War Dance

The documentary film, War Dance, will leave you heartbroken, breathless, and hopeful all at the same time. This is an amazingly powerful and moving story of the Acholi tribe, primarily its refugee children, of war-torn Northern Uganda, which has been persecuted by Rebels for over 20 years. Out of the horror, arises hope. An unbelievable story.

Earthquake Relief Efforts

Click here for pictures, taken by Half the Sky, of relief efforts going on in China. It's heartbreaking to see the devastation brought about from the earthquake, but, at the same time, heartwarming to see the great care that is being provided for orphaned children amid the disaster. Please continue to remember these children, families, and those providing care and relief to the victims.

Earthquake Disaster Update

From Half the Sky:

Dear Friends,
As I delay writing this report a bit longer each day, I realize that, likeso many, I find it harder and harder to read or write those grim statistics or tell the sad stories. We wish we could be done with this death and disaster and start to move on. But still the numbers come.

There are 34,073 people confirmed dead, 245,108 injured, still more than 35,000 still missing.

Yesterday, after those three silent minutes in Sichuan, people began to call out, “Rebuild! Rebuild!” Today, when I was feeling I couldn’t open another casualty report, I read instead a report about new babies born during and right after the quake. They have names like ‘Li Zhen’(Earthquake) and ‘Born in a Tent’ and ‘Long March.’ They, like all thesurvivors, will carry these terrible days with them always. But theirlives are just beginning. For them and for all of the children who survived, Sichuan will begin to rebuild.

As hope of finding more survivors fades, we find hope in each bit of good news –

During the past week we managed to reach every single orphanage in the hardest-hit areas but one - Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Today we finally made contact. They said, “The institution buildings are no longer safe to live in. All the children live in tents. The governmentprovides us with enough food and water and daily necessities. Now we only worry how and when we can possibly rebuild.”

Of the 24 children (all of whom were from hard-hit Anxian County) who we reported were brought to Mianyang Zitong SWI because they were newly orphaned, I am very happy to tell you that 13 of them were reunited with relatives.

The children of Suining SWI have now been able to move back into their orphanage building.

More displaced children are arriving daily at shelters in Chengdu, but no one is giving up on finding living relatives yet. Yesterday, 70 children were brought to a large hospital in Chengdu for urgent treatment. Some of them had joyful reunions with family, but of course, not all. One very young girl signed her own consent form to have surgery on her broken arm. Ma Lang wrote, “She was a sweet and tough girl, and the doctors, nurses,and volunteers loved her very much.”

Ma Lang and two other HTS staff are now in Mianyang and we expect more news from them soon. Meanwhile, our relief operation is going into full swing, with tents, tarps, medicines, beds, blankets, rice, diapers, food,clothing and baby formula moving in and out of the Chengdu CWI for immediate delivery to distressed areas.

As we get closer to realizing our small part of meeting the basic challenges of shelter and emergency supplies, it is time to embark on themost critical project for the long term – helping the children heal and goon with life. This is, of course, why Half the Sky exists and how our organization can best help Sichuan’s children rebuild. Now we will begin the process of training caregivers, foster parents, shelter workers and volunteers of all backgrounds to work with newly orphaned and displaced children.

We believe our long experience working with children orphaned by AIDS andother children who were not infants when they lost their parents has givenus a solid foundation for this work. But this week we are recruiting ateam of pediatric psychologists, trauma specialists and social workers tohelp us adjust our training methods to this special circumstance. (If youare, or know of, a Mandarin-speaking professional working in this field who would like to volunteer for this project, please let me know!)

Within two weeks, Half the Sky’s entire staff of field supervisors will be working with caregivers and new foster parents all around Sichuan. Ourwork is just beginning. Thank you so much for making it possible!

More news soon....

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund, you can do so through Global Giving:http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html Or directly to Half the Sky. You can donate by calling Half the Sky(+1-510-525-3377) or on our website:http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund Many companies have announced they will match employee gifts forearthquake relief. Please check to see if your company will double yourgift!

Thank you again. It’s truly an honor to be a part of this.
with love,
Jenny Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
http://www.halfthesky.org/

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.

Beach Reads and Blueberry Goodness

We're off to the beach this week! My Mother's Day gift...can't beat that! Our first family vacation together with our baby girl! I'm dying to know what she thinks of the sand!

