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
5th annual Welcome Day 2007 at PCC.World AIDS Day – Fort Hays State University Hosts AIDS Quilt
FHSU commemorates World AIDS Day
11/18/2009
Working together to inform the public about AIDS, the Office of Diversity Affairs, the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Student Health Center of Fort Hays State University are planning a series of events for World AIDS Day beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1.
A World AIDS Day display, a public forum, a display featuring 12 of the 40 thousand panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, free HIV testing and an art exhibit and silent auction are all part of the commemoration to World AIDS Day at FHSU in the Memorial Union.
The World’s AIDS Day display will be presented on the main level of the union from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Workers will hand out information booklets as well as awareness stickers and other paraphernalia.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, consisting of panels weighing anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds and measuring 12 square feet, serves as a tribute to those who have suffered from HIV or AIDS. Sponsored by the NAMES Project Foundation, the quilt was founded in 1987 as a way to, provide a creative means for remembrance and healing, effectively illustrate the enormity of the AIDS epidemic, increase the general public’s awareness of HIV and AIDS, assist others with HIV infection-prevention education, and raise funds for community-based AIDS service organizations. Over 14 million people have visited the quilt at various locations worldwide, and the NAMES Foundation has raised over $3 million for AIDS service organizations in North America. From on Dec. 1 to 3, FHSU students, faculty and staff, as well as the Hays community, will have their chance to view the famous quilt which has been featured in books, films and even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. The quilt will be on display from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Fort Hays Ballroom and the Black and Gold Room of the union. Admission is free.
“The quilt is really a community art project,” said Michael Miller, Chanute junior and president of the Gay-Straight Alliance. “One panel will be specially made from the people in the Hays community who have had AIDS touch their lives.”
Any volunteers wishing to assist with the AIDS Quilt can e-mail fhsugsa@gmail.com. The volunteer work will count for Tigers in Service credit.
On Dec. 1-2, the health center will conduct free and confidential HIV testing. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS by slowly attacking the immune system. Often times, people with the HIV virus can show little to no symptoms but are still highly infectious. The tests will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the health center in the lower level of the union.
“We want people to know HIV is not a gay disease,” said George Jackson III, coordinator of diversity affairs. “Anybody can be HIV positive.”
FHSU students and faculty members have been asked to donate art pieces to be sold at the silent art auction outside the ballroom. The auction will begin at 11 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. on Dec. 1-2. All proceeds will go to the AIDS Research Alliance. According to their Web site, the ARA is an organization that exists to develop a cure for HIV/AIDS, medical strategies to prevent new infections and better treatments for people living with HIV/AIDS. Anyone donating art pieces must have their work turned into the Center for Student Involvement by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. After raising $200 last year, the group has set a goal of $500 for this year’s event.
A public forum will be on Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Cody Commons in the lower level of the union. The forum will be hosted by Jackson, as well as a representative from the health department. “I would also really love to get a pastor, or someone to provide a Christian aspect as well,” said Jackson. The representatives from the different areas will be present to answer any questions students may have concerning HIV or AIDS.
The Gay-Straight Alliance has asked Nina Martinez to speak on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Martinez contracted HIV as a six-week-old infant after a faulty blood transfusion. Martinez will speak from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Black and Gold Room.
Finishing the events on Thursday, Dec. 3, will be the showing of the documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.” The film tells about the first decade of the AIDS epidemic, and features the AIDS Quilt as its “central metaphor.” “Common Threads” relives personal memories and conducts an expose of the U.S. Government’s reaction to the epidemic and the resulting protests. The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1989. The film will be shown on at 7:30 p.m. in the Black and Gold Room.
“We really hope to raise awareness that AIDS is an epidemic everywhere,” said Miller. “It doesn’t matter what race, gender or sexual preference you are.” Miller will conduct the closing ceremony after the film to conclude the events.
For additional information about the commemoration, contact Jackson at (785) 628-4664.
