action mission from the US showed up to provide medical, social, and nutritional support for 300 families. All of this devastation in a land across the border from Cameroon.

A member of the medical team at Kuchigoro Abuja ministers to a child.

Thanks for information from this article by Global Ambassador Bose on The Well Project: http://www.thewellproject.org/a-girl-like-me/aglm-blogs/update-global-ambassador-bose; from this article on Pollination Project: http://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/vigaho-phuombuh-marcel-sustainable-nutrition-for-people-living-with-hivaids/; and the above link.

Click here to visit Ebookslatinos.

Click here: COPING WITH DEPRESSION - MP3 AUDIOBOOK

A List Of Distinguished And Inspiring Women

Two girls fundraising for Bright Pink at a high school football game.

A few months ago, Lindsay Avner, who founded the organization, BRIGHT PINK, named five (actually seven) distinguished women that she was celebrating on Galentine's Day. For those who have never heard about Galentine's Day, that's the day you celebrate your girl squad, your BFFs, your inspirational group of female friends, as opposed to that one significant other, who is the focus of Valentine's Day.

1. Best Girl Boss: Janet Fouty, who is CEO and Chairman of Deloitte Consulting, one of those women who broke the glass ceiling to run a well-known consulting firm. She is also known for championing women in the workplace, through Deloitte's WOMEN'S INITIATIVE. She also founded Women in Technology, which operates in both India and the US.



2. Best Realist: Brene Brown is an author; her latest book being Rising Strong, which acknowledges the fallibility of human beings, but then being able to pick yourself up and move on when you falter. She sees that life can be a struggle, not the stuff of fairy tales. She advises people to admit to the struggle and have the courage to move through it.

3. Best Go-Getter: Journalist Alicia Quarles is a woman who lives life to the fullest and reminds others to do the same. This is a woman who likes to get to know the real side of everyone. And she is also fiercely loyal to her friends. When one of her friends died from ovarian cancer, she chose to remember that friend by promoting the importance of women being proactive with their ovarian health.

4. Best Dreamer: Jen Foyle, who is Global Brand President of Aerie, part of American Eagle Outfitters, developed the #AerieReal Campaign. Instead of focusing on ideal body types, and retouching photos of models, she changed the focus of this brand of intimates to body positivity. This was an empowering type of advertising campaign that basically told women to celebrate their real selves.

5. Best Healthcare Revolutionary: Dr, Deborah Lindner, who is Bright Pink's Chief Medical Officer, has been revolutionizing the way physicians provide care for their young female patients. She has been teaching medical students and those just starting out in the profession, how to identify and manage breast cancer and ovarian cancer risks in their patients. Because of her efforts, it is estimated that approximately 14 million women can receive comprehensive breast and ovarian health care.

Some of the promotional products for the #AerieReal campaign.

Then Ms. Avner added her two stepdaughters, Lexie and Abby, who provide the inspiration for her work. For they are the next generation of women, the ones who will receive more benefits from the work of Bright Pink and be healthier because of the organization's existence. It doesn't get more personal than that.

Educating health care consumers.

Thanks for information from this article by Lindsay Avner on She Knows: http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/1112097/, and the above links.

Click here to view more details

Click here: INSTANT FOREX TRADE ANALYSIS WITH MYMT4BOOK

Groundbreaking Events and Employee Achievements

Current students at Greenspring Montessori join in the festivities.

In just about any urban area, you can find architect firms. They're the ones that design new buildings, renovations, and make sure that environmental sustainability becomes part of the structure. The firm of GWWO INC./ARCHITECTS is located on Wyman Park Drive in Baltimore, not that far from the Johns Hopkins University campus.

Just this month, they joined in a groundbreaking ceremony for renovations and additions to Greenspring Montessori School. In order to create three new academic village spaces on the campus, there will be 16,000 square feet of renovations and 11,000 square feet of additions, all designed by GWWO. The classrooms in each village area are designed for the child-centered approach used by Montessori, while also providing easy visualization as children move about between classrooms in the designated village areas. Because Montessori methods involve learning from the environment, each classroom has a direct connection to the outdoors and abundant natural lighting indoors. The three villages themselves will connect with a central hub that will become the campus quad.