In addition to R&R, sun, and fun, I'm hoping to get some reading done (yeah, right). These are books that will be tagging along (all which are half-reads at this point):

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Whole Child /Whole Parent
Color of Water
What to Expect the First Year

And this is also coming with us:

Paul Deen's Granite Steps Country Blueberry Coffee Cake (IT'S OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD, SLAP-YER-SELF GOOD!) I plan to make ahead so the we can enjoy once we're there! However, it's best served warm.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) can buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Generously grease a 9-inch square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well with a fork. Separate biscuit dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters, and dip each piece in melted butter and coat with brown sugar mixture. Arrange in a single layer in baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the oats.

Combine blueberries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Spoon over oats and biscuits and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup oats. Drizzle remaining melted butter on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake is golden brown and center is done. Cool for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

You Make My Day

Ah, shucks...my first tag ever from my dear friend at Flourishing Mother who inspires me daily and, of course, always makes my day! Thanks for the "You Make My Day" Award, Andrea. Right back at 'cha, girl.


So I'll pass along to 6 others who make my day by inspiring me, making me laugh, or sharing their brilliant insight (there are many of you so it's hard to limit to just 6):

Maggie at No Mommy Brain - she's hilarious!
My Sis at Daylight's Rest
Owlhaven a fabulous mother to 10 little ones
Tanna the queen of organizing
April at Living to Love
Kerry at No Matter What

Kitchen Wisdom

I've discovered that anal-retentiveness and parenting tend to butt heads frequently. I easily give into frustration when carrots spew out of my child's mouth across the table, or a curious baby is climbing up my pant leg while I'm chopping onions, and, of course, when a walker rolls over my toe while I'm in the kitchen hastily trying to prepare dinner. It seems like too much chaos in the kitchen for this anal-retentive mother. After all, this kitchen is MY throne!

I have a friend who has purposefully placed a stool next to the island in her kitchen. Her sons are always climbing up onto it while she cooks. Baby hands go into the butter and the cream cheese, and she just smiles and without a word continues with what she's doing. At first I think, boy, do I wish I was that laid back when kids are in MY kitchen. But I've realized that this mama has wisdom that I, the rookie mom, is still learning.

Polly Berrien Berends, in her book Whole Child/Whole Parent, addresses my hang-ups regarding such matters:

While she is unlikely to eat unless hungry, she is not simply feeding herself because her stomach is hungry. Her feeding, reaching, feeling the food, pulling it into her mouth, is learning. And it is learning almost more than the food for which she hungers.

Seeing that our children are trying to learn inspires us with many thoughtful ideas on how to prepare food that not only nourishes their bodies but also helps them learn what they are trying to learn. Realizing that they are not simply "playing with food" when they should be eating it, but rather learning, many "foods for thoughts" occur to us. Whether or not they get eaten, the peas in a pod are amazing; the star in the apple is a wonder.

There are two reasons for including our children in our kitchen activities. One is that we can't keep them out and get anything done at the same time. The other is that this is one of the best places in the house for both parent and child to learn what we most need to know. The child's task is to explore the material properties of her world and learn how to deal with them. And where could you find a finer, better-equipped learning laboratory than the average kitchen? Here such spiritual nutrients as love, humility, abundance, order, beauty, gratitude are concretely expressible. When task and circumstance are viewed spiritually, essentially, the necessary work is easier and more fulfilling.

I love how Ms. Berends takes a circumstance and flips it in such a positive light. If only I could see this reversed perspective in many situations I encounter. Such a key piece of wisdom that I've been missing.

My daughter is a very curious soul. She likes to explore. She notices every tiny detail -- many which I overlook. I should be open to nourishing this curiosity instead of diffusing it for the sake of having things "my way". Of course, "letting go" will be a work in progress. It always is for the anal- retentive. However, the kitchen is a great place to start.

China's Earthquake

Please continue to pray for the victims and the families affected by China's earthquake. A friend told me that the magnitude, if it occured in the U.S., would extend from Maine to Arizona. I can't imagine it.

