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Update 52
The Wet Season
Dear Friends,
We were shocked by the news of bomb blasts in London this week. We hope and trust that nobody you know has been affected – and we are grateful to have heard quickly from our own friends and relatives in London that they are safe.
We apologise to those of you who may have missed our recent updates. We sent them to an incorrect list. We will try to re-send it to those who missed out as soon as possible.
____________________________
SUMMARY
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* Rain, Rain, Rain
* Floods Kill Hundreds In China
* Baby Gow Update
* The Latest from Global Hand
____________________________
RAIN, RAIN, RAIN
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
It’s that time of year again – we have been hit with a deluge of rain that fills drains, turns grass into swamp and turns your best shoes into soggy scraps of leather. A couple of weeks ago was apparently the wettest week Hong Kong has had for 10 years (or something like that). The rain is actually quite nice to watch from inside, and it does cool down the city, which is welcome during Summer! We have learnt that it doesn’t pay to get attached to any one umbrella, as they seem to become common property throughout the workplace. People will grab the nearest one they can see when they are caught in a sudden shower and by the time you see your favourite tartan brolly again, it has made a few trips across the city and back!
____________________________
FLOODS KILL HUNDREDS IN CHINA
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The same rain that has caused slight inconvenience to Hong Kong's commuters, has created significantly more havoc in China. Every year, heavy rains bring about terrible floods, particularly in the South. You might have heard about this year’s floods in the news. In one industrial city, hard-hit by the rushing floods, witnesses saw a strange sight floating down the main city streets: instead of cars, the ‘traffic’ was upturned beds, cupboards and doors turned into makeshift rafts, with people paddling between dangling, bare electricity wires seeking food and other necessities. Already at least 567 people have been killed by floods - washed away in their homes or children snatched from the arms of parents. Hundreds more are missing. A lot of the people that survive the floods have lost everything they own. They will need to start their lives again from scratch. Our team loaded a container this week that will take relief goods, including clothing, warm blankets and baby food to parts of China that have been affected by the flooding. If you’ve heard of the famous ‘Wrap With Love’ blankets, you’ll know what a great gift these particular colourful blankets will be to the flood victims in China – they are hand-knitted square by square by friendly folk in Australia, then the organisation sends the blankets to places that need them around the world. Crossroads is often sent boxes of these blankets by Wrap With Love and we include them in many of our shipments.
____________________________
BABY GOW UPDATE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Adelaide: )
I am well and truly in the 3rd trimester, with only 9 weeks to go! Meanwhile there is much advice on pregnancy coming from all quarters. The traditional Chinese advice is particularly interesting. I have had quite a few Chinese people tell me not to drink anything cold for 9 months, and have also heard that things to avoid are:
- Squid (will cause the uterus to ‘stick’ during delivery)
- Crab (will result in a mischievous child!)
- Pineapple (can cause the baby to fall out) - Rubbing the abdomen too much (will result in a spoilt baby)
- Torturing, striking or killing an animal (anthropomorphic results may occur- e.g. if a rat is struck the newborn child will look like a rat and behave like one!)
The security guard at our accommodation complex has taken a shining to our unborn baby and every time we walk past, he has a gift of bananas, bread or other treats for me to eat. This week Matt came home staggering under the weight of a gigantic durian that the guard had given him! You may not know what a durian is – it’s an Asian fruit with a highly distinctive smell and taste. Some call it ‘fruit of the gods’. Others say, ‘with gods like that, who needs enemies?!’ We were not too distressed when we discovered that the durian went mouldy within a day or so before we had the pleasure of smelling its insides (variously described as smelling like raw sewage, onions, potent blue cheese or even rotting flesh!) and we were forced to throw it out. Amazingly, durian is a highly desired delicacy by many throughout Asia.
____________________________
THE LATEST FROM GLOBAL HAND
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Matt) What do big companies do when a disaster strikes? Many of them want to give help from their huge corporate resources, but they often don’t know how to get involved. Their good intentions can be wasted or, worse, be unhelpful. In response to this problem, a few groups have started programs to help co-ordinate business responses to disaster. Matt and other Global Hand staff met with some of these groups last month to discuss an idea. Imagine if Global Hand were coordinating some people, the Disaster Resources Network (a World Economic Forum initiative) were coordinating other people, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were coordinating others and so on (there are around nine key groups and many smaller ones). How much overall co-ordination could there be? One business might offer medicine to the UN OCHA which the UN cannot use. Meanwhile the Disaster Resources Network may be searching for medicines among their network members without finding any. Global Hand can’t be the UN or the World Economic Forum, but we can offer such groups the software we have developed for efficiently matching business reources with humanitarian needs. If these organisations adopt our software as a common platform, co-ordinating our various efforts is made easier. Then, if the UN is offered medicines they cannot use, it is very simple (even automatic) for that offer to to be made available to other groups who are using the common platform. Likewise, everyone can see the needs of the other groups and can help fill them. During a late night conference call with the Disaster Resources Network this week, they formally decided to use Global Hand’s platform for the companies and non-profit groups they coordinate. This is a great milestone for Global Hand! We hope it is the first of many similar partnerships that will ultimately benefit victims of disaster. The whole team is working hard to see that happen.
Thanks for all your support; your emails, your phone calls, your good wishes, your interest in us, your financial support. We love you all!
