Saturday, December 29, 2007
Consumed by love
jusco bukit tinggi pizza hut dinner outing with my family.then, gt the oppurtunity to hang out with hong yang n hong yue..go tmn rakyat.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Jealousy
It is not love that is blind, but jealousy.
Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope.
The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.
Envy is a waste of time
Envy is thin because it bites but never eats.
Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening.
As iron is eaten by rust, so are the envious consumed by envy.
Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love.
Jealousy injures us with the dagger of self-doubt.
Envy is ignorance. ~
Whoever envies another confesses his superiority
The truest mark of being born with great qualities is being born without envy
Jealousy... is a mental cancer
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Psychology
A number of mental disturbances, such as melancholy, hysteria and phobia, were described long ago in Ancient Greece and Rome, while others such as schizophrenia may not have been recognized.[1] Hippocrates considered the idea that mental illness may be related to biology.[2]
Psychiatric theories and treatments for mental illness developed in Islamic medicine in the Middle East, notably from the 8th century at the Baghdad Hospital under the physician Rhazes.
Medieval Europe had focused on demonic possession as the explanation of aberrant behavior.[3] Paracelsus used the word lunatic to describe behavior thought to be caused by the lunar effect.[4] Many other terms for mental disorder that found their way into everyday use have been traced to initial use in the 16th and 17th centuries. [5] Shakespeare and his contemporaries frequently depicted mental disorders in their plays. [6] Conditions of "shell shock" came to be recognized in war veterans. Homosexuality was viewed as a mental illness. From the early study of mental illness through individuals such as Philippe Pinel, Sigmund Freud, and Alois Alzheimer, much has changed in the development and understanding of mental illness and continues to change today.
At the start of the 20th century there were only a dozen officially recognized mental health conditions.[citation needed]. By 1952 there were 192 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) today lists 374.
There are many different categories of mental disorder, and many different facets of human behavior and personality that can become disordered.[7][8][9][10]
The state of anxiety or fear can become disordered, so that it is unusually intense or generalized over a prolonged period of time. Commonly recognized categories of anxiety disorders include specific phobia, Generalized anxiety disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder. Relatively long lasting affective states can also become disordered. Mood disorder involving unusually intense and sustained sadness, melancholia or despair is know as Clinical depression (or Major depression), and may more generally be described as Emotional dysregulation. Milder but prolonged depression can be diagnosed as dysthymia. Bipolar disorder involves abnormally "high" or pressured mood states, known as mania or hypomania, alternating with normal or depressed mood. Whether unipolar and bipolar mood phenomena represent distinct categories of disorder, or whether they usually mix and merge together along a dimension or spectrum of mood, is under debate in the scientific literature.[11]
Patterns of belief, language use and perception can become disordered. Psychotic disorders centrally involving this domain include Schizophrenia and Delusional disorder. Schizoaffective disorder is a category used for individuals showing aspects of both schizophrenia and affective disorders. Schizotypy is a category used for individuals showing some of the traits associated with schizophrenia but without meeting cut-off criteria.
The fundamental characteristics of a person that influence his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors across situations and time - can be seen as disordered due to being abnormally rigid and maladaptive. Categorical schemes list a number of different personality disorders, such as those classed as eccentric (e.g. Paranoid personality disorder, Schizoid personality disorder, Schizotypal personality disorder), those described as dramatic or emotional (Antisocial personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder, Histrionic personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder) or those seen as fear-related (Avoidant personality disorder, Dependent personality disorder, Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder).
There may be an emerging consensus that personality disorders, like personality traits in the normal range, incorporate a mixture of more acute dysfunctional behaviors that resolve in relatively short periods, and maladaptive temperamental traits that are relatively more stable.[12] Non-categorical schemes may rate individuals via a profile across different dimensions of personality that are not seen as cut off from normal personality variation, commonly through schemes based on the Big Five personality traits.[13]
Other disorders may involve other attributes of human functioning. Eating practices can be disordered, at least in relatively rich industrialized areas, with either compulsive over-eating or under-eating or binging. Categories of disorder in this area include Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa or Binge eating disorder. Sleep disorders such as Insomnia also exist and can disrupt normal sleep patterns. Sexual and gender identity disorders, such as Dyspareunia or Gender identity disorder or ego-dystonic homosexuality. People who are abnormally unable to resist urges, or impulses, to perform acts that could be harmful to themselves or others, may be classed as having an impulse control disorder, including various kinds of Tic disorders such as Tourette's Syndrome, and disorders such as Kleptomania (stealing) or Pyromania (fire-setting). Substance-use disorders include Substance abuse disorder. Addictive gambling may be classed as a disorder. Inability to sufficiently adjust to life circumstances may be classed as an Adjustment disorder. The category of adjustment disorder is usually reserved for problems beginning within three months of the event or situation and ending within six months after the stressor stops or is eliminated. People who suffer severe disturbances of their self-identity, memory and general awareness of themselves and their surroundings may be classed as having a Dissociative identity disorder, such as Depersonalization disorder or Dissociative Identify Disorder itself (which has also been called multiple personality disorder, or "split personality".). Factitious disorders, such as Munchausen syndrome, also exist where symptoms are experienced and/or reported for personal gain.