Employee Matt Ames, who joined GWWO about a year ago, has achieved his architect license. He's been serving the company as a Project Manager, specifically for the designing of the new Arnold Elementary School. He's also working on the new Wheaton Woods Elementary School and the addition and renovation to Benfield Elementary School. Besides his year at GWWO, Mr. Ames has had eleven years of experience on a variety of projects, including education facilities, research centers, office buildings, commercial and retail establishments, and multi-family dwellings.

There was another groundbreaking last month, this time at Berks Nature's The Nature Place, a multi-million dollar exploration and education center in Reading, PA. This building will serve as a place to demonstrate the environmental and conservation principles espoused by Berk's Nature. They especially would like to nurture young conservationists, fostering their connection with the natural environment. The building covers 9,000 square feet and will house two classrooms, conference rooms, offices, a lobby, and a gift shop. It will also contain indoor displays of the park's habitats, and an outdoor plaza for recreation. In addition, the building is designed so that it will achieve LEED Silver certification, once completed next year.

A finished project, Sea Gull Stadium at Salisbury University.

And, on the lighter, but also very important side, two employees from GWWO, Paul Hume and Eric Feiss, participated in AIA Baltimore's Second Annual Celebrity Chef Night. On their menu was savory barbecued pork shoulder and brisket sandwiches, prepared onsite, with a choice of traditional, mustard, sweet, and spicy sauces. Guaranteed to fill anyone's appetite!

Matt Ames, newly licensed architect.

From groundbreaking projects, to employee accomplishment, with a side of fun thrown in, that's GWWO. The Baltimore area is glad to have you around.

Paul Hume and Eric Fleiss at Celebrity Chef Night.

Thanks for information from this article on Greenspring Montessori: http://www.gwwoinc.com/visibility/article.aspx?ID=204;  this article on Matt Ames: http://www.gwwoinc.com/visibility/article.aspx?ID=203; this article on The Nature Place: http://www.gwwoinc.com/visibility/article.aspx?ID=202; this article on Celebrity Chef Night: https://www.facebook.com/GWWOArchitects/photos/a.347807708622000.76560.123416524394454/997087303694034/?type=3&theater; and the above link.

Click here to view more details

Click here: THE SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT GUIDE

Beacon Of Hope Uganda's Youth Conservation Project

One of the local youth helps a volunteer plant a tree seedling.

Isaac Ssamba, from Uganda, had to grow up fairly quickly. At the age of 14, he had to literally dig his education from the earth by mining in a local stone quarry, in order to pay his school fees. Yet, he undertook even more responsibility by adopting a young orphan boy, with the approval of the local village chief. Now, he was mining for two.

Isaac stated, "I came to see the dire needs of people and how HIV/AIDS, malaria, plus many other diseases, and poverty, was affecting them. I also saw that because of poor nutrition, even something as simple as worms could kill many infants and children."



He also noticed that many aid organizations would only drive as far as the paved roads would take them and then distribute their aid without knowing the people and their needs. Mr. Ssamba explained, "These issues bothered me so much and I felt God challenging me to go out and use the knowledge to make a difference. I felt a strong urge with people infected and affected by HIV - especially the poor."

After becoming more educated, Mr. Ssamba formed BEACON OF HOPE UGANDA, whose mission is to support the welfare and societal productivity of disadvantaged people and communities through focusing on children and youth. Within that mission, he developed the Mukono Kids Go Green Project. This program, which has become embedded in local schools, teaches youth about conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.

Besides the educational portion, the program is involved in planting mango, jackfruit, and maringa oleifara trees. These plantings were to be utilized for the education program, but would also provide a source of nutrition and help finance Beacon of Hope's programs. The program has been using Ddundu Nursery and has planted 10,000 seedlings there. In 2014 an additional 15,000 seedlings were planted at a second nursery. The 4-H Million Trees Project has been contributing to the program and is helping to place 4H programs in the local schools.

Each child at this school is on a mission to plant a tree seedling.

Many of the trees will be replacing some 99 million trees that have been lost over the last twenty years from Uganda's forests, mostly to supply cooking fires. That's about one-third of the forests that no longer exists. It has been estimated that in forty more years, the country could lose the majority of its tree cover. So, this is a vitally needed project that teaches the next generation, provides a source of income and healthy fruits, and strives to maintain the environment.

A group of youth making sure there is enough startup water for the seedling.

