A Shelter for Abused Animals, Where Volunteers Also Find Healing
From http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish
Ellie Laks started the Gentle Barn Foundation in California. Her group gives a home to animals it rescued from abuse or in need of care. When recovered, the animals spend time with troubled young people and disabled adults.
ANA GOLDBACH: “I’ve been here for a while.”
Ana Goldbach comes to the Gentle Barn once a week. Caring for animals is said to help people deal with their own problems. Often, the animals get months of special care before they can work with people.
ELLIE LAKS: “This place doesn’t work by just hugging cute animals. It’s the at-risk kids that have been through abuse and neglect and hardship and being misunderstood. When they come face-to-face with an animal that has the exact same story, that’s the healing element. That’s where a kid goes, ‘Wow! I’m not alone. There’s someone else that shares my story. And, if this animal can overcome and is safe here, then I can overcome and be safe in the world.’ So it’s the stories that are healing.”
Laks says her volunteers help educate people about abused animals.
ELLIE LAKS: “And they do so many things. We really count on them for so much. Like I said, all the horses are groomed at 10 o’clock every day. So we’ve got volunteers that come in and groom the horses. We have volunteers that come and take the animals for walks and to eat grass. When we have a special rescue, the animal needs supervision or company we have volunteers that come and supervise that animal, sometimes ’round-the-clock, all through the night.”
Janet Becht began volunteering at the Gentle Barn a year ago.
JANET BECHT: “And it was my birthday. And, I said I’m going to do something special on my birthday. I’m finally going to go. And I didn’t know where it was. It was four miles from my house. So it was very close, and I don’t know, I just never saw anything like this and fell in love with the horses. They scare me, they did. They don’t scare me so much anymore.”
Donations support the work of the Gentle Barn. Ellie Laks hopes to start Gentle Barns across the country so other people can have contact with animals and experience the healing. I’m Barbara Klein.
Duration : 0:2:28
President Obama’s Call with Health Care Volunteers
On May 28, 2009, Barack Obama joined a conference call with leading Organizing for America volunteers to talk about health care reform. Learn more at my.BarackObama.com/ObamaCall
Duration : 0:3:15
Fidesco Globe Reporters: Agricultural center Madagascar
Fidesco is a catholic organization for international development. It recruits and sends volunteers to developing countries where they make their personal and professional skills available to the poor and live among them in modest but fair conditions. Fidesco has proven to be a school of life.
Fidescos mission is the full development of all human beings without taking into account religious, ethnic, or cultural differences. At the moment 130 volunteers are on mission in 31 countries for one or two years in Africa, Asia, North- and South America.
The DVD Globe Reporters was shot by Imagine in Nations to show several of the volunteers’ projects and gives a good picture of the cultural, human and spiritual dimensions of volunteer work abroad. This first part (out of 10) shows the volunteers working at our agricultural training center in Madagascar.
For more information or if you are interested in sharing your life with the poor for one or two years, go to www.fidesco-international.org
Duration : 0:2:59
Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane [Live at Woodstock 1969]
Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane
Live at Woodstock 1969
Lyrics:
Look whats happening out in the streets
Got a revolution got to revolution
Hey Im dancing down the streets
Got a revolution got to revolution
Aint it amazing all the people I meet
Got a revolution got to revolution
One generation got old
One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold
Pick up the cry
Hey now its time for you and me
Got a revolution got to revolution
Come on now were marching to the sea
Got a revolution got to revolution
Who will take it from you
We will and who are we
We are volunteers of america
__________________
Please rate and comment!
Duration : 0:2:58
‘Non-Formal’ Schools Aim to Fill Need in Kenya’s Slums
This is the VOA Special English Development Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com
In two thousand three, the government of Kenya established a program of free primary education for all children. But there are not enough public schools for all the children who live in the crowded slums of Nairobi. Instead, some of these children attend what are known as non-formal or informal schools. These are supported by communities, religious groups and other organizations.
Informal schools use the national curriculum taught in public schools. But they operate largely with limited resources and without trained teachers. Education activists say the Ministry of Education rarely inspects their teaching quality, lesson notes or examination records. They say the presence of informal schools means that Kenya has two levels of education: One for children from the slums, another for children from better conditions.
Activists say Kenya has at least one thousand six hundred of these non-formal schools. Susan Munuhe is an Education Ministry official. She says only about two hundred informal schools across the country receive money for materials under the free primary education program.
She says one slum in Nairobi, Mathari, has only about three public primary schools nearby. These can serve two thousand children at most. But she says the Mathari slum alone has more than three hundred thousand children of school age.
