Showing posts with label associations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label associations. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tashirat foundation in Mexico
Tashirat Kids Newsletter – March/April 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s the height of the dry season, and things are getting pretty dusty around here. There seems to be no way of keeping the kids clean, short of keeping them indoors, which frankly, would be too cruel when there is so much nice, chocolate colored dirt around to play with! They also love grinding different rocks and bricks into “chile” powder, and playing “restaurant” with it, but after an hour of two, they are hardly recognizable!
Our teen boys have been diligently building a cement paved bike track, advancing a few meters a day. It's hard work though, so thankfully our recently returned volunteer, Kao, has recruited all the younger boys to join in too, and they are advancing at triple speed. Since everyone is into riding bikes, we can’t wait until it’s finished. Many of the girls also recently received a donation of bikes from friends and family. Thank you Pimi Gill, Tina, Kao and family for their great bikes!
A couple of months ago the children were fast asleep, when smoke from a nearby forest fire forced us into an emergency evacuation of the entire orphanage! As ambulances and police trucks poured into Tashirat, the children huddled together in their pajamas, wide eyed, watching the mountain close behind our bungalows smolder.
We piled them and their bedding into the awaiting rescue vehicles, and were taken to our friends Anneke and Adrian’s house. When we arrived at our friends’ house, there were loads of beds already laid out, but the kids were having so much fun by then that it felt much more like a pajama party than an emergency evacuation!
The next morning, the smoke was better but the kids were having too much fun playing in our friends’ garden and enjoying their gracious hospitality to want to go home.
Other exciting news: we received a new little girl in February, and a new little boy just last week! The girl’s name is Joline and she is 4 ½ years old. She was abandoned when she was two years old, and has spent the last two years living in the big government foster home in Cuernavaca. Jolie was very timorous and insecure, and spent the first few days here sleeping and talking to no one. She is getting happier by the week though and is starting to run, play and gain confidence in herself.
When Jolie first arrived, she behaved much like a two year old. Fortunately, she has started to mature again and seems to be developing the equivalent of a few months every week or so. Surely by the next newsletter she’ll be a very different little person!
Juan Diego is also four years old, and basically grew up in the government foster home since he was abandoned at 6 months of age. He is a very easy kid, who is naturally extroverted and curious about everything that is going on around him.
Juan Diego is always pointing everything out and saying or asking it's name. We think he is going to prove to be one of the easier cases we have taken. He is lacking gross motor skills for a child his age, but we think he may normalize with age and lots of physical activity.
We are also hoping to take more Special Ed in the near future. Recently, we went to the visit the child welfare agency and were begged to take 6 more very special cases, between 5 months and 4 years old. One of the main reasons is that they have seen how the Special Ed. children we have taken in the past, have ended up normalizing a lot in our care. Plus, it is hard to find orphanages who will keep disabled children after they reach age 18, so these cases will probably end up in a government home all their lives, as they will never become 100% independent.
Also, many of the children we took were on up to 4 medications and suffered from many physical problems when they arrived and none is on medication nor do they suffer from those same problems now. The changes in our other children have also been positive; even the youngest of our children give these special children so much affection and love. It has really opened our kids’ hearts to love and care for others who need their love, as well as to receive love from all of us.
The biggest thank you to everyone who has stuck with us in an effort to help our children live a new life!
Happy Spring and best wishes to all,
Tashirat kids and staff
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s the height of the dry season, and things are getting pretty dusty around here. There seems to be no way of keeping the kids clean, short of keeping them indoors, which frankly, would be too cruel when there is so much nice, chocolate colored dirt around to play with! They also love grinding different rocks and bricks into “chile” powder, and playing “restaurant” with it, but after an hour of two, they are hardly recognizable!
Our teen boys have been diligently building a cement paved bike track, advancing a few meters a day. It's hard work though, so thankfully our recently returned volunteer, Kao, has recruited all the younger boys to join in too, and they are advancing at triple speed. Since everyone is into riding bikes, we can’t wait until it’s finished. Many of the girls also recently received a donation of bikes from friends and family. Thank you Pimi Gill, Tina, Kao and family for their great bikes!