Disorders appearing to originate in the body, but thought to be mental, are known as somatoform disorders, including Somatization disorder. There are also disorders of the perception of the body, including Body dysmorphic disorder. Neurasthenia is a category involving somatic complaints as well as fatigue and low spirits/depression, which is officially recognized by the ICD-10 but not by the DSM-IV.[14] Memory or cognitive disorders, such as amnesia or Alzheimer's disease exist.
Some disorders are thought to usually first occur in the context of early childhood development, although they may continue into adulthood. The category of Specific developmental disorder may be used to refer to circumscribed patterns of disorder in particular learning skills, motor skills, or communication skills. Disorder which appears more generalized may be classed as pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) also known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD); these include autism, Asperger's, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and other types of PDD whose exact diagnosis may not be specified. Other disorders mainly or first occurring in childhood include Reactive attachment disorder; Separation Anxiety Disorder; Oppositional Defiant Disorder; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Psychiatric theories and treatments for mental illness developed in Islamic medicine in the Middle East, notably from the 8th century at the Baghdad Hospital under the physician Rhazes.
Medieval Europe had focused on demonic possession as the explanation of aberrant behavior.[3] Paracelsus used the word lunatic to describe behavior thought to be caused by the lunar effect.[4] Many other terms for mental disorder that found their way into everyday use have been traced to initial use in the 16th and 17th centuries. [5] Shakespeare and his contemporaries frequently depicted mental disorders in their plays. [6] Conditions of "shell shock" came to be recognized in war veterans. Homosexuality was viewed as a mental illness. From the early study of mental illness through individuals such as Philippe Pinel, Sigmund Freud, and Alois Alzheimer, much has changed in the development and understanding of mental illness and continues to change today.
At the start of the 20th century there were only a dozen officially recognized mental health conditions.[citation needed]. By 1952 there were 192 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) today lists 374.
There are many different categories of mental disorder, and many different facets of human behavior and personality that can become disordered.[7][8][9][10]
The state of anxiety or fear can become disordered, so that it is unusually intense or generalized over a prolonged period of time. Commonly recognized categories of anxiety disorders include specific phobia, Generalized anxiety disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder. Relatively long lasting affective states can also become disordered. Mood disorder involving unusually intense and sustained sadness, melancholia or despair is know as Clinical depression (or Major depression), and may more generally be described as Emotional dysregulation. Milder but prolonged depression can be diagnosed as dysthymia. Bipolar disorder involves abnormally "high" or pressured mood states, known as mania or hypomania, alternating with normal or depressed mood. Whether unipolar and bipolar mood phenomena represent distinct categories of disorder, or whether they usually mix and merge together along a dimension or spectrum of mood, is under debate in the scientific literature.[11]
Patterns of belief, language use and perception can become disordered. Psychotic disorders centrally involving this domain include Schizophrenia and Delusional disorder. Schizoaffective disorder is a category used for individuals showing aspects of both schizophrenia and affective disorders. Schizotypy is a category used for individuals showing some of the traits associated with schizophrenia but without meeting cut-off criteria.
The fundamental characteristics of a person that influence his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors across situations and time - can be seen as disordered due to being abnormally rigid and maladaptive. Categorical schemes list a number of different personality disorders, such as those classed as eccentric (e.g. Paranoid personality disorder, Schizoid personality disorder, Schizotypal personality disorder), those described as dramatic or emotional (Antisocial personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder, Histrionic personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder) or those seen as fear-related (Avoidant personality disorder, Dependent personality disorder, Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder).