Diana Atieno Tujuh volunteers as a teacher at the Saint Christine’s Community Center in the Kibera slum, one of the largest in Africa. She says the government has provided books for her school only one time during the past few years. Many parents do not have the money to buy books, so sometimes the teachers pay for them.
She says many students are sleepy and unable to pay attention in class because there is not enough food for them at home. For the children at Saint Christine’s, the mid-day meal they are served might be their only meal all day.
A government spokesman says the government is trying to discourage informal schools. Alfred Mutua says every child in Kenya has the ability to get the same education. The government, he says, has never rejected a child from a public school. He also says the government is building more schools, but it will take time.
And thats the VOA Special English Development Report. Transcripts and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.
(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 17Aug2009)
Duration : 0:4:14
Volunteer Abroad India Day Care Center for Street Children Mission Overseas
http://www.abroaderview.org Volunteer Abroad India
In Jaipur district itself the total literacy is 82.80 percent whereas the literacy rate among girl child is merely 55.52 percent. Thus focusing girl’s education is of utmost need. According to state government statistics per thousand 65 children cannot complete their 3 years of their birth anniversary; majority of them are girls. The various projects being supported by volunteers aim to create opportunities where children from the fringes of society can have equal opportunity to grow.
Duration : 0:2:53
Wreaths Across America 2009 DFW Natl Cemetery
December 12, 2009, Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery ceremonies for the annual Wreaths Across America were held at 11:00 hours. It was a cool overcast day with scattered rain with approximately 100 people gathered to honor veterans.
Members of the Irving High School Marine Jr. ROTC were on hand to serve as honor guards. Participants included the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Crusader Composite Squadron and their cadets conducted the ceremonies.
Wreaths were presented to honor each branch of the military including the Merchant Marines, POW and MIA soldiers.
Presenters:
Army Capt. (veteran) Clint Bond
USMC – MSgt. Doug Compton
USN CAP CADET CA1C Samantha Hutto
USAF CAP CADET CSSGT Ryan Pigeon
USCG Lt. Billy Buck
USMM ESGN. Tom Ludlum
POW & MIA CAP CADET Capt. Robert Severance
After the ceremonies the crowd gathered around various distribution points and began to place a wreath with a single red bow at tombstones of our fallen.
More information:
The Wreaths Across America, story began over 18 years ago when the
Worcester Wreath Company from Harrington, Maine initiated a tradition of
donating and placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nations fallen heroes at
Arlington National Cemetery. Recognition of the service and sacrifice of our
veterans, and their families, is especially poignant during the traditional holiday
season.
Worcester Wreath Company continues to be a major supporter of the project,
donating over 25,000 total wreaths in 2008. Over 100,000 wreaths will be
sponsored by individuals, businesses, and groups from communities Nation-wide.
Wreaths will be placed in all 50 states from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, at
several locations is Iraq, and at 24 national cemeteries on foreign soil.
For people who wish to support the project, wreath sponsorships are available
online. A complete list of participating locations is available on the website at
http://www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 72 lives in fiscal year 2009. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.”
Video Production:
Music
US Army Field Band
Greensleeves
Silent Night
Video
USFallen.org
Jerry Castillo – Producer
Duration : 0:7:29
Volunteer Abroad Vietnam Hanoi Street Children Center Program Opportunities
http://www.abroaderview.org
Volunteer Abroad Vietnam Hanoi Street Children Center Program Opportunities
Volunteers are needed to provide orphaned and street children in Hanoi with a basic education. This will be done through educational games and activities created by the volunteer. This center works with children who are forced at a young age to earn a living by collecting rubbish, begging, polishing shoes, working in handicraft factories and other like activities. Currently the center houses seventy students are hold three classes- two in the morning and one in the afternoon. As a result, the students are not receiving a full curriculum and the staff is over worked. Volunteers are desperately needed to act as teachers assistants and organize educational games and activities for the students. This project needs international volunteers to work cooperatively to create educational programs which include both Vietnamese and English subjects. The center is the only hope that they have for a better life. (7-8 hours per day)
Duration : 0:3:54
Volunteers are Love in Motion – You Choose & Volunteer Center of Ozaukee County
Be A Volunteer. You Choose.
