❧❧❧ Whatever you can do or dream, you can BEGIN IT. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe ❧❧❧
❧❧❧ You were born whole, not broken. Sandra Hammel ❧❧❧
I choose the moments I have left to be moments without pretending.
When Death Comes
by Mary Oliver
When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn; when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut; when death comes like the measle-pox
when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth, tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.
When it's over, I want to say all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
from the book Ten Poems to Last a Lifetime page 111-112
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I am reading the book The Body Never Lies by Alice Miller. And it is so helping me. It says things I have already learned, but find it so helpful to see in print the words. It validates and gives permission to really believe things that have so rung true in my search for living a life fully, free and unencumbered. I have colored the sentences that just made me pause and drink it in.
If you click on the post title, you will go to Alice Miller's website.
From chapter 10, The Body as Guardian of the Truth a story of Elizabeth from pages 121 - 123 ...But, as always I managed to ignore my own feelings and adjust to her mentality...All I had to do was to listen to my own body, because in all the encounters with my mother I was invariably afflicted with severe physical symptoms as soon as I started repressing my feelings. My body appears to be completely unerring in this respect, and my impression is that it knows my truth very well; better than my conscious self...
It would be nice if I could find someone who would let me be as I am, let me say all the things I would like to say, who would not force-feed me with moralistic homilies. This might help me intregrate my painful memories....I am closer to my own feelings than I have ever been before. I can express them...Since I started doing that, my physical complaints and my depression have more or less disappeared.
...I haven't seen my mother once this year, and I do not feel the need to do so. The memories...protect me from any illusions I might have and also from expectations, that she might have something to give me that I missed out on so much as a child. Even though I still miss it from time to time, I now know exactly where there is absolutely no point in looking for it. ...I feel no hatred in me. I do not need to hate my mother because I am no longer emotionally dependent on her.
...failed to understand that. She wanted to free me of my hatred and did not realize that she was unintentionally thrusting me into that hate, which was an expression of my dependency, a dependency she would have created all over again...Today, I no longer need to suffer from pretending that I have feelings for my mother. I don't. That is why there is no hatred left inside me.
And this part I was really grateful to read: It does not matter so much whether we have to break off all contact with our parents or not. The process of separation, the path from childhood to adulthood, takes place inside us. Sometimes breaking off all contact is the only way in which we can live up to our own needs.
Form Chapter 11 ~ Can I Say It? page 127 I can well remember the fears that haunted me when I was writing Thou Shalt Not Be Aware. ...I knew quite definitely that I had chanced on an unwritten law, the devastating exploitation of children for the retaliatory needs of their parents and the taboo placed on that reality by society. We shall not be aware.
Did I not risk incurring the severest of penalties if I insisted on breaking that taboo? But my fear also helped me to understand a lot of things...
p 132 -133 ...When their parents lie dying, they desperately hope to feel, at the very last moment, the acceptance and confirmation that they never felt in the presence of their parents throughout their whole lives. Dagnmar writes: Every time I talk to my mother I feel a poison flowing into my body and forming an ulcer there. I try not to see it like that, because seeing it like that gives me guilt feelings. Then the ulcer starts to suppurate, and every time I lapse into depression. I try to admit my true feelings and tell myself I have the right to feel them, to see the intensity of my anger. When I admit my feelings,although they are not always good feelings, I start to breathe again. I start allowing myself to stay with my true feelings. If I succeed in that, I feel better, more alive, and my depression disappears.
...But, how can I respect myself if I don't take my true feelings seriously? If I don't do that, I don't know who I am, I don't know who I'm supposed to be respecting.
Music is my Refuge .......................................................
....................................................... It's May ~ Robert Schumannn's Art Song ~ Paul Warren Allen, Conductor ~ North Central College Uploaded by me
This recording was done in the spring of 1968 in Naperville, Illinois, outside of Chicago at North Central College. Three years later the college eliminated the music department.
The women come in for the second Schumann Art Song which follows this song. The second song is Where'er My Tears Are Falling, followed with The Rose and The Lily.
I will be uploading more songs from this long playing (LP) record.
If you were a member of this choir, would you be willing to contact me? I would like to hear from you. If you have a song from the album that you would like posted here at Youtube, please let me know. You can leave a Channel Comment here: www.youtube.com/user/ilovemylifesblog
or in the upper right corner of my individual video page, find the logo for an envelope and click on it, in order to send me a private message. It is found between "ilovemylifesblog" and "Sign In" or "Sign Out" (whichever is relevant).
Also, you may leave a comment below or email me here at my blog by clicking View My Complete Profile under the text on my sidebar of the About Me section.
I have talked to Maestro Paul Warren Allen's daughter. I sent a letter to him in January 2010 and she called me. He is 96 years old. And later, I received a note that he heard the youtube video. I have since posted another video - The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee - which I may eventually repost to correct the size. Until then, the link.