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project: http://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/isaac-ssamba-mukono-kids-go-green-project/; this background article on Beacon of Hope Uganda: http://beaconofhopeug.org/about-us/; this article on the youth tree development project on Beacon of Hope: http://beaconofhopeug.org/bohu-environ-conserve-program/; and the above link.

Click here to view more details

Importance Of Health Care In Refugee Camps

At the Zaatari camp, Haijar, held by her mother, was successfully treated for TB at the age of one.

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day, a day when we remember the many areas of the world that are in such crisis that the local people have become displaced in order to achieve some measure of safety. Many reside in refugee camps, with various sponsors providing for, at least, some of their needs. In other places, though, those needs are inadequately met, and safety is just a desire unfulfilled.

THE GLOBAL FUND, along with the ELIZABETH GLASER PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION, are pausing to highlight the needs of refugees for health care services, particularly the effort to end HIV, TB, and malaria.



In refugee camps, people live in close contact with each other, in various types of temporary shelters that inadequately protects against the elements. That leaves those who reside in these camps vulnerable to pathogens.

Take the Syrian refugees, many of whom have been housed in Jordan and Lebanon. Global Fund is providing essential services in the area of tuberculosis (TB) prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. When refugees arrive, they are screened for TB immediately (it does take three days for results of a PPD test to be completed and viewed) and referred for appropriate services. Health care professionals are also receiving training, along with increased awareness of the illness, and eventually able to staff mobile clinics.

Since this program started, about 400 cases of confirmed TB have been identified and started treatment. Of those, four cases in Jordan turned out to be multi-drug resistant. The treatment of TB, which lasts for at least six months, has been successful in 90% of Syrian refugees.

Throughout the Middle East, which is overburdened from displaced people and refugees, the result of the many ongoing conflicts, providers undertake to follow the people. That means taking the services to the various refugee camps. By focusing on preventing illness among those already weakened physically, the resources for health care have been freed to take care of those who have actually developed illnesses.

Some children at Zataari refugee camp.

Abd Al Gader's story illustrates what happens when a refugee turns up at a camp with an illness. Abd was only 12 years old when he arrived with his family at the Zaatari refugee camp, after they escaped the war in Syria. He and his family left their farm in Damascus with only the belongings they could carry to embark on the arduous journey to a safer area. Their journey took days; they were forced to sleep in the open on cold February nights, while encountering thieves and shelling along the way until they could cross the border. Meanwhile, Abd had run out of his TB medicine and his cough had worsened under the conditions of the journey. Once at the camp, Abd was able to resume taking his medicine when screened at the camp clinic and his family has settled into their temporary shelter. Because of prompt treatment, Abd's TB has now been cured and he can engage in physical activities with his friends and attend school. Not to mention that continuing the TB medication also prevented him from spreading the illness to others. That's how critical health care is to the community of refugees.

Abd Al Gader, with his friends.

Thanks for information from this article on The Global Fund website: http://theglobalfund.org/en/2016-06-20_Providing_TB_Care_in_a_Refugee_Camp/; this article about the Middle East Response: http://theglobalfund.org/documents/publications/other/Publication_TheMiddleEastResponse_FocusOn_en/; and the above links.

Click here to view more details

Click here: THE PRO'S EDGE - VISION TRAINING FOR GOLF

A Healthy Seasonal Vegan Diet

Peter and Sarah.

Take two people, Peter Hagstrom and Sarah O'Toole, and mix with a generous dose of wanting to eat healthier, throw in a mix of seasonal local produce, and you come up with THE SEASONAL DIET. This twosome were concerned that their unrestricted diet choices were not very healthy. Both had various digestive issues, their coffee consumption was through the roof, and there were also troublesome skin issues.

There was relief from consuming a vegan diet that conformed with the seasonal changes in available produce. Then there were those wonderful benefits - each lost ten pounds, they developed more muscular definition, they had greater immunity, and their stamina improved.



The Seasonal Diet Plan is based upon the produce available during different seasons. Besides supporting local farmers and being cost effective, it also gives the benefit of being able to consume the freshest fruits and vegetables. Combined with the diet plan, they also produce free seasonal recipes, which are available for free download on their website.

Both noted, "Our project is aimed at successfully getting people back into the kitchen. We believe with more people shopping locally for seasonal produce and cooking plant-based, animals will suffer less, our planet will be at ease, and our bodies will feel more nourished than ever before."