Matt & Ad
We were shocked by the news of bomb blasts in London this week. We hope and trust that nobody you know has been affected – and we are grateful to have heard quickly from our own friends and relatives in London that they are safe.
We apologise to those of you who may have missed our recent updates. We sent them to an incorrect list. We will try to re-send it to those who missed out as soon as possible.
____________________________
SUMMARY
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
* Rain, Rain, Rain
* Floods Kill Hundreds In China
* Baby Gow Update
* The Latest from Global Hand
____________________________
RAIN, RAIN, RAIN
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
It’s that time of year again – we have been hit with a deluge of rain that fills drains, turns grass into swamp and turns your best shoes into soggy scraps of leather. A couple of weeks ago was apparently the wettest week Hong Kong has had for 10 years (or something like that). The rain is actually quite nice to watch from inside, and it does cool down the city, which is welcome during Summer! We have learnt that it doesn’t pay to get attached to any one umbrella, as they seem to become common property throughout the workplace. People will grab the nearest one they can see when they are caught in a sudden shower and by the time you see your favourite tartan brolly again, it has made a few trips across the city and back!
____________________________
FLOODS KILL HUNDREDS IN CHINA
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The same rain that has caused slight inconvenience to Hong Kong's commuters, has created significantly more havoc in China. Every year, heavy rains bring about terrible floods, particularly in the South. You might have heard about this year’s floods in the news. In one industrial city, hard-hit by the rushing floods, witnesses saw a strange sight floating down the main city streets: instead of cars, the ‘traffic’ was upturned beds, cupboards and doors turned into makeshift rafts, with people paddling between dangling, bare electricity wires seeking food and other necessities. Already at least 567 people have been killed by floods - washed away in their homes or children snatched from the arms of parents. Hundreds more are missing. A lot of the people that survive the floods have lost everything they own. They will need to start their lives again from scratch. Our team loaded a container this week that will take relief goods, including clothing, warm blankets and baby food to parts of China that have been affected by the flooding. If you’ve heard of the famous ‘Wrap With Love’ blankets, you’ll know what a great gift these particular colourful blankets will be to the flood victims in China – they are hand-knitted square by square by friendly folk in Australia, then the organisation sends the blankets to places that need them around the world. Crossroads is often sent boxes of these blankets by Wrap With Love and we include them in many of our shipments.
____________________________
BABY GOW UPDATE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Adelaide: )
I am well and truly in the 3rd trimester, with only 9 weeks to go! Meanwhile there is much advice on pregnancy coming from all quarters. The traditional Chinese advice is particularly interesting. I have had quite a few Chinese people tell me not to drink anything cold for 9 months, and have also heard that things to avoid are:
- Squid (will cause the uterus to ‘stick’ during delivery)
- Crab (will result in a mischievous child!)
- Pineapple (can cause the baby to fall out) - Rubbing the abdomen too much (will result in a spoilt baby)
- Torturing, striking or killing an animal (anthropomorphic results may occur- e.g. if a rat is struck the newborn child will look like a rat and behave like one!)
The security guard at our accommodation complex has taken a shining to our unborn baby and every time we walk past, he has a gift of bananas, bread or other treats for me to eat. This week Matt came home staggering under the weight of a gigantic durian that the guard had given him! You may not know what a durian is – it’s an Asian fruit with a highly distinctive smell and taste. Some call it ‘fruit of the gods’. Others say, ‘with gods like that, who needs enemies?!’ We were not too distressed when we discovered that the durian went mouldy within a day or so before we had the pleasure of smelling its insides (variously described as smelling like raw sewage, onions, potent blue cheese or even rotting flesh!) and we were forced to throw it out. Amazingly, durian is a highly desired delicacy by many throughout Asia.
____________________________
THE LATEST FROM GLOBAL HAND
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
(From Matt) What do big companies do when a disaster strikes? Many of them want to give help from their huge corporate resources, but they often don’t know how to get involved. Their good intentions can be wasted or, worse, be unhelpful. In response to this problem, a few groups have started programs to help co-ordinate business responses to disaster. Matt and other Global Hand staff met with some of these groups last month to discuss an idea. Imagine if Global Hand were coordinating some people, the Disaster Resources Network (a World Economic Forum initiative) were coordinating other people, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were coordinating others and so on (there are around nine key groups and many smaller ones). How much overall co-ordination could there be? One business might offer medicine to the UN OCHA which the UN cannot use. Meanwhile the Disaster Resources Network may be searching for medicines among their network members without finding any. Global Hand can’t be the UN or the World Economic Forum, but we can offer such groups the software we have developed for efficiently matching business reources with humanitarian needs. If these organisations adopt our software as a common platform, co-ordinating our various efforts is made easier. Then, if the UN is offered medicines they cannot use, it is very simple (even automatic) for that offer to to be made available to other groups who are using the common platform. Likewise, everyone can see the needs of the other groups and can help fill them. During a late night conference call with the Disaster Resources Network this week, they formally decided to use Global Hand’s platform for the companies and non-profit groups they coordinate. This is a great milestone for Global Hand! We hope it is the first of many similar partnerships that will ultimately benefit victims of disaster. The whole team is working hard to see that happen.
Thanks for all your support; your emails, your phone calls, your good wishes, your interest in us, your financial support. We love you all!
Matt & Ad