Duration : 0:2:4
Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers
EVERY UK POINT SCORED!!!!!! #2 UK Basketball vs # 13 Tennessee Volunteers. Kentucky wins 74-45 at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN. 2010 SEC Tournament Finals Highlights courtesy of SECNetwork and ESPN. All rights reserved.
Jodie Meeks Renaldo Woolridge Kenny Hall Bobby Maze JP Prince Scotty Hopson Wayne Chism Skylar McBee Melvin Goins Cameron Tatum Steven Pearl Brian Williams Tyler Smith
Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers
Duration : 0:10:10
Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers
EVERY UK POINT SCORED!!!!!!
#2 UK Basketball vs # 12 Tennessee Volunteers. Kentucky wins 73-62 at Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
Highlights courtesy of SECNetwork and ESPN. All rights reserved.
Jodie Meeks Renaldo Woolridge Kenny Hall Bobby Maze JP Prince Scotty Hopson Wayne Chism Skylar McBee Melvin Goins Cameron Tatum Steven Pearl Brian Williams Tyler Smith
Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers
Duration : 0:10:31
‘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
Volunteers Abroad in 2009 with Abroaderview.org – You Must See
2009 was an amazing year for A Broader View Volunteers! A Broader View Volunteers financially donated over $250,000 to our local programs and placed near +500 volunteers overseas. Our volunteers touched thousands of people in every corner of the World Contributions made by ABV Volunteers and our participants. · In Uganda, with ABV funding and the support of our international volunteers construction on a new school house and volunteer center has begun. This program provides support to over 300 children of the Bulenga village. · In Chile, with ABV funding and the hard work of three volunteers a new mural was painted at a children’s orphanage in La Serena Chile. · In Kenya, with ABV funding hundreds of girls in the Central highland region received much needed sanitary pads and underwear which without prohibited them from attending school each month. · In Peru, with ABV funding and the hard work of multiple volunteers a new handmade tile art collage was completed and hung in a girl’s orphanage in Cusco. · In Costa Rica, ABV volunteers lent countless hours by assisting in a sea turtle conservation project. · In Argentina, ABV funding provided construction materials and hands-on support to a local community center in Lomas de Zamora in hopes of creating a safer and friendlier environment to the hundreds of children served at this center. · In Ghana, with ABV funding, and dozens of international volunteers, the small community of Kpando received medical donations, medical checkups, and much needed funding for the expansion of their current orphanage. · In Tanzania, with ABV direct support two local orphanages in Arusha received much needed funding for children’s clothing, food, farming materials, construction supplies and also small gifts for their children. · In Kenya, with ABV direct support our Mombasa feeding program received much needed funds to purchase farming equipment in aim to grow food to support 180 children in the orphan center and village school. · In Honduras, our ABV programs placed over 75 international volunteers in the town of La Ceiba who volunteered in medical and dental clinics, in schools for children with special needs, in local orphanages, and with the local Red Cross HIV outreach efforts. · In Morocco, our ABV volunteers participated in summer day camp activities with over 400 children, only to return to the USA to raise hundreds of dollars for the orphanage itself. · In Zambia, with ABV funding 220 children at a Lusaka drop in center were provided educational material, pens, papers, construction supplies for new desks and food every day for a month. · We are helping over 10.000 orphans in 22 countries with food, medications, schools supplies and mosquito nets. · Our volunteers took care of 25.000 sea turtle eggs and helped the new turtles to get safe to the ocean, impacting the biodiversity in a positive way. · ABV sent 9 medical and nurse missions overseas with medicine and treatment for entire villages, this helped over 700 patients. We are touched by the overwhelming generosity and support of our volunteers. There is still a lot more work and funding needed to help these global communities. We hope you will support the ABV programs, or decide to volunteer with us in 2010. Thank you!
Duration : 0:5:0
Helping America Become a Grad Nation
President Obama is joined by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and General Colin Powell as he announces plans to help reduce dropout rates and prepare students for college and careers. March 1, 2010.
Duration : 0:30:10