Here is an excerpt from Naperville Chorus... In the 1960's Dr. Paul Warren Allen of the North Central College Music Department melded the vocal talents of students, college personnel, and community members into a forerunner of the Naperville Chorus. The NCC-Community Chorus flourished and performed contemporary and traditional choral works until 1971, when financial cutbacks at the college eliminated the Music Department.
Photos, except for ten (4 of children, 4 of birds and 2 of woods' scenes), are from my yard in Rhode Island, nearby where I live on Aquidneck Island and photos of flowers I took at the National Botanical Gardens in Washington, D.C (where I have lobbied four times for Darfur, in addition to several times in the US RI Senators and Representative offices in Rhode Island).
The video portion within the Youtube video is from the movie "The Four Feathers". The actors are Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. Other youtube videos of mine featuring The Four Feathers... HEATH LEDGER ~ THE FOUR FEATHERS ~ TRIBUTE TO FRIENDSHIP, COURAGE AND INTEGRITY ~ BROKEN ARROW
The picture of me included in the video on my parents' lawn is the day I graduated from college at Huntington College ~ after I transferred from North Central College mid-way through my junior (third) year. Going to Huntington College is what eventually led me to live in New England the whole of my adult life. I love it here.
I am a bit tired as the Youtube video and me were up all night...not uncommon for me, while creating youtube videos...so no sympathy needed .
I just went through boxes of memorabilia I have kept over my lifetime...what a ball! I found some very interesting things. No one should have this much fun. Or maybe, everyone should. I did find a bonanza....when I was a freshman I got mono in the spring of 1968. And many of the NCC choir members - 39 - signed a "get well" card to me before going on choir tour. And I still have it! The back of the LP album says there are 60 members and I count 61 in the picture on the back of the album (which matches the one in the 1968 yearbook/Spectrum).
I have many terrific pictures from the NCC 1967 music camp of students, Prof Allen and *Prof Izzo, also of **Prof Marian Schapp, and other music people and experiences. And I have a specially typed note to me from Paul Warren Allen asking me to sing in his Swedish Chorus in Chicago,*a personal note in a "get well" card which is precious from Bernard Izzo - a vocal NCC prof and Chicago opera singer, along with **many handwritten notes from Marian Schapp - my piano professor - from when I transferred from NCC to HC near my home in Indiana midway through my junior year.
So special and heart-warming for me.
A special picture of Conductor Paul Warren Allen by the pool at music camp before the freshman year started, standing beside a bathing-trunks-wearing svelte Professor/Chicago Opera Singer, Bernard Izzo. Do I dare post it on my blog?
Hmmm, so tempting....
This student, Paul K. Ferington, conducted while at North Central College for Prof Allen. Paul is pictured here inthis article.
I am the fifth person from the right in the front row. Karen is behind me, the sixth person from the right in the second row. Click on the picture and it will enlarge.
A click on this post's title will take you to North Central College's website and specifically the alumni page.
North Central College Choir ~ Year 1968 ~ Members
38 of 61 members' names were retrieved from a "Get Well" card to me in spring of 1968
By cross referencing my 1970 yearbook which has a list of choir members (though there are some obvious mistakes found when I cross referenced the list with the same yearbook's indexed names in the back of the book), I came up with a list for the 1968 choir as follows:
Choir member list is still incomplete, however.
Laurie Batha
Marsha Benton
Dan Berger
‘Nita Bohnsack
Pat Bruns
Bob Buckley
Cathi Bertram
Mindy Cody
Larry Cooper
Joan Crosby
Sara Ebert
Joe Enich
Paul K. Ferington
Jackson Ferch
Geof. Geither or Guiter
Sandra Kay Hammel
Dennis Huff
Jim Knol
Karen Kosloske
Virginia Marek
Linda Mootz
Al Murphy
Nancy Myers
Lois Newcomb
Verilyn Potthoff
Sandra Schaeffer
Lydia Schmidt, piano accompanist in the video above
Sue Schwen
Barb Shiffler
Bob Stevens
Oliver J. Taylor
Julie Tunison
Sue Wayo
Lois Wedell
Doug Wilkie
Marlene Yenerich
Cindy Young
Eildert Zwart
UPDATE November 6, Friday, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. USA EST
Kim, the North Central College archivist, has tracked down the 1968 Choir Christmas Program's inside and emailed it to me this evening:
and also Kim sent the 1969 Choir Personnel list:
Click on the images to enlarge.
"Big Thanks" to Kim!
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See what was happening in 1968 the year this music was recorded.
Here are some of the things that happened:
* April 4 Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities for several days afterward.
* April 11 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
* April 20 Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes Canada's 15th Prime Minister.
* April 20 English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood Speech.
* April 23 President Mobutu releases captured mercenaries in the Congo.