A couple of months ago the children were fast asleep, when smoke from a nearby forest fire forced us into an emergency evacuation of the entire orphanage! As ambulances and police trucks poured into Tashirat, the children huddled together in their pajamas, wide eyed, watching the mountain close behind our bungalows smolder.
We piled them and their bedding into the awaiting rescue vehicles, and were taken to our friends Anneke and Adrian’s house. When we arrived at our friends’ house, there were loads of beds already laid out, but the kids were having so much fun by then that it felt much more like a pajama party than an emergency evacuation!
The next morning, the smoke was better but the kids were having too much fun playing in our friends’ garden and enjoying their gracious hospitality to want to go home.
Other exciting news: we received a new little girl in February, and a new little boy just last week! The girl’s name is Joline and she is 4 ½ years old. She was abandoned when she was two years old, and has spent the last two years living in the big government foster home in Cuernavaca. Jolie was very timorous and insecure, and spent the first few days here sleeping and talking to no one. She is getting happier by the week though and is starting to run, play and gain confidence in herself.
When Jolie first arrived, she behaved much like a two year old. Fortunately, she has started to mature again and seems to be developing the equivalent of a few months every week or so. Surely by the next newsletter she’ll be a very different little person!
Juan Diego is also four years old, and basically grew up in the government foster home since he was abandoned at 6 months of age. He is a very easy kid, who is naturally extroverted and curious about everything that is going on around him.
Juan Diego is always pointing everything out and saying or asking it's name. We think he is going to prove to be one of the easier cases we have taken. He is lacking gross motor skills for a child his age, but we think he may normalize with age and lots of physical activity.
We are also hoping to take more Special Ed in the near future. Recently, we went to the visit the child welfare agency and were begged to take 6 more very special cases, between 5 months and 4 years old. One of the main reasons is that they have seen how the Special Ed. children we have taken in the past, have ended up normalizing a lot in our care. Plus, it is hard to find orphanages who will keep disabled children after they reach age 18, so these cases will probably end up in a government home all their lives, as they will never become 100% independent.
Also, many of the children we took were on up to 4 medications and suffered from many physical problems when they arrived and none is on medication nor do they suffer from those same problems now. The changes in our other children have also been positive; even the youngest of our children give these special children so much affection and love. It has really opened our kids’ hearts to love and care for others who need their love, as well as to receive love from all of us.
The biggest thank you to everyone who has stuck with us in an effort to help our children live a new life!
Happy Spring and best wishes to all,
Tashirat kids and staff
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Arcturos Foundation
We thank the representatives of the arcturos foundation
for the courtesy of sharing this inforamtion with us, which belongs to the main website of the foundation: http://www.arcturos.gr/en/default.asp
The Myth
According to an ancient hellenic myth, Callisto was the daughter of Lykaonas, the king of Arcadia. As a young girl, she vowed to the goddess Artemis to be forever faithful and devoted to her. She was to remain a virgin forever in order to serve and accompany her while hunting animals in the forest. However, one day, Zeus, the father of the gods fell in love with Callisto and forced her to sleep with him. Callisto gave birth to a son whom she named Arcadian. Zeus knew that if Hera, his wife, learned of his disloyalty she would be angry with Callisto, so in order to protect her he transformed her into a brown bear. Callisto, as a bear, roamed around the forest looking for her son, Arcadian. After years of searching she found Arcadian who was now a grown man. She finally ran into him and happy as she was she stood on her back legs and tried to embrace him. Arcadian however did not recognize her and thought he was being attacked, so he drew his sword trying to defend himself. Zeus, watching everything, as usual, felt sorry for them and in order to prevent this tragedy he transformed them into constellations (Ursa major and Ursa minor) and placed them near to him in the sky. Hera, who was still furious, asked the Ocean, the river that surrounds the earth, not to permit them to wash themselves in his waters; therefore these two constellations are always seen high in the night sky. Moreover in order to protect them from Hera's jealousy he placed another star near to them, called Arcturos, which means the guardian of Arctos, the bear. It protects and accompanies them for eternity.