There may be an emerging consensus that personality disorders, like personality traits in the normal range, incorporate a mixture of more acute dysfunctional behaviors that resolve in relatively short periods, and maladaptive temperamental traits that are relatively more stable.[12] Non-categorical schemes may rate individuals via a profile across different dimensions of personality that are not seen as cut off from normal personality variation, commonly through schemes based on the Big Five personality traits.[13]
Other disorders may involve other attributes of human functioning. Eating practices can be disordered, at least in relatively rich industrialized areas, with either compulsive over-eating or under-eating or binging. Categories of disorder in this area include Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa or Binge eating disorder. Sleep disorders such as Insomnia also exist and can disrupt normal sleep patterns. Sexual and gender identity disorders, such as Dyspareunia or Gender identity disorder or ego-dystonic homosexuality. People who are abnormally unable to resist urges, or impulses, to perform acts that could be harmful to themselves or others, may be classed as having an impulse control disorder, including various kinds of Tic disorders such as Tourette's Syndrome, and disorders such as Kleptomania (stealing) or Pyromania (fire-setting). Substance-use disorders include Substance abuse disorder. Addictive gambling may be classed as a disorder. Inability to sufficiently adjust to life circumstances may be classed as an Adjustment disorder. The category of adjustment disorder is usually reserved for problems beginning within three months of the event or situation and ending within six months after the stressor stops or is eliminated. People who suffer severe disturbances of their self-identity, memory and general awareness of themselves and their surroundings may be classed as having a Dissociative identity disorder, such as Depersonalization disorder or Dissociative Identify Disorder itself (which has also been called multiple personality disorder, or "split personality".). Factitious disorders, such as Munchausen syndrome, also exist where symptoms are experienced and/or reported for personal gain.
Disorders appearing to originate in the body, but thought to be mental, are known as somatoform disorders, including Somatization disorder. There are also disorders of the perception of the body, including Body dysmorphic disorder. Neurasthenia is a category involving somatic complaints as well as fatigue and low spirits/depression, which is officially recognized by the ICD-10 but not by the DSM-IV.[14] Memory or cognitive disorders, such as amnesia or Alzheimer's disease exist.
Some disorders are thought to usually first occur in the context of early childhood development, although they may continue into adulthood. The category of Specific developmental disorder may be used to refer to circumscribed patterns of disorder in particular learning skills, motor skills, or communication skills. Disorder which appears more generalized may be classed as pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) also known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD); these include autism, Asperger's, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and other types of PDD whose exact diagnosis may not be specified. Other disorders mainly or first occurring in childhood include Reactive attachment disorder; Separation Anxiety Disorder; Oppositional Defiant Disorder; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Spirit of valley
Spirit of the valley is immortal.It is called the mystic nature.The gate o f the mystic nature is regarded as the root of the universe.It is everlasting and cannot be consumed.
Nature nurtures all things with the wholeness of complete virtue.It shows the greatest and perfect kindness by giving life To let all things grow and accomplish them with the hastening of harvest.Therefore, according to ancient custom, Nature may seem unkind to regard all beings as a traditional straw dog for sacrifice.And likewise with a saint, he may seem unkind to regard people as a traditional straw dog for sacrifice.The space between heaven and earth is like the bellows, it appears empty yet it gives a supply that never fails;The more it moves, the more it brings forth.Many words lead to exhaustion.It is better to center on the true essence within.
M:
Nature gave us life, let us grow,give supplies that never fails.
M:
Nature gave us life, let us grow,give supplies that never fails.
By not adoring the worthy,
people will not fall into dispute.
By not valuing the hard to get objects,
people will not become robbers.
By not seeing the desires of lust,
one’s heart will not be confused.
Therefore the governing of the saint is to empty one’s mind,
Substantiate one’s virtue,
weaken one’s worldly ambition and strengthen one’s essence.
He lets the people to be innocent of worldly knowledge and desire,
And keeps the clever ones from making trouble with their wits.
Acts naturally without desire,
then everything will be accomplished in its natural order.
can I achive that??It is statement not a question..
Manifestation:
We must nt envy other's possession, or else we will fall into dispute, abhorrence and jealousy lastly, self destruction..everything will be accomplished in its antural order if everyone acts naturally without desire..
people will not fall into dispute.
By not valuing the hard to get objects,
people will not become robbers.
By not seeing the desires of lust,
one’s heart will not be confused.
Therefore the governing of the saint is to empty one’s mind,
Substantiate one’s virtue,
weaken one’s worldly ambition and strengthen one’s essence.
