"A Lie of the Mind"

Quite a bit has been written about this young lady in the past few weeks, but she's definitely worth mentioning again, for her positive attitude. Samantha Kittle has a brain tumor and she has decided to tell the world about the experience in her blog, www.alieofthemind.com/
As described in the Guardian on 26 April, "Moving, graphic, darkly funny, Samantha Kittle's blog is the story, not of an illness, but of a woman who refuses to be defined by one." Check it out; there's nothing like a sense of humor and a positive attitude to remind us of how precious life is.

Fighting the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in America

Rachel Lloyd is most certainly an inspiration, as described by Nicholas D. Kristof in his International Herald Tribune article of 25 April entitled, "American girls on the streets." Her book, Girls Like Us, is a first-hand account of her life as a teenage prostitute, the object of human traffickers and a victim of the sex trade. Finally able to escape this life, Rachel went on to establish GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services), whose stated mission is "to empower girls and young women, ages 12-24, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the commercial sex industry and develop to their full potential.  GEMS is committed to ending commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking of children by changing individual lives, transforming public perception, and revolutionizing the systems and policies that impact sexually exploited youth."

Read this brave and forceful book and join the GEMS Council of Daughters network or simply spread the word about Rachel Lloyd's efforts to end the commercial exploitation and trafficking of girls.

Job Factory: Providing Jobs for Unemployed Youth

Job Factory provides job training to unemployed teenagers and young people in Basel, Switzerland and helps them find work, giving them hope and a second chance. No matter why the youths are jobless, so they do not begin their career on welfare, Job Factory offers six-month internships to approximately 300 young adults each year, in such areas as cooking and restaurant management, administration, housekeeping, printing, information technology, manufacturing, hairdressing, handicrafts and recycling. Job Factory also provides coaching through its Job Training Foundation, helping the youth recognize their talents and develop their capabilities while tackling their weaknesses and deficiencies.

Since Job Factory was established by Robert Roth in 2000, over 2,000 youths have taken part in Job Factory's training program. To date, 80% of Job Factory's trainees have successfully completed their internships and gone on to find an apprenticeship or job, or have gone back to school.

Job Factory is in fact Robert Roth's second endeavor to provide employment to young people in Switzerland. In 1976 he created Weizenkorn, a business that employs youths with psychological problems. That experience taught him that not just young people with psychological problems or physical disabilities were having trouble finding jobs. Others were also losing hope, so he founded Job Factory. Meanwhile, Weizenkorn has become the largest employer of people with psychological disorders in Switzerland.

Empowering Women and Children from Devastating Backgrounds

According to Hagar International's website, this social business's purpose is, "singular; we restore broken lives. We welcome the toughest of human conditions. We stay focused on the individual. And we do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to restore life in all its fullness."

Hagar International's areas of impact are Afghanistan, Cambodia and Vietnam. There, Hagar works for the recovery, empowerment and reintegration of women and children who have been abused, exploited or abandoned.

Hagar International was founded in Cambodia by Pierre Tami. According to the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship's publication Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs 2011, which features Pierre Tami's work: "Nearly three decades after Cambodia emerged from the reign of the Khmer Rouge, it remains one of the 50 poorest countries of the world. A majority of the population still lives in desperate poverty and struggles to meet the most basic needs of food and clean water. Cambodia is also a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. Many children are trafficked to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam while within Cambodia children are forced into both prostitution and labor. Tricked by promises of well-paid work, many find themselves sold into Phnom Penh's brothels or reduced to begging or working in slave-like conditions."

It was after seeing women and children in these circumstances in the early 1990s in Cambodia that Tami originally set up a shelter for women there, an endeavor that has evolved into "an organization offering a range of social and market-oriented initiatives to break the cycle of poverty among vulnerable mothers and children." Recognizing that these people are often the victims of a lack of opportunity and prospects, Hagar offers them reintegration work in his commercial enterprises and through his partners, so the women can lead independent and productive lives. As stated on their website: "At Hagar, social programs meet social business. This approach, including recovery shelters, education, vocational training, and employment, has enabled hundreds of women and children to reintegrate into community again."

Wanda Landowska, Harpsichordist and Extraordinary Woman

Wanda Landowska (1879-1959) was a Polish musician who restored the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century. As a child in Poland, Wanda excelled at the piano, which she studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. She also studied composition in Berlin and later taught in Paris.

In 1925 Wanda Landowska set up the École de Musique Ancienne near Paris. Her home outside the city became a center for the performance and study of ancient music. But of Jewish origin, Wanda was forced to leave France during World War II, escaping to New York in 1941. She later moved to Connecticut and re-established herself as a performer and teacher in the USA, touring extensively. An important person in Wanda Landowska's life, Denise Restout was editor and translator of her writings on music,which include Musique ancienne and Landowska on Music.

These videos give you a glimpse of this interesting and inspiring personality.

Keeping Stock For Disasters

"Access to information, light and basic energy in a humanitarian crisis can be just as essential as food, water, medical supplies and shelter." Thus starts Social Entrepreneur Kristine Pearson's blog post on the World Economic Forum's Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship blog.  Kristine is Chief Executive of Lifeline Energy, whose mission is to improve "the quality of the lives of vulnerable populations through dependable and environmentally friendly technologies. We are committed to providing renewable energy alternatives to those most in need."

Read about how Lifeline Energy provides lights and radios to populations displaced by such disasters as the Mozambique floods of 2000, the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, the Pakistan floods and more recently the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Kristine needs help to fund a stockpile of devices that provide immediate power and light, and radios for information on aid distribution, the whereabouts of loved ones and weather reports.

Help this important effort now by donating a Lifeline radio or light: click here.

Cancer One Day At A Time

This news comes from Diane at Wings for Injured Athletes. It's an amazing effort:

Guardian angels often appear most when and where least expected, but most often when they are needed most. They remind us that life is good and there are those out there who care. It was with those sentiments in mind that non-profit Wings for Injured Athletes, Inc. was started and spread its wings in 2011 with the creation of a “Cancer, One Day At A Time,” inspirational book.

All of us could use a little motivation at some point in our lives, and cancer survivors are extremely adept at providing that inspiration. The “Cancer, One Day At A Time” book includes insightful, thought provoking and stimulating quotes from cancer survivors, cancer patients and cancer caregivers from all over the United States and as far away as Australia, Mexico and north of the border in Canada. The passages are humorous, entertaining, educational and heartfelt.

The book brings awareness to all forms of cancer, and it is a great resource. A portion of the funds raised will be donated to a variety of cancer causes and charities. It also allows those who have experienced cancer firsthand to share their struggles, successes, losses and thoughts. There is a great deal of therapy in sharing and power in words. When that distribution is in print, it is enduring.

It is true that angels come to us disguised. Wings for Injured Athletes, Inc. hopes that with its Caring for Cancer book, it is one angel that many will recognize.

Go to Wings for Injured Athletes for more information or contact Diane E. Alter

One Job for America

Here's a great idea from America. Join the University of Kansas, Specialized Bicycle Components, Texas Connected, Real Robotics, Illinois Glove Company, Adobe, Christie's and other companies in pledging a job. And then read about the initiative from Carla Emil, the originator of this idea.