The Reality
ARCTUROS was founded in 1992 in order to put an end in the phenomenon of the 'dancing bear' which was at the time a common sight around Greece. Since then ARCTUROS has been actively working for the conservation of large carnivores both in Greece and around the Balkans. Through applied research it gathers information that allows dynamic intervention in cases where important habitats are threatened or destroyed by large technical works such as roads, dams, quarries and so on. At the same time it carries out Special Environmental Studies in areas of high ecological significance. Over the last 15 years ARCTUROS has developed initiatives based on legislative provisions previously not put into action, which improved existing regulations or the establishment of new provisions.
http://www.arcturos.gr/en/default.asp
for the courtesy of sharing this inforamtion with us, which belongs to the main website of the foundation: http://www.arcturos.gr/en/default.asp
The Myth
According to an ancient hellenic myth, Callisto was the daughter of Lykaonas, the king of Arcadia. As a young girl, she vowed to the goddess Artemis to be forever faithful and devoted to her. She was to remain a virgin forever in order to serve and accompany her while hunting animals in the forest. However, one day, Zeus, the father of the gods fell in love with Callisto and forced her to sleep with him. Callisto gave birth to a son whom she named Arcadian. Zeus knew that if Hera, his wife, learned of his disloyalty she would be angry with Callisto, so in order to protect her he transformed her into a brown bear. Callisto, as a bear, roamed around the forest looking for her son, Arcadian. After years of searching she found Arcadian who was now a grown man. She finally ran into him and happy as she was she stood on her back legs and tried to embrace him. Arcadian however did not recognize her and thought he was being attacked, so he drew his sword trying to defend himself. Zeus, watching everything, as usual, felt sorry for them and in order to prevent this tragedy he transformed them into constellations (Ursa major and Ursa minor) and placed them near to him in the sky. Hera, who was still furious, asked the Ocean, the river that surrounds the earth, not to permit them to wash themselves in his waters; therefore these two constellations are always seen high in the night sky. Moreover in order to protect them from Hera's jealousy he placed another star near to them, called Arcturos, which means the guardian of Arctos, the bear. It protects and accompanies them for eternity.
The Reality
ARCTUROS was founded in 1992 in order to put an end in the phenomenon of the 'dancing bear' which was at the time a common sight around Greece. Since then ARCTUROS has been actively working for the conservation of large carnivores both in Greece and around the Balkans. Through applied research it gathers information that allows dynamic intervention in cases where important habitats are threatened or destroyed by large technical works such as roads, dams, quarries and so on. At the same time it carries out Special Environmental Studies in areas of high ecological significance. Over the last 15 years ARCTUROS has developed initiatives based on legislative provisions previously not put into action, which improved existing regulations or the establishment of new provisions.
http://www.arcturos.gr/en/default.asp
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tashirat kids and the Ixaya school
Hello Everyone,
Autumn is here and in Mexico that means corn on the cob and all its variations!
We celebrated our annual corn festival with an outdoor corn roast, and a month later, the Day of the Dead, which is always a colorful celebration. This year the 1stand 2ndgraders won first prize for their unique ecologically themed offering to the animals of the world in danger of extinction and a group of secondary students created a puppet show for the rest of the school.
Everyone had a lot of fun dressing up and visiting each others inventive offerings, as each was full of their own surprises!
Our students really love to organize these events. Just last month, two of our 2ndgrade girls had the idea to plan a goodbye party for our annual volunteer from London, Jamal, who was their gym teacher during his stay. They organized – without much if any direction from their teacher – for their whole class to bring cake and fruit to share (and chile powder of course because in Mexico, all kids like their fruit with a little – or a lot – of sour, spicy chile!). The two girls also brought costumes for all the girls in the class, so they could perform a little song and dance for Jamal together. They made and posted notices around the school inviting other classes, and organized all their classmates to jump out of hiding when Jamal walked in. Ximena, the 7 year old mastermind behind all of this, was so pleased with herself after pulling off this event that she just kept saying “I feel so happy today, I don’t know, but I am just soooo happy! This is the best day!”
We are just about to begin practicing for our annual Christmas show. So far we have a group of very enthusiastic students who are practicing acrobatic dance on the “telas”, which are 4 meter lengths of cloth hanging from the ceiling. We also have some boisterous second graders whose everyday antics make them natural clowns, and the cutest first grade group who is learning to sing in English. Somehow by mid December this year, we will have developed these and other talents that the children have for dance, yoga, acrobatics and music, and put them into a very artistic version of a traditional nativity play!
