Document Actions
Update 51
From Two Continents
Dear Friends,
We are writing to you this month from two different continents – we are half a world away from each other!
________________
SUMMARY
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* New Opportunities
* Baby Gow Update
* Nigeria
* Busy
_________________
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Matt) I'm writing from the floor of my cousin Tim's London apartment, as I enter the final few days of a most remarkable Global Hand journey. During the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of UN bodies, the Red Cross, the World Economic Forum and many other groups around Europe. In each case, the subject of discussion has been Global Hand. The recent Tsunami highlighted the need to co-ordinate the outpouring of assistance from businesses in response to a crisis. Global Hand has been helping connect resources in the business world with needs in the charitable world for some time now. Nonetheless, we were suprised to discover that some very large groups were interested to discuss how Global Hand's services might be used to make these connections more efficiently within their spheres of influence. So far, each meeting has been very productive. There is great potential for increasing the volume of resources available to areas of desperate need if we can turn some of these discussions into practical solutions. Along the way, it has been great to catch up with my cousin Tim, with friends Tara & Caius, with colleagues Ben & Angie and, hopefully, with my sister and brother-in-law Julia & Matt. It has been a huge trip and there are a few meetings left yet, so I'd better get some sleep now!
_________________
BABY GOW UPDATE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Adelaide) Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, life proceeds as close to normal as is possible when you are nearly 7 months pregnant. The baby is still growing nicely and, yes, making a bump, although sometimes it’s hard for me to tell that it’s growing because I’m living with it every day. To me, the belly still doesn’t look ‘pregnant’ enough for my liking. It’s at the stage where strangers may not feel completely confident in asking ‘when are you due?’ just in case I burst into tears and say ‘I’m not pregnant I’m just chubby!’ For some weeks I have been waiting for the great moment when someone gives up their seat for me on the bus or the MTR (HK underground train). Each time I board a crowded transport vehicle, I wonder ‘will this be the day?’ Well, last week I thought it had come. I was travelling to Kowloon Tong, the MTR had reached sardine-can level and many people were standing up, holding on to whatever they could. I had gratefully claimed a seat back in Tsuen Wan, and was reading a book, feeling quite entitled to my seat as a 25 week pregnant person should, although of course it would have been all the more satisfying had my seat been given to me by someone else. Then, out of the blue, an elegant looking lady with an Australian accent came up to me and said ‘excuse me…’ was she perhaps going to ask me how far along I was, or compliment me on my pregnant glow? Alas. ‘Would you mind giving up your seat, dear,’ she said to me, ‘there’s a pregnant lady standing up over in the corner!!!’ Oh well. Maybe we’ll give it a few more weeks.
_________________
NIGERIA
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We have an old friend working with our team with us at the moment. He’s a young guy called Bona who used to work at Crossroads, then went to Australia for college and is soon returning to his home country Nigeria to start his own work with unemployed youth and poor communities. Adelaide, as part of her role, had to interview Bona about what he’ll be doing when he returns. Have a read of this story, which was just one of the accounts Bona gave about life back home: Joe was a policeman in Nigeria. He and his wife were an ‘ordinary’ couple, with eight children. They had many friends and Joe was earning enough to keep his family fed and clothed. But suddenly, one summer, Joe began to get sick. He had lung trouble, lost his appetite and developed strange skin lesions. When his wife also became mysteriously ill, people began to talk. Nobody knew for sure what was wrong with Joe and his wife, but they knew it was serious. After some months, in which both husband and wife declined in health rapidly, they died within less a year of each other. Their eight children have been divided between relatives. It is nearly certain that Joe and his wife died of Aids. The fact that they themselves may not have known why they were dying is a grim sign of the lack of awareness in many parts of Nigeria about the disease. Deaths are often attributed to the opportunistic illnesses that attack people with Aids, such as tuberculosis, or even blamed on evil spirits or curses. Officially, Nigeria has more than 4 million people infected with HIV/Aids. The statistics hide the truth, though. Because of misinformation and misunderstanding, it’s estimated that thousands more Nigerians are living with, and dying from Aids, unaware that they were ever infected. Information is a powerful tool. Our friend Bona knows this well and hopes to be able to use this tool to reach the people of his home Nigerian community, where Aids and other diseases are hardly talked about, much less understood. Part of the amazingly multi-faceted work he plans to do is to use handheld computers to help train people in educating youth about Aids and health issues. Through our project, P3, Bona has been given a number of these computers which e-books on them, containing health and other information, and he will be taking them back to Nigeria to begin his project. This is only a fraction of what he plans to do. After hearing some of the more eyebrow-raising stories of crime and poverty in his home city (one of Nigeria’s more dangerous), we were so impressed that Bona would give up the comforts and security of living in a more developed country to go back to this place. We’re not the only ones impressed. Many of his friends, family and even strangers back in Nigeria ask him ‘why? You got out, why are you coming back?’ But he really loves his people and his country, and he can’t wait to be back there making a difference. He is in Hong Kong, partly to finalise the details of a container to be shipped to him in Nigeria, which has things like computers, metal lathes and woodworking equipment, which Bona will use to set up a training centre for unemployed young people.
_________________
BUSY!
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We really do plan to put more photos online soon for you to see, but life has been very hectic. Adelaide is studying part time, so evenings are taken up with assignments and exam preparation. Once the semester finishes (mid-June), we will try to get more organised and will have more time for staying in touch!
Thanks for your emails and replies, it is always lovely to hear from everyone and we are so grateful for your friendship.