In a recent post, they discussed five things that can get in the way of a healthy lifestyle:

1. Vegetables aren't the main attraction. Most people feel that they are eating a lot of vegetables, but they are usually just side dishes. None of their meals were using vegetables as the entree. So, the diet recommends having a main dish salad for at least one meal each day.

2.  Believing that just changing diet will lead to a healthy body. This involves thinking that the only thing needed is to just have that main meal salad and magic happens; your skin clears and your stomach issues clear up. But feeling better involves a more holistic approach. Besides food intake, you have to get enough exercise, be well-rested, and engage in more positive thinking.

3. Eating the same thing all the time. You have that favorite smoothie or type of salad as your go-to choice in your diet. You eat it all the time, but over time, only one or two options gets boring. Besides, if you keep eating the same thing every day, you miss out on key nutrients. That's why you want the most variety of produce in your diet, which may actually mean trying some new recipes with new ingredients to give your taste buds a pop!

4. Lacking support. When you change your diet, you want people to be cheering you on, backing you up. That's what leads to success with any diet change. You need at least one or two people in your life who will root you on and help you over those rough spots. Just having someone encouraging you to stick with your diet plan can get you over the hump.

5. Just imitating others. You're just going through the motions without any background knowledge. Those you are copying have their own reasons for selecting a diet. Just following the leader won't give you a reason. You must think it through for yourself and make your own decision. That decision gives you more commitment and persistence.

Seasonal recipes are available on the website.

You can find a considerable amount of information at The Seasonal Diet website. There are recipes, new information, and a library. If you feel this is something that interests you, check it out.

To  keep  those following the diet interested, there are periodic challenges.

Thanks for information from this article by Pollination Project: http://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/peter-hagstrom-and-sarah-otoole-the-seasonal-diet/; this post on The Seasonal Diet Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheSeasonalDiet/posts/691888704285251:0; this "About Us" article on The Seasonal Diet: http://theseasonaldiet.com/about-us; and the above link.

Click here to view more details

Click here: SIMON'S SUPER-CHARGED TURBO-COOLED GROW BOX

What MADD In Houston Did When The Weather Wouldn't Cooperate

They still came, in smaller numbers, in the rain.

Sometimes the best of plans can change when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate. That happened in the Houston area as a result of rainfall. The Houston area had its WALK LIKE MADD fundraising event scheduled for May 21, but soggy weather intervened. That's when organizers from the Southeast Texas team of MADD sprang into action. They hit the phones and social media to let participants know about the change in plans.

And that wasn't the end of it. They were in Houston for a reason - to commemorate loved ones and others who were victims of drunk drivers. They also wanted to let everyone know of their continued effort to end drunk driving.



So, the day's event turned into a rally, with 300 people showing up. Chris Jacobs from Overhaulin' showed up, along with Team #OverhaulinMADD. He even allowed fans to take a few selfies. He's the national spokesperson for Velocity Channel's Drive Smart, which advocates for safe driving practices on all US roads. Velocity Channel has also donated $5,000 to the Walk.

Members of Harris County's Sheriff Office, Harris County's District Attorney's Office, and other law enforcement agencies also showed up. These are individuals who serve the public and have first-hand awareness of the effects of drunk driving.

The usual practice before the walk is the chiming of bells and a crowd shout of, "Drunk driving ends here!" There is also a large pinwheel containing the names of those in the area who had lost their lives because of drunk driving. Then this smaller walk in the rain began.

Awards for the top teams were passed out, as everyone remembered those who lost their lives because of drunk drivers. The rain didn't stop this intrepid group and they managed to raise some donations, also.

But there is another walk coming (fingers crossed that the weather is better) on June 18 at San Jacinto College South Campus. The organizations involved want everyone to have the full walk experience. The bells will chime again to signal the start of the walk, the names of the victims who lost their lives will be said during the walk.

A Collin County team which exceeded its fundraising goal.

Yes, rain has still been prominent in the forecast. That's why it is being held on San Jacinto's campus - there are paved roadways and more security, so no walking in the mud. The group is determined, as are the participants - the rain won't win and it'll be bigger than the preview walk!

Tyler's All-Stars walked in Tallahassee. Tyler was 10 years old when he lost his life.

Thanks to information from this blog post on MADD: http://www.madd.org/blog/2016/june/why-we-walk-houston-walk.html; and the above links.

Click here to view more details

Click here: BLOG CASH PROFITS