We are also busy preparing for our Christmas bazaar, where the children will show off what they are learning in the workshops given at the end of each school day. These workshops currently include carpentry, crafts made with felt, bracelet weaving andjewelry making with colorful stones and recycled glass, candle making, and painting classes. We just finished a photography workshop in which these second graders made cameras out of oatmeal containers and developed the photographs they took.
Other workshops include ecology and agriculture, and yoga. We also hope to squeeze in a baking workshop, where they will learn to make their own whole grain bread.
We have a whole new group of very enthusiastic first graders this year. Recently, we had a new little boy come to try out our first grade class. At first he wouldn’t even come into the classroom, no matter how many times the other first graders called and waved to invite him in. Finally he did make it into the classroom, and within a few hours confidently marched up to the teacher and announced “My parents told me to see if I liked it here, and I just wanted to tell you – I do, I do like it!" The first graders get excited for just about everything, but one of the things they love most is working in the green house. Our goal is to keep their spark of joy and excitement for learning alive, and for those children who have lost it, to fan their love of learning.
The biggest thank you to Tom and Gisela Rodgers & Tom and Kristen Bissinger for once again supporting our projects so generously. We cannot thank you enough for completing the missing funds we needed to keep the school open for the remainder of the year and for both of your tremendous support over the years. A big thank you as well to all of you who have continued with your sponsorships. It’s is because of you that we still have a school.
With love and appreciation,
Tashirat kids and staff and the Ixaya school
Friday, May 28, 2010
My Pledge to the Animals
My Pledge to the Animals
written by
Pramada Shah
Vice President/ Animal Nepal
President /Animal Welfare Network Nepal
pramada00@yahoo.com
There seems to be no limit to the everyday crimes committed against animals in Nepal. The level of cruelty against every kind of species is so high and so commonplace that most of us simply close our eyes and ears and get on with our lives.
Stray dogs are regarded as pests, and left to die in the streets. Household pets are tied on short chains or locked up in tiny, dirty cages, 24 hours a day. Exercise , grooming, balanced diets and most of all love is something these poor creatures never see in their lives. Exotic breeds find their way to the market through unscrupulous breeders and dog dealers. They are mostly bought, to show-off, but noone seems to hear the yelping of tied up, hungry and thirsty pets. No one bothers to request their neighbors to untie the poor animal. We are all so afraid of not being taken seriously when talking about animal rights and welfare that we fail to speak up.
In the past I fought with people who kicked dogs or abused cows, I cajoled and shouted at neighbors who treated their pets cruelly. But I wasn’t pro-active in the true sense. I have let years go by ranting and raving about how badly our animals are treated. All this because I am one of those unfortunate ones who loves animals with all her heart and soul and wants to end their suffering (unfortunate because loving animals in a place like Nepal is living a life of constant mental torture). I cannot forgive myself for being silent for so long, watching the years go by instead of organizing, mobilizing, fundraising, rescuing and doing everything in my capacity to end the pain and the suffering of domestic, wild and pet animals.
I have finally seen the light and have stopped bothering about comments like: “Who cares about animals when there are so many humans suffering.” Of course I care about humans and will continue to fight to end human suffering. But I also care about animals equally and will be pro-active for them from this moment onwards. I will speak out for and work with animals. This is my pledge to them.
The crimes committed against these hapless creatures vary from the extreme to the gory (if one can categorize the level of pain and suffering) . We have rituals that are so bloody in nature that one hesitates to describe them. Live goats are being thrown into ponds and bitten and torn to death by cheering young men. Drunk men chase after thousands of sacrificial animals, armed to the tee with khukuris and machetes, creating untold suffering and a sea of blood. Thousands of animals are sacrificed in the name of religion, sacrifices done in the goriest of manners like slitting of throats and hacking of necks, all in the name of rituals, created by man, in the name of god, the creator and the protector of all living beings. Don’t all religions say the same thing? Isnt it man who created the rituals?
Buffaloes, goats, chicken etc are transported in the most inhumane of conditions. The animals are starved of water and food . They are piled on top of each other, tethered by their sensitive noses, their necks twisted, bones broken, eyes gorged. They arrive half or fully dead. Their adrenaline so high, that their meat is a breeding ground of toxins which are extremely hazardous to human health. But no one speaks out.