He lets the people to be innocent of worldly knowledge and desire,
And keeps the clever ones from making trouble with their wits.
Acts naturally without desire,
then everything will be accomplished in its natural order.
can I achive that??It is statement not a question..
Manifestation:
We must nt envy other's possession, or else we will fall into dispute, abhorrence and jealousy lastly, self destruction..everything will be accomplished in its antural order if everyone acts naturally without desire..
Mother's birthday!!
Today is mum bd..In the morning, like usual I eat loh mee..Then, in the afternoon we went to the new jusco..firstly, i tried on the floral prints adult shirt.Then, I ate donut, scrumptious strawberry jam donut which is fattening to the state of nausea yet addictive!!We sat at arena, lamenting about the exxy price of all the food and drinks(Mentally).Then, i paid a visit to popular, read about rd health breakthrough of the year..I walked on high heels which is an excruciatingly painful experience tt unfortunately I have undergone for a modicum of times but still obstinate enough to resume with it..I love being tall, a few inches is considerable agreeable..I visited a lot of boutique etc..then, home sweet home..i read about the story of karma..a person whose life has been prophesized by a saintly guru..he was predicted to be sonless and daughterless and died at the age of 54..I read cleo and routinely followed every articles with enthusiasm and anticipation of any next action..then, i went to jog at taman rakyat..when i came back, brother bought a pen drive, kingston, white, sleek, nice to hold for me..I created an album about my holiday..dad bought mother a flower cost RM 12, which is lilies, colossal in size, pinkish white, delicately beautiful.he gave her sincerely and wish her happy birthday, shyly yet sweetly.We ate steamboat at char par par, a restaurant near parkson.I ate the tom yam soup.
This is my recollection for today events..however, there are still so many other events or interesting happenings tt i should have blog but never have enough time for that..Is my life interesting?I pondered about tt query just now and now, i feel if i was given a chance to live again, i will definitely choose this life, but with different siblings..
This is my recollection for today events..however, there are still so many other events or interesting happenings tt i should have blog but never have enough time for that..Is my life interesting?I pondered about tt query just now and now, i feel if i was given a chance to live again, i will definitely choose this life, but with different siblings..
comprehension
As soon as beauty is known by the world as beautiful, it becomes ugly.As soon as virtue is being known as something good, it becomes evil.Therefore being and non-being give birth to each other.Difficult and easy accomplish each other.Long and short form each other.High and low distinguish each other.Sound and tone harmonize each otherBefore and after follow each other as a sequence.Realizing this, the saint performs effortlessly according to the natural Way without personal desire, And practices the wordless teaching thru one’s deeds.The saint inspires the vitality of all lives, without holding back.He nurtures all beings with no wish to take possession of.He devotes all his energy but has no intention to hold on to the merit.When success is achieved, he seeks no recognition.Because he does not claim for the credit, hence shall not lose it.
Manifestation:
Everything can become vice versa.Everything can be each other n tao can be everything.The saints are compassionate, practises wordless teaching and nurtures all beings to achieve merit.when he acquired success, he did not expect recognition and fame.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Fame or death..
Gun rampage US teen 'wanted fame'
The gunman used a balcony to aim at victims, reports say
Eyewitness account A teenager who shot dead eight people in a US shopping centre before killing himself wrote in a suicide note that he wanted to be famous.
Robert Hawkins, 19, from Bellevue, Nebraska, opened fire at the Westroads Mall in Omaha on Wednesday.
A woman who took him in after he left home said he left a note saying he was sorry for everything and did not want to be a burden to anybody.
Police have confirmed the existence of the note, but not its contents.
Map: Westroads mall location and layout
Hawkins struck as the centre was crowded with Christmas shoppers, and witnesses spoke of people screaming and scrambling to find safe shelter.
Five people were wounded, two of them critically.
In a statement, President George W Bush - who visited Omaha earlier in the day for a fundraiser - said he was "deeply saddened" by the shootings.
Hiding
The shooting took place inside the upmarket Von Maur department store at the Westroads Mall.
Police were called at about 1400 local time (2000 GMT), after receiving a call from inside, said Sgt Teresa Negron.
He just stood there with his arm like this, his hand straight up in the air, shooting. And then I turned and ran
Witness
In pictures: Omaha shootings
Shooter 'had problems'
Witnesses said the gunman fired down on shoppers from a balcony on the third floor of the Von Maur store, using what police said was an SKS rifle to shoot at random.
