Judy Phelan |
Save the Children and other thoughts
Submitted by Aunt Judy on Mon, 2008-12-22 19:41
Isn't it funny how you can have something hit you out of the blue? Last night my husband and I attended an annual open house holiday party given by my son's previous basketball coach and his wife. While there I happened to strike up a conversation with a lady who is part owner and/or instructor in a store called Knitting Sisters. I told her since I have retired I have been thinking of getting back to knitting. She encouraged me to come to the store, etc....Well, I found out that patrons of the store participate in knitting caps for newborns in third world countries, how she participated in going to Washington to lobby congress to give more money to these countries (the caps were sitting in wearhouses but no money to transport them). She said it was a wonderful experience (lobbying in Washington) and explained some of the things they had to go through (such as proving that they knew what they were talking about). Very interesting. Anyway, it just kind of opened up a whole new world for me and just thought I would share this little story. There must be many ways that we as individuals can make a contribution! She said there were women in their 80s and 90s who would come in and be so glad to knit these caps for newborns. I remember Mrs. Brown, my uncle Ralph's wife Frances' mother, who was probably in her nineties when she died. She, too, knitted caps for newborns here in the United States. What a wonderful thing for, especially, older people to be able to do. Anyway, in addition to this project this lady also told me about Save the Children, which is another way to contribute. Also, listening to Adam and Crissy talk about what they are seeing in El Salvador is interesting and provides another way to give a little back. We are all so lucky. We should never forget that.
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rww says:
While I certainly don’t doubt that the lady’s cause is a good and useful one, I would suggest that we avoid asking government to help by funding these programs. We are at liberty to contribute as individuals to worthy causes abroad.
A recent study found that in 2006 American citizens voluntarily contributed three times more to help impoverished people in other countries than did the US government. Lets keep the governments out of it whenever possible.
Aunt Judy says:
Oh, I agree 100%! And guess what? Joann Davis was the representative at the time and she was not open to the lobbying. I agree whole heartedly. I love what I believe the Bill and Melinda Gates (and Warren Buffet) Foundation are trying to do. I wonder sometimes about these athletes who are paid millions and what are they doing to give back? Not that it is any of my business and this is a free country and they can do whatever they want to with their own money. But.....In this book I am currently reading, Mountains Beyond Mountains, one of the reasons this doctor was able to do what he did was because of one multi-millionaire who wanted to help him. One person can make a difference. More so in most cases than governments. I was just interested in her experience at lobbying and going thru that whole process. And at least they tried to do something.
Aunt Judy says:
I was searching the internet to find out more about Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl, two of the individuals involved in the work in Haiti and Partners in Health (from the book, Mountains Beyond Mountains). I came across this commencement address by Ophelia and thought some of you would enjoy reading it. She starts off with typical commencement address type chat but then goes on to give a more philosophical and based on her experience, practical, advice to the graduates. I enjoyed reading it, maybe you will too.