The suffering doesn’t end with their long painful journey to the drop-off point. They are dragged out of the vehicles by yanking their tails or simply hurled out of the trucks, or from atop busses before being herded off for the meat market and eventual death. They are tethered on short ropes in all kinds of weather with no place to rest or move in front of meat shops on the roadside. They are barely fed or watered. They are hacked to death in front of each other and the passers by. No one says a word.
Chicken and other feathered birds are stuffed into small cages in the most unhygienic of conditions. People queue up outside these shops for the meat they want to cook and relish. Silent about the conditions, silent about the suffering and unaware about the hazards to their own health.
The plight of working animals makes me want to cry. Donkeys, horses, mules, bullock, buffaloes, sheep are suffering physical torture beyond anyone’s imagination. They are made to carry burdens way beyond their capacity, pull carts and buggies overloaded with humans and goods on backs with festering wounds. They are flogged mercilessly if their battered and bruised bodies, weary from their heavy burdens stumble or fall. They work till they drop dead, relieved to leave this uncaring, cruel world behind. How inhuman can we be? How long are we going to allow this to happen? When are we going to raise a voice to change things for the better?
We breed monkeys for export for bio-medical research. Absolutely unnecessary and completely inhumane. Condemned by ethical people all over the world. There are enough alternate means for testing and substantiated research to prove the uselessness of using monkeys for medical research. This is so wrong. A group of animal rights campaigners tried to stop the monkey business through legal means. A writ has been filed in the Supreme Court against all those involved in this heinous crime of breeding and using primates for bio-medical research and those who are allowing it to happen. We want to save our monkeys from a fate worse than death. The torture and pain they have to go through is insurmountable. Thankfully the government has but a ban on this after much campaigning.
Mahatma Gandhi was so right in saying that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. If we don’t get moving fast we will be judged as one of the most uncivilized societies in the world. A society, that treats its animals as inanimate objects, oblivious to the pain and suffering of these voiceless creatures.
Not everyone can be animal rights activists. But at least one can support movements and individuals who are fighting for the rights and welfare of animals. Support the campaign to get animal welfare legislation in place. Support initiatives that give animals the care they deserve. It’s the least we can do. Stop abusing animals. Become aware of the impact of your food, clothes and entertainment on the lives of animals. .Educate yourself, educate others and make a difference.
Humans can be known for their kindness and empathy. I invite anyone who wants to end animal abuse to join us. Help us clean up this awful, bloody mess and ensure the rights of Nepali animals. Help us to rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured animals. Help us to introduce humane working conditions, transportation and slaughter. Help us to bring abusers to book. Help us to fight for a clause in the Constitution that guarantees the humane treatment of Nepali animals. We invite the international community of animal lovers to join us.
In the New Nepal let’s make sure our animals are no longer left out.
written by
Pramada Shah
Vice President/ Animal Nepal
President /Animal Welfare Network Nepal
pramada00@yahoo.com
There seems to be no limit to the everyday crimes committed against animals in Nepal. The level of cruelty against every kind of species is so high and so commonplace that most of us simply close our eyes and ears and get on with our lives.
Stray dogs are regarded as pests, and left to die in the streets. Household pets are tied on short chains or locked up in tiny, dirty cages, 24 hours a day. Exercise , grooming, balanced diets and most of all love is something these poor creatures never see in their lives. Exotic breeds find their way to the market through unscrupulous breeders and dog dealers. They are mostly bought, to show-off, but noone seems to hear the yelping of tied up, hungry and thirsty pets. No one bothers to request their neighbors to untie the poor animal. We are all so afraid of not being taken seriously when talking about animal rights and welfare that we fail to speak up.
In the past I fought with people who kicked dogs or abused cows, I cajoled and shouted at neighbors who treated their pets cruelly. But I wasn’t pro-active in the true sense. I have let years go by ranting and raving about how badly our animals are treated. All this because I am one of those unfortunate ones who loves animals with all her heart and soul and wants to end their suffering (unfortunate because loving animals in a place like Nepal is living a life of constant mental torture). I cannot forgive myself for being silent for so long, watching the years go by instead of organizing, mobilizing, fundraising, rescuing and doing everything in my capacity to end the pain and the suffering of domestic, wild and pet animals.