Visit the Volunteer Center of Ozaukee County at www.volunteerozaukee.com
Duration : 0:2:8
♫ Tribute to Esme Kenney ♥ and the others ♫
Esme Kenney age 13,Talented cellist, artist, boating enthusiast, storyteller,caregiver,explorer. She is deeply missed by uncountable friends & relatives across the globe who will always remember the spirit, warmth, wit, & love she gave to everybody she knew. Favorite colors red & pink. A 7th grader at The School for Creative & Performing Arts (SCPA) w/ a double major in vocal & instrumental music
Her life was stolen by the Pure evil of serial killer Anthony Kirkland Time line of crimes;
*May 20, 1987 Anthony Kirkland,18, strangled & beats Leola Douglas, 29, Who dated a family member of Kirkland. After an argument in his home. He douses her w/ lighter fluid & gas then set her on fire, killing her. He did this in his grandpa house almost killing his uncle Convicted of voluntary manslaughter & serves 16 yrs in prison
• Sept.3,03 Released from prison
• Oct.25,04 Released from parole
• Jan.25,05 Accused of raping a female neighbor in Evanston at knife point. Jury acquits him in Oct 05
• May 11,06 The burned body of 14-y.o.Casoyia Sharee Crawford is found in Avondale
• June 16,06 The burned body of Mary Jo Newton, 45, is found behind a vacant building in Avondale
• May 14,07 Kirkland threatens to kill his 18-month-old son during a SWAT standoff at Kirklands house at 860 Ridgeway. He is convicted 3 months later of 2 counts of unlawful restraint & got 115 days in jail
• Sept.17,07 Rev. Walter Bledsoe seeks a restraining order against Kirkland on behalf of members of his family Court records do not say why he sought the order, but a judge granted it in Dec. 07, ordering Kirkland to stay away from the Bledsoes
• Sept.26,07 Kirkland solicits solicited sex from his girlfriends 13-y.o. daughter. He is convicted in Mar 08 of importuning & sentenced to 1 year in prison. Judge designates him a sex offender, requiring him to register his address with the sheriffs office
• Oct.20,08 He is released from prison for the importuning case & ordered to spend 5 yrs on parole. He enters the Pogue Rehab Center, a halfway house in Over-the-Rhine run by the Volunteers of America
• Feb.27,09 Kirkland fights with another halfway house resident at 11.30pm Police are called, but Kirkland is not arrested b/c the other man refuses to press charges Halfway house managers throw Kirkland out for breaking the rules by fighting, but they do not notify his parole officer for 2 days. Kirkland does not immediately register a new address with the sheriff as required by law
• Mar.1,09 Kirkland is accused of breaking into a home, hiding in the bathroom & attacking Frederick Hughes w/ scissors. Hughes suffers at least 10stab wounds & survives. Kirkland flees. A warrant is issued for his arrest on charges of agg burglary & felonious assault
• Mar.2,09 Kirklands parole officer is notified of his release from the halfway house & begins looking for him
• Mar.4,09 A 2st warrant is issued for Kirklands arrest b/c he failed to register his address with the sheriff after his release from the halfway house
• Mar.5,09 Kirkland threatens Roberta Baldwin, the mother of his child, with a knife. He flees & another warrant is filed against him on charges of domestic violence, agg menacing & violation of a protection order
• Mar.8,09;3.45pm Esme Kenney, 13, goes for a jog near her house
4.15pm Esmes parents call police when their daughter is late returning home. Police begin looking for her
11.30pm Police find Kirkland sleeping against a tree in the woods near Esmes house. Her watch & iPod are in his pocket
• Mar.9,09 Police find Esmes body in the woods at 3.10am, 100 yards from where they found Kirkland sleeping. She is strangled & the lower part of her body burned. Authorities say her attacker attempted to sexually assault her. Police arrest Kirkland & charge him with murder.
-There is a third woman, who has not been identified, who was found on Pulte Avenue in Price Hill
-Anthony Kirkland is also a Suspect in the murders of 6 to 8 other woman
-The DA had written letters asking that Kirkland NOT be let out of prison on parole
Pogue Rehab Center, a halfway house run by the Volunteers of America. With over 60 sex offenders. That happens to be a block from a public park & playground! Can call a parole officers 24/7
BUT they waited 2 days to call. Letting this monster run free
This demon crawled out of the pits of should of been put to on death row in 1987 for the murder of Leola Douglas. BUT, Ohio wants to feed him. As he laid in prison planning a serial killing & raping life. Then let him just skip out of prison
OHIO, THIS MONSTER SHOULD OF NEVER BEEN FREE TO “LIVE IN THE WOODS” LIKE THE “BOGGIE MAN” SOMETHING YOU”D FIND IN A NIGHTMARE!
THESE WOMEN & BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN BLOOD ARE ON THE HANDS OF THE STATE OF OHIO
Ohio governor : PLEASE Sign a bill that lets the public to go to ALL parole hearings & speak in person. B/C, they are disregarding EVERY letter sent to them by anyone
Duration : 0:5:29