By the time police arrived at the scene six minutes later, the shooting was over, she said.
Jeff Schaffart was shot in the arm as he spent his lunch break shopping with his wife, Reuters news agency reported. He said he hid in a Von Maur women's bathroom, using his tie as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding.
"I was obviously very fortunate. Not a lot of people were so fortunate today," said Mr Schaffart.
US MASS SHOOTINGS IN 2007
Oct: Asa H Coon, 14, shoots four people, injuring them, at his school in Cleveland, Ohio, before killing himself.
April: Cho Seung-hui , 23, shoots 32 people dead on campus of Virginia Tech university, Virginia, then kills himself.
Feb: Sulejman Talovic, 18, shoots dead five people and injures four at a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, before being killed by police.
Chuck Wright was working at the mall when he heard a "pop pop" sound.
"A lady that I work with on the same floor, she happened to walk over to the [central atrium] and she was standing there and a gentleman walked up, and the shooter reached over the top on the third floor and shot the guy in the head."
Another woman also described seeing the gunman on the attack.
"I went around and then I saw the guy in the children's department," she said.
"Big tall guy, real tall and he just stood there with his arm like this, his hand straight up in the air, shooting. And then I turned and ran."
Witnesses spoke of trying to hide as they waited for police
Seven people were found dead at the scene, and another two died after being taken to a local hospital.
In an e-mail to the BBC, one Omaha resident, called Julie, said that she had been in a restaurant next door to Von Maur department store when the shooting began.
"Someone came in to the restaurant and advised that someone was shooting in the mall and to get out. Everyone started to run out of the small doors in Panera [the restaurant], so we were able to get out very quickly.
"I heard screaming and loud shots being fired somewhere close by. I got out of the mall before the local police department arrived."
'Lost puppy'
Hawkins is said to have suffered from depression in the past, and recently lost his job at McDonald's and broke up with his girlfriend.
He was living with a friend's family in Bellevue, an Omaha suburb.
His friend's mother, Debora Maruca Kovac, told the Associated Press news agency that when he first came to live with them, "he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted".
She said he phoned her about 1300 on Wednesday, telling her that he had left a note for her in his bedroom. She tried to get him to explain.
"He said, 'It's too late'," and then hung up, she told CNN.
In the note, she said, Hawkins had written that "he was sorry for everything, that he didn't want to be a burden to anybody, he loved his family, he loved all of his friends".
The note went on to say he wanted to be famous, she said.
Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren said the shooting appeared to be "very random and without provocation".
"We do have a [suicide] note. I can't describe the contents of that note, but it does appear this incident was premeditated," he added.
The incident is the latest in a series of mass shootings in the US, which have reignited the debate in the US about gun ownership.
The Supreme Court will consider Americans' right to bear arms early next year for the first time in nearly 70 years.
Monday, December 3, 2007
PENANG
Tanjung bungah
fort cornwallis
kek lok si
penang museum
today is da day i came back from PEnang island!!A paradide for sea lover or sun worshipper!!I went to the tropical spices garden n penang museum!!I also visited kek lok si temple n burmese temple!!Siamese temple is definitely in my list of destination!!I visited bkt bendera..juz pass by only..n fort cornwallis..then i tried da char kuey teow, mo chi, bobochacha, lam mee, rojak thre...i went to da seaside n enjoy the exorbitant heat tt reverbrate throoghout my body tt give me a rejuvenating feeling..i listened to the sound of the wave with exuberance...it was the most memorable trip ever...
Thursday, November 29, 2007
GRanny is better than all of us!!
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Skinny and gap-toothed, her nose smudged with black dust, grandmother Kanotu Mumo sorts charcoal into small pots for sale on the stoop of her slum hut.
Mumo is an "AIDS granny" in Kibera, one of Africa's biggest slums. Like grandmothers all over Africa, they have been left to fend for orphans after their own children and husbands died.
Her hut, stacked with sacks of charcoal, measures 10 by 8 feet and is too dark to see more than a few inches even in the middle of the day.
Somehow she shelters four grandchildren, two great grandchildren and the child of a dead relative, who sleep on mattresses and two beds. There is no toilet or running water.
According to U.N. figures, at least 12 million children in Africa have lost one or both parents because of AIDS. This is 80 percent of all AIDS orphans in the developing world.