I have finally seen the light and have stopped bothering about comments like: “Who cares about animals when there are so many humans suffering.” Of course I care about humans and will continue to fight to end human suffering. But I also care about animals equally and will be pro-active for them from this moment onwards. I will speak out for and work with animals. This is my pledge to them.
The crimes committed against these hapless creatures vary from the extreme to the gory (if one can categorize the level of pain and suffering) . We have rituals that are so bloody in nature that one hesitates to describe them. Live goats are being thrown into ponds and bitten and torn to death by cheering young men. Drunk men chase after thousands of sacrificial animals, armed to the tee with khukuris and machetes, creating untold suffering and a sea of blood. Thousands of animals are sacrificed in the name of religion, sacrifices done in the goriest of manners like slitting of throats and hacking of necks, all in the name of rituals, created by man, in the name of god, the creator and the protector of all living beings. Don’t all religions say the same thing? Isnt it man who created the rituals?
Buffaloes, goats, chicken etc are transported in the most inhumane of conditions. The animals are starved of water and food . They are piled on top of each other, tethered by their sensitive noses, their necks twisted, bones broken, eyes gorged. They arrive half or fully dead. Their adrenaline so high, that their meat is a breeding ground of toxins which are extremely hazardous to human health. But no one speaks out.
The suffering doesn’t end with their long painful journey to the drop-off point. They are dragged out of the vehicles by yanking their tails or simply hurled out of the trucks, or from atop busses before being herded off for the meat market and eventual death. They are tethered on short ropes in all kinds of weather with no place to rest or move in front of meat shops on the roadside. They are barely fed or watered. They are hacked to death in front of each other and the passers by. No one says a word.
Chicken and other feathered birds are stuffed into small cages in the most unhygienic of conditions. People queue up outside these shops for the meat they want to cook and relish. Silent about the conditions, silent about the suffering and unaware about the hazards to their own health.
The plight of working animals makes me want to cry. Donkeys, horses, mules, bullock, buffaloes, sheep are suffering physical torture beyond anyone’s imagination. They are made to carry burdens way beyond their capacity, pull carts and buggies overloaded with humans and goods on backs with festering wounds. They are flogged mercilessly if their battered and bruised bodies, weary from their heavy burdens stumble or fall. They work till they drop dead, relieved to leave this uncaring, cruel world behind. How inhuman can we be? How long are we going to allow this to happen? When are we going to raise a voice to change things for the better?
We breed monkeys for export for bio-medical research. Absolutely unnecessary and completely inhumane. Condemned by ethical people all over the world. There are enough alternate means for testing and substantiated research to prove the uselessness of using monkeys for medical research. This is so wrong. A group of animal rights campaigners tried to stop the monkey business through legal means. A writ has been filed in the Supreme Court against all those involved in this heinous crime of breeding and using primates for bio-medical research and those who are allowing it to happen. We want to save our monkeys from a fate worse than death. The torture and pain they have to go through is insurmountable. Thankfully the government has but a ban on this after much campaigning.
Mahatma Gandhi was so right in saying that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. If we don’t get moving fast we will be judged as one of the most uncivilized societies in the world. A society, that treats its animals as inanimate objects, oblivious to the pain and suffering of these voiceless creatures.
Not everyone can be animal rights activists. But at least one can support movements and individuals who are fighting for the rights and welfare of animals. Support the campaign to get animal welfare legislation in place. Support initiatives that give animals the care they deserve. It’s the least we can do. Stop abusing animals. Become aware of the impact of your food, clothes and entertainment on the lives of animals. .Educate yourself, educate others and make a difference.
Humans can be known for their kindness and empathy. I invite anyone who wants to end animal abuse to join us. Help us clean up this awful, bloody mess and ensure the rights of Nepali animals. Help us to rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured animals. Help us to introduce humane working conditions, transportation and slaughter. Help us to bring abusers to book. Help us to fight for a clause in the Constitution that guarantees the humane treatment of Nepali animals. We invite the international community of animal lovers to join us.
In the New Nepal let’s make sure our animals are no longer left out.
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