Matt & Ad
We are writing to you this month from two different continents – we are half a world away from each other!
________________
SUMMARY
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* New Opportunities
* Baby Gow Update
* Nigeria
* Busy
_________________
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Matt) I'm writing from the floor of my cousin Tim's London apartment, as I enter the final few days of a most remarkable Global Hand journey. During the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of UN bodies, the Red Cross, the World Economic Forum and many other groups around Europe. In each case, the subject of discussion has been Global Hand. The recent Tsunami highlighted the need to co-ordinate the outpouring of assistance from businesses in response to a crisis. Global Hand has been helping connect resources in the business world with needs in the charitable world for some time now. Nonetheless, we were suprised to discover that some very large groups were interested to discuss how Global Hand's services might be used to make these connections more efficiently within their spheres of influence. So far, each meeting has been very productive. There is great potential for increasing the volume of resources available to areas of desperate need if we can turn some of these discussions into practical solutions. Along the way, it has been great to catch up with my cousin Tim, with friends Tara & Caius, with colleagues Ben & Angie and, hopefully, with my sister and brother-in-law Julia & Matt. It has been a huge trip and there are a few meetings left yet, so I'd better get some sleep now!
_________________
BABY GOW UPDATE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Adelaide) Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, life proceeds as close to normal as is possible when you are nearly 7 months pregnant. The baby is still growing nicely and, yes, making a bump, although sometimes it’s hard for me to tell that it’s growing because I’m living with it every day. To me, the belly still doesn’t look ‘pregnant’ enough for my liking. It’s at the stage where strangers may not feel completely confident in asking ‘when are you due?’ just in case I burst into tears and say ‘I’m not pregnant I’m just chubby!’ For some weeks I have been waiting for the great moment when someone gives up their seat for me on the bus or the MTR (HK underground train). Each time I board a crowded transport vehicle, I wonder ‘will this be the day?’ Well, last week I thought it had come. I was travelling to Kowloon Tong, the MTR had reached sardine-can level and many people were standing up, holding on to whatever they could. I had gratefully claimed a seat back in Tsuen Wan, and was reading a book, feeling quite entitled to my seat as a 25 week pregnant person should, although of course it would have been all the more satisfying had my seat been given to me by someone else. Then, out of the blue, an elegant looking lady with an Australian accent came up to me and said ‘excuse me…’ was she perhaps going to ask me how far along I was, or compliment me on my pregnant glow? Alas. ‘Would you mind giving up your seat, dear,’ she said to me, ‘there’s a pregnant lady standing up over in the corner!!!’ Oh well. Maybe we’ll give it a few more weeks.
_________________
NIGERIA
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We have an old friend working with our team with us at the moment. He’s a young guy called Bona who used to work at Crossroads, then went to Australia for college and is soon returning to his home country Nigeria to start his own work with unemployed youth and poor communities. Adelaide, as part of her role, had to interview Bona about what he’ll be doing when he returns. Have a read of this story, which was just one of the accounts Bona gave about life back home: Joe was a policeman in Nigeria. He and his wife were an ‘ordinary’ couple, with eight children. They had many friends and Joe was earning enough to keep his family fed and clothed. But suddenly, one summer, Joe began to get sick. He had lung trouble, lost his appetite and developed strange skin lesions. When his wife also became mysteriously ill, people began to talk. Nobody knew for sure what was wrong with Joe and his wife, but they knew it was serious. After some months, in which both husband and wife declined in health rapidly, they died within less a year of each other. Their eight children have been divided between relatives. It is nearly certain that Joe and his wife died of Aids. The fact that they themselves may not have known why they were dying is a grim sign of the lack of awareness in many parts of Nigeria about the disease. Deaths are often attributed to the opportunistic illnesses that attack people with Aids, such as tuberculosis, or even blamed on evil spirits or curses. Officially, Nigeria has more than 4 million people infected with HIV/Aids. The statistics hide the truth, though. Because of misinformation and misunderstanding, it’s estimated that thousands more Nigerians are living with, and dying from Aids, unaware that they were ever infected. Information is a powerful tool. Our friend Bona knows this well and hopes to be able to use this tool to reach the people of his home Nigerian community, where Aids and other diseases are hardly talked about, much less understood. Part of the amazingly multi-faceted work he plans to do is to use handheld computers to help train people in educating youth about Aids and health issues. Through our project, P3, Bona has been given a number of these computers which e-books on them, containing health and other information, and he will be taking them back to Nigeria to begin his project. This is only a fraction of what he plans to do. After hearing some of the more eyebrow-raising stories of crime and poverty in his home city (one of Nigeria’s more dangerous), we were so impressed that Bona would give up the comforts and security of living in a more developed country to go back to this place. We’re not the only ones impressed. Many of his friends, family and even strangers back in Nigeria ask him ‘why? You got out, why are you coming back?’ But he really loves his people and his country, and he can’t wait to be back there making a difference. He is in Hong Kong, partly to finalise the details of a container to be shipped to him in Nigeria, which has things like computers, metal lathes and woodworking equipment, which Bona will use to set up a training centre for unemployed young people.
_________________
BUSY!
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We really do plan to put more photos online soon for you to see, but life has been very hectic. Adelaide is studying part time, so evenings are taken up with assignments and exam preparation. Once the semester finishes (mid-June), we will try to get more organised and will have more time for staying in touch!
Thanks for your emails and replies, it is always lovely to hear from everyone and we are so grateful for your friendship.
Matt & Ad