The number of orphans in Africa has increased by 50 percent since 1990 while falling in other regions. The United Nations says there will be 53 million by 2010, some 30 percent of them bereaved by AIDS.
The burden of this disaster is borne by extended families, most often grandmothers, who might have otherwise dreamed of returning to their home villages for retirement at the end of a tough life.
Kanotu Mumo moved to Kibera, home to 800,000 people, when her husband died about 25 years ago in eastern Kenya. "I can't remember. It has been so long. When my husband died the relatives threw me out and sold the land."
Unlike many of the grandmothers, doleful and worn down by their fate, Mumo smiles and jokes. She says she cannot remember her age. As she talks, two teenage granddaughters come and go.
Her story is typical of the everyday tragedies of Kibera. Two daughters and a son died of AIDS. Another son was stoned to death by a mob after he was caught stealing. "I am embarrassed to talk about it but it was due to the unemployment."
She lives close to the railway line that runs through the sprawling slum, acting both as a pedestrian thoroughfare and place for traders to lay out shoes and clothes.
She sells her charcoal -- the slum's primary fuel -- for a few shillings profit, after buying from a nearby wholesaler who carries it to her hut.
SCHOOL
Like other grandmothers interviewed by Reuters, Kanotu Mumo comes to the Stara school in Kibera to clean twice a week. Their grandchildren attend the school and are fed from huge vats of steaming maize porridge and beans.
The project, supplied and funded by Dutch charity ChildsLife International, the U.N. World Food Programme and Kenyan aid agency Feed the Children, was started seven years ago by a group of Kibera mothers, after friends died and left them to look after their children.
The school on the edge of Kibera houses more than 500 lively children, 70 percent of them orphans, dressed in green uniforms.
More than 30 of the children are HIV positive and receive anti-retrovirals from a nearby clinic in the slum, supplied against vouchers from the school.
The small size of the premises means classes are noisy and overcrowded, with up to 80 children of mixed ages. The school, headed by dynamic Kibera resident Josephine Mumo, has proven skilful in raising support.
Singer Harry Belafonte, Barbara Bush, mother of President George W. Bush, and actress Drew Barrymore have been backers.
Without their grandmothers and projects such as Stara, many more orphans in Kibera and elsewhere would end up as glue-sniffing street children or child prostitutes.
Josephine Mumo says that when the mothers started the school, they brought in children who had been raped as they went door-to-door begging for food.
SURVIVE FOR THE CHILDREN
Many of the grandmothers are themselves weakened by HIV as well as old age, making it even harder for them to feed their charges.
Peris Owuor, 50, is a Kibera grandmother looking after seven grandchildren. "Sometimes my body does not feel good and I cannot go to look for food," she said.
Owuor, whose husband died of AIDS in 1998, washes clothes to make money, at 150 Kenya shillings ($2.25) a day, and tries to help feed her three surviving children who have no jobs.
"But when my body is not good I just have to stay at home."
Another grandmother, Antonina Mujenge, also HIV positive, cares for five of her own children and four grandchildren. She also sells charcoal.
"I try to look after them like other children but it is very difficult because of my low income. Sometimes there is not enough for all of them," she said.
"My main aim is to stay around long enough to make sure the kids can get an education and find jobs," said Mujenge, who has lived in Kibera for 20 years.
She would love to return to her village in western Kenya. "But I am an outcast at home. They say I can infect others. I cannot go back."
Grace Atema, 65, looks after three grandchildren and her daughter, mother of two of them. She washes clothes twice a week to raise money.
"I put everything I get towards the children. But I worry what would happen if I died. How would they survive?" she said.
Mumo is an "AIDS granny" in Kibera, one of Africa's biggest slums. Like grandmothers all over Africa, they have been left to fend for orphans after their own children and husbands died.
Her hut, stacked with sacks of charcoal, measures 10 by 8 feet and is too dark to see more than a few inches even in the middle of the day.
Somehow she shelters four grandchildren, two great grandchildren and the child of a dead relative, who sleep on mattresses and two beds. There is no toilet or running water.
According to U.N. figures, at least 12 million children in Africa have lost one or both parents because of AIDS. This is 80 percent of all AIDS orphans in the developing world.
The number of orphans in Africa has increased by 50 percent since 1990 while falling in other regions. The United Nations says there will be 53 million by 2010, some 30 percent of them bereaved by AIDS.
The burden of this disaster is borne by extended families, most often grandmothers, who might have otherwise dreamed of returning to their home villages for retirement at the end of a tough life.
