Jan. 2 Amnesty International: I got this from Amnesty
International. There is some good news:
- FREED – A year ago Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was behind bars. Today she is free and reunited with her family.
- SAVED – Beatriz, a 22-year old Salvadoran woman denied medical treatment by her government, was finally allowed to undergo the emergency procedure that saved her life.
- DELIVERED – At long last, the US signed an historic Arms Trade Treaty to help keep conventional weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers.
- RELEASED – Cambodian housing rights activist Yorm Bopha, arrested while peacefully defending the rights of her community, was released on bail.
- ABOLISHED – Maryland became the 18th state to abandon capital punishment, and the 6th state in 6 years to join the abolition club.
- EXPOSED – Together we alerted the world to the unimaginable horror experienced by 8-year-old Nabeela Bibi, who witnessed her grandmother blown to pieces by a US drone strike.
- PROTECTED – US lawmakers finally passed a strong and inclusive Violence Against Women Act, with new provisions protecting the safety of ALL women, not just some.
- AT PEACE – Terminally ill Angola 3 prisoner Herman Wallace was released from a horrific 41 years of solitary confinement. He died 3 days later, a free man, surrounded by friends and family.
Jan. 6 Express gratitude: I have read articles on
happiness about expressing gratitude.
When I read the news, there are good news out there to cheer you up and
be grateful.
Transplants: In the Metro on Dec. 6, 2013, “Hospital sets record for most
transplants in 10 days” by Leah Germain.
There were 30 different patients receiving a new organ at the University
of Alberta’s Mazankowski Alberta
Heart Institute in 10 days. There are
usually 20 -25 organ transplants a month.
Edmonton
Public Library: On the same page, it says the EPL is getting 2000 new ebook
titles. So that’s interesting.
Can Man Dan: In the Metro on Dec. 9, 2013, “All for the sake of charity” by
Leah Germain. It talks about “Can Man
Dan”/ Dan Johnstone who finished “his 3rd annual donation marathon
at the Terra Losa location, spending 3 days and nights in tempatures low as -40
C.”
He talks about living with a single mom and a brother. There were times they had to go to the food
bank. He managed to spend 60 hrs
collecting donations for the food bank.
15, 248 pounds of food bank donations collected last year by
Can Man Dan.
Healthcare: Also in the Metro on Dec. 9, 2013,
“Doctor shares tales of his time abroad” by Leah Germain. Dr. Jon Corns is from Edmonton
and worked in the UK
as a doctor for 9 yrs. He launched a
blog to talk about the stories and experiences of being a doctor.
“It’s a really good way to unleash some of those different
thoughts in your head. You see a lot of
different things in medicine- happy and sad- and you go home at the end of the
night and ponder over them.”
“The aim…is to show that a lot of these problems are really
quite social and it’s a very cyclical thing.”
Here’s his blog:
I read this Christmas post:
My opinion: It’s a good blog. Well I only read one post. Anyway, after reading “Too Much Christmas
Puddin” where he talks about working in the hospital on Christmas and how no
one wants to be in the hospital on that day.
It did make me appreciate that though I have worked at the restaurant
for the past 4 Christmases, I do want to be there. I also made a lot of money on that day.
Tom Crist: I read in the Metro on Dec. 18, 2013, “’Tis the Season for
Giving” by Paul Sullivan about Calgarian Tom Crist who won the Lotto Max of $40
million and is giving it all away to charity.
He says he’s financially secure due to his business and doesn’t need the
money.
I found a CBC article
here:
Tom Crist said Monday he was planning to donate his winnings in honour of his wife, Jan, who died of cancer. The couple were married for 33 years when Jan passed away in February 2012.”
Blinded Chinese boy: In Metro, on Dec. 13, 2013, Guo Bin who had his
eyes gouged, has his eyes replaced with prosthetic eyes that look and move like
normal eyes. They don’t restore
vision. “Doctors plan to fit Binbin with
navigation sensors next summer that would allow him to get around on his own in
familiar places.”
I hope there is more progress in medical science and he can
get his vision back. I hope he also
lives a normal and productive life.
Family reunion: In Metro, on Dec. 26, 2013, I read “Stranger than fiction” by
Takara Small. She talks about how 10
months ago she was supposed to write a feature of Black History Month. She then wrote about a Bible that her
grandmother owned. Takara had lost
contact with her aunt on her father’s side of the family after her parents separated. She moved away and then her feature appeared
in the newspaper.
Her aunt saw the story and contacted the Torstar News
Service. 3 weeks later, Takara met her
and her little cousin at Takara’s apartment, 2 blocks away from where she
lives.
Kidney donation: I mentioned before about that email
that was deleted, but then appeared again.
Well here’s the article that I had saved a link to.
“Man’s Kidney Donation is ‘Missing Link’ for Three Transplants.” Here’s an excerpt:
“When Ted Bartling, a rocket scientist from Utah, decided to donate a kidney to a stranger, he knew he'd potentially be saving one person's life. What he didn't know was that he'd be saving three people's lives.Bartling's incredible sacrifice, or as he calls it, gift, set in motion a of chain events at Salt Lake City's University Hospital and Primary Children's Medical Center that forever linked six people and allowed three, including a two year old boy, to receive successful kidney transplants late last week. On Thursday, Dr. Jeffrey Campsen, who performed surgery on the donors, told Yahoo Shine that all three recipients and their three donors are thriving and have headed home or will be discharged within the next couple of days.”
In Metro on Nov.
20, 2013, on the front page “Edmonton
man donates kidney to BC stranger” by Stephanie Dubois. Darin Grundberg found Kevin Campbell’s
Facebook page “Kevin needs a kidney.”
Grundberg: “I had a life-changing experience 10 and a half
yrs ago when my life took a downturn. I
needed help and people were there for me.
That changed my life for me.
Since then, I have tried to live a little better, have tried to give
back, but this is the single most impact I could ever have on one person’s life.”
“For a little bit of inconvenience in my life I could
radically change another person’s life.
And the feeling is phenomenal.”
Charity: In Metro, on Dec. 17, 2013, “Jr. high students helping local families
have a happy holiday” by Leah Germain.
The Vernon Barford jr. high
has collected 6 months worth of groceries, cleaning supplies, and presents for
2 single-parent families. It’s an
estimate worth of $3000 each.
No comments:
Post a Comment