As for the orphanages affected by the quake, below is an update from Half the Sky:

Dear Friends,
As word comes of the hundreds, maybe thousands of children lost in theearthquake, I am finding these emails almost too painful to write. When Ithink of so many parents who have lost their only child - so many childrennewly orphaned - so many families destroyed - there are no words.
Still, I will continue to write daily with any new information that hasbeen given to us and confirmed. Again, please do not contact us toinquire about individual institutions. We will give you all of the information we have. If you do not hear from us about a particular place,it likely is not affected. At any rate, we don't have any informationbeyond what I am passing along to you.As of now, Thursday afternoon in China, there are 14,866 people confirmed dead, 14,463 in Sichuan Province. There are 22,438 people reported missing - 21,020 of them in Deyang alone. There have been 3,300 aftershocks and they continue.

Here is the confirmed information we have regarding children in welfare institutions:
Chengdu: The city continues to experience aftershocks and the institution director is afraid the water supply will be cut off again, so has requested disposable diapers. They are having trouble finding sufficient supplies of milk and formula. All children in foster care have been located and are fine. The institution has structural cracks but was built to current earthquake standards and is fundamentally solid. All thec hildren remain on the first floor of the children's building, mostly in the cafeteria, and, weather-permitting, outside while awake. We've posted a few photos on our website.
Chongqing and Yibin orphanages are fine - no building damage, no shortageof supplies. The orphanages below report problems. However, please note that not a single child has been injured; all are fine:-
Zigong CWI needs bedding, powdered milk, crackers and disposable diapers
- Neijiang CWI has suffered some structural damage; one or two children's dormitories, office building and laundry room have cracked walls.
- Nanchong 2nd SWI has cracks in walls, substantial damage to the ceiling of a staff building, needs tents
- Mianyang Zitong CWI has severely damaged walls. Children have been moved to a military base. Urgent need for diapers, bedding, powdered milk and purified water
-Hanzhong CWI (Shaanxi)- Quite a few water pipes burst, the water tower had cracks. Children have been evacuated and there is need for more tents,bedding and purified water. We've posted a few photos on our website.
-Dujiangyan SWI has evacuated all children. They have no tap water or electricity in their temporary shelter. They urgently need food, purified water, diapers and powdered milk.

We are still unable to reach these institutions: Deyang CWI (78 children), Abazhou CWI (52 children), Guangyuan SWI, Mianzhu SWI.

One of our HTS Beijing staff, Ma Lang, is a native of Mianyang, Sichuan, close to the epicenter. HTS' Director of Child Development, Ma Lang is both a pediatrician and a child development specialist. She is on her way home right now to make use of her skills both medically and to help children traumatized by this disaster. We are so proud of Lang and wish her safe travels. She has promised to share her journey with all of us. So soon you'll be hearing from us both!

Usually just before June 1, China's Children's Day, Half the Sky announces a special appeal to help us fund new orphanage programs in the fall. While we are committed to starting those new programs and know we will need help to make it happen, we just don't feel we can ask for help improving lives while children in Sichuan are losing theirs. There must be a Children's Day Challenge this year but not at this time. Please do what you can to help children in trouble now, and remember to help thekids of HTS a little later this year. Our hearts and prayers today are especially with the parents who have lost their children in the collapse of schools - Muyu, Xinjian, Juyuan, Liangping, and the rest. Please give what you can to help the children who survive go on with their lives.If you would like to donate to Half the Sky's Children's Earthquake Fund, it would be great if you would do so at Global Giving. The Ford MotorCompany announced today that they will match every gift!http://www.globalgiving.com. If you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that's fine. Here are the various ways:
You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510 525 3377) or on ourwebsite:http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund

Mother's Day

An unknown birthmother a world away, made me a mother. For that, I am forever grateful. Three stories intertwined by God's grace...a mother giving life to a baby, a baby girl needing a family, and a couple's heart desiring a daughter. This is what makes me a mother. This is my story. This is why I'm honored on Mother's Day, and why I honor my daughter's birthmother this day as well.

In his book China Ghosts, Jeff Gramage reflects on what he would say to his daughter's birthmother. I couldn't have said it any better than he. "I want to tell her: Your child is alive. Your child is well. Your child is loved. She is healthy and strong and smart and beautiful. She is all that anyone could want for a daughter. You would be so proud....Let your heart rest....You have done your part...I promise that I will do mine."

For Mothers

Happy Mother's Day! Enjoy this article from Adoptive Families.

Tools for Teaching Diversity in a Diversity-Free Zone

This is a great article that I found over at Anti-Racist Parent blog. The article discusses diversity tools to incorporate into everyday life.