Kanotu Mumo moved to Kibera, home to 800,000 people, when her husband died about 25 years ago in eastern Kenya. "I can't remember. It has been so long. When my husband died the relatives threw me out and sold the land."
Unlike many of the grandmothers, doleful and worn down by their fate, Mumo smiles and jokes. She says she cannot remember her age. As she talks, two teenage granddaughters come and go.
Her story is typical of the everyday tragedies of Kibera. Two daughters and a son died of AIDS. Another son was stoned to death by a mob after he was caught stealing. "I am embarrassed to talk about it but it was due to the unemployment."
She lives close to the railway line that runs through the sprawling slum, acting both as a pedestrian thoroughfare and place for traders to lay out shoes and clothes.
She sells her charcoal -- the slum's primary fuel -- for a few shillings profit, after buying from a nearby wholesaler who carries it to her hut.
SCHOOL
Like other grandmothers interviewed by Reuters, Kanotu Mumo comes to the Stara school in Kibera to clean twice a week. Their grandchildren attend the school and are fed from huge vats of steaming maize porridge and beans.
The project, supplied and funded by Dutch charity ChildsLife International, the U.N. World Food Programme and Kenyan aid agency Feed the Children, was started seven years ago by a group of Kibera mothers, after friends died and left them to look after their children.
The school on the edge of Kibera houses more than 500 lively children, 70 percent of them orphans, dressed in green uniforms.
More than 30 of the children are HIV positive and receive anti-retrovirals from a nearby clinic in the slum, supplied against vouchers from the school.
The small size of the premises means classes are noisy and overcrowded, with up to 80 children of mixed ages. The school, headed by dynamic Kibera resident Josephine Mumo, has proven skilful in raising support.
Singer Harry Belafonte, Barbara Bush, mother of President George W. Bush, and actress Drew Barrymore have been backers.
Without their grandmothers and projects such as Stara, many more orphans in Kibera and elsewhere would end up as glue-sniffing street children or child prostitutes.
Josephine Mumo says that when the mothers started the school, they brought in children who had been raped as they went door-to-door begging for food.
SURVIVE FOR THE CHILDREN
Many of the grandmothers are themselves weakened by HIV as well as old age, making it even harder for them to feed their charges.
Peris Owuor, 50, is a Kibera grandmother looking after seven grandchildren. "Sometimes my body does not feel good and I cannot go to look for food," she said.
Owuor, whose husband died of AIDS in 1998, washes clothes to make money, at 150 Kenya shillings ($2.25) a day, and tries to help feed her three surviving children who have no jobs.
"But when my body is not good I just have to stay at home."
Another grandmother, Antonina Mujenge, also HIV positive, cares for five of her own children and four grandchildren. She also sells charcoal.
"I try to look after them like other children but it is very difficult because of my low income. Sometimes there is not enough for all of them," she said.
"My main aim is to stay around long enough to make sure the kids can get an education and find jobs," said Mujenge, who has lived in Kibera for 20 years.
She would love to return to her village in western Kenya. "But I am an outcast at home. They say I can infect others. I cannot go back."
Grace Atema, 65, looks after three grandchildren and her daughter, mother of two of them. She washes clothes twice a week to raise money.
"I put everything I get towards the children. But I worry what would happen if I died. How would they survive?" she said.
unexpected letter..
Dearest Tara,
When first our relationship began, when we treaded into new waters and became infatuated with one another, I felt truly happy, like I was finally becoming whole again, a feat that I never felt that I’d be able to accomplish. I loved the fact that we could spend almost the whole week together for the last few weeks of Upward Bound, that we shared a room and had so many accepting friends of our relationship. I felt so incredibly happy then… Which makes this all the harder for me- to lose that happiness, and perhaps our friendship with my next words.
My vision has slowly begun to clear, and the fog of happiness is dissipating. These past few weeks have really tried my emotions and I can’t take the overload. You’re too innocent… ignorant, for lack of better words, for me. Our first kiss was a phenomenal experience for me, I loved it… loved you. We grew bolder and allowed our hands to roam for the first time in my own bedroom. Feeling you squirm beneath me…. Writhing in pleasure and begging for more, it excited me to no end. I loved taking you over the edge each and every time. And each time I was left to wallow without having been satisfied, while you slept so very peacefully while I pretended that you had satiated me. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not about bad sex or anything, it’s about a loss of feelings…
I don’t really know how long I’ve felt this way- that our relationship was becoming sour, and I’ve no want to hurt you or anything thereof, but the truth of the matter is- I have. I’ve felt caged in, unloved, more like a tool for sex than anything else. I know that for quite some time now I’ve felt that all you want from me is for me to satisfy you and only you. I guess this weekend really sealed the deal, you left while I was sleeping- a time that I really needed for rest. You didn’t understand my side of it, the fact that I’ve been home and dealing with a lot of crap lately. How tired I was, how ill I felt, and the fact that my legs hurt me so bad that I’ve practically got to walk sideways. All you wanted was fun for you. And when I wouldn’t give you that you left. You just left me there and I can’t tell you how abandoned I felt at the time. It’s made me realize that us- our relationship… Just hasn’t been working out the way that I wanted it to.
When you’re sad or upset- I do my best to comfort you, to wipe away your tears of sorrow and to make you feel better. I listen to everything that you have to say, and I cheer you up as fast as I can. But I’ve noticed, when I’ve descended into the deepest of sorrows, you aren’t there. It’s as if you don’t care for my pain, my feelings, and my very existence. I’ve been through so much lately, and in the past that I just can’t take it anymore.
Did you know that when I was younger I was raped? That I was abused by my uncle? I’ve no doubt that you don’t, because either I’ve never been able to find a time to tell you, or because you’ve forgotten since it seems such a trivial matter to most. Not many seem to understand how I feel, not even many of my closest friends. I try though… I try to smile brightly for them, for you. I do my best to put on a brave front every day. But my emotions have been so far tried that I can’t take it anymore. I’ve already broken down, perhaps because of the demon that preys on me when I’m alone, when I’ve fallen deep into the pit of sorrow and helplessness. And yet you’ve not shown a single ounce of caring. Every night that I’m there, you ask that I hold you until you fall asleep. And yet I ask- who holds me until I fall asleep? Who is there when I can’t take life? Who comforts me when I’m so far lost to grief that I curl up in a corner and cry until I can’t cry anymore? Nobody does. Not even you. And I’ve begun to realize that- my totally hopeless situation. It’s quite obvious that I’m not supposed to find someone who will make me truly happen, though I wish for it every day nonetheless. I beg and plead for something that is not to be.
I’ve been so very miserable lately and you’ve given it no notice. Instead, when I start to speak of my troubles, you suddenly bring up how much you hate your job, and almost anything else. If you must hate me, then so be it. I’ve done my best to make you happy and it’s only serving to stress me out more and draw me back down into the pit of depression.
There is no second chance with this relationship, but, in the best possible way, I hope that we can still be really good friends even if we lose our intimacy.
Deidra.
A/N: So, yeah, this is a letter that I sent to my ex. To explain a few things- yes I dated a woman. Is it so terrible to be bi-sexual or even gay? I don't think so. It doesn't make us any more of a sin than any other human being on this planet. Anyway, most of the things in this letter were things that I wrote while depressed and highly stressed due to my homelife... Some of it I didn't mean. The reason I'm putting this up here is because I thought that though it's a personal letter, it is oddly well written, and I wanted other opinions on it. Please, if you're against gay or bi-sexual individuals and want to flame me, don't do it. I respect distasteful replies written in highly tasteful fashion. Thank you.
haha!!Beware of stranger or they will strangle you later!!This is the group tt i have created in facebook!!I am so proud of it when i know tt 10 people have join it!!I feel elated because I am going to Penang tomorrow!!
This a a pic of genting replica!!The late Lim Goh Tong really inspired me to create succession in life!!he was a mentor to many highly professional businessman/woman..
Monday, October 8, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
My first blog
haha feeling extreme fatigue n sadness within me haha..listening to spongebob squarepants now juz went ot pasar malam n bought cakes chocolate n pandan cake...saw lotz of fruits n vegetables..it s undescribable..I miss my sis lotz..she is in Uitm now..having her american degree..she is goin to usa 4 chemical engineering..my bro on the other hand is in ukm now..doin chemical engineering..they r both bright n future professional..i felt quite left out n isolated some time..I just went ot Dr Siow yesterday..she is so great n jovial to me..i admire her a lotz..she advise me to lead a stress free..she tellme to learn from ur pain..she ask me dun bother about all those bad influence n distraction..i will always listen to her..she roxx to the max.Then, i went cycling..my life is so great..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