* April 23 Surgeons at the Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, perform Europe's first heart transplant, on Clovis Roblain.
* April 23 The United Methodist Church is created by the union of the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches.
* April 23 Thirty Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university (see main article Columbia University protests of 1968).
* April 29 The musical Hair officially opens on Broadway.
* June 5 U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.
* June 8 James Earl Ray is arrested for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.
* July 1 The Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established.
* July 1 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature.
* July 4 Yachtsman Alec Rose, 59, receives a hero's welcome as he sails into Portsmouth, England after his 354-day round-the-world trip.
* July 17 Saddam Hussein becomes Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council in Iraq after a coup d'état.
This turned out to be a free association post. I start with sharing a personal video of my son before he was my son. My pride in his accomplishments with a video he produced, edited as a high school project in Latin class, winning a Bronze Chalice Award. I am so pleased with the young man he is ~ as he has shown me in his young adult years.
I talk of spanking and beating children. My own experience and the aftermath of being beaten with a leather belt by people who were supposed to love me. And why I think it is wrong to hit children.
I always feel ambivalent about this type of a post. Being the big ugly world and baring my soul, including my son's - it is questionable that I should cross this threshold. The last time I did it, I came back a few days later and deleted most all of the post.
Here . . . . . for now
This is the very first video footage of Jonathan. I met him at the end of October 1995. At the time, he was in Mrs. D's second grade class and living with one of several foster families that he was placed with over the course of two years. He was one of hundreds of music students that I was teaching in a public school that year. On this day, he was visiting our home and I got out the huge video camera that I owned. Since March of that year, I was giving him free piano lessons and helping him with his speech lessons with the blessing of the foster family. On this day, we had planted a bush in the front yard and named it after him. That bush didn't survive and thrive, but Jonathan has! He is wearing Mark's sweater, here, which I now use for work in the yard when it is cold. Although the video tape was defective since the the day I shot this, my video teacher helped me in June 2009 with his great equipment in video class, to transfer it from my VHS video tape.... so that I could upload this on my computer and then I could share it with Jonathan on youtube. It came out much better quality than how it had deteriorated on the tape. So I am thrilled as Jonathan is so adorable in these few minutes. It has been for "private" viewing only until now, as I share it here.
.....................................
..................................... Jonathan dances Jonathan's First Video Footage - May 27, 1996 Music: "Starting All Over Again" by Hall and Oates. Uploaded by lovemylifesblog originally on June 23, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 8, 1999
We adopted Jonathan March 8, 1999. He is getting his undergraduate and Masters degree simultaneously in engineering in Boston - one of the top engineering students at Northeastern University. I slightly modified the text above which is from my Youtube page. I ended the Youtube text with these words . . .
Enjoy, Jonathan. You are something special.
Love, Mom
Lyrics to the song: Starting all over again is going to be rough For us, we're going to make it Starting all over as friends is going be tough On us, we gotta face it
We lost what we had That would hurt us so bad Set us back a thousand years But we going to make it up Though I know it's going to be tough To erase the hurt and fears
Starting all over again is going to be hard But I pray to the Lord to help us make it Starting all over again is going to slow But we both know, we gonna make it
We gotta take life as it comes Never fuss about it, what's right or wrong It's an uphill climb, to the finish line We gonna try, we gonna try, just one more time
We gotta take life as it comes Don't make any fuss about it, what's right or wrong We gonna make it up, though I know it's gonna be rough To erase the hurt and fears
Starting all over again is going to be rough For us, we're going to make it Starting all over as friends is going be tough On us, we gotta face it.
The words are somewhat appropriate...what do you think?
End of text from my Youtube page
When Jonathan was in his third year of high school, his Latin teacher had him use his digital still camera that had a feature of shooting brief video bits on it. And he was asked to enter a contest with a video of the project by his Latin teacher. He produced and edited this video. http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/Hammel%20Caesar%20Movie.wmv He won the Bronze Chalice Award
The following text is from the Able Media website:
As described by teacher Ruth Breindel:"Some background on the project: every year we stage the battle between the Helvetians and Caesar, concentrating on Book I.21-29. Usually we do it in the field house, but this year, because we couldn't use it, we did it in a new part of the building. I always take still shots of the battle, but by chance John had brought his digital camera this year. It also makes short films, so after he filmed everything, he put it together with the music and brought it to class."
As described by student John Hammel: "It started off as a learning experience, hands on learning. I decided to use my digital camera to record the class reinacting a scene from Caesar's Gallic War. I went home and began to create the video. I learned of the assignment after I began creating the video, which was to create something to represent Caesar and what we had translated of his Gallic War."
Technical Information
Movie was shot with a Kodak Digital Camera and edited with Roxio Video Wave Movie Creator. Some of the translations included on the video were original while others relied upon the Forum Romanum website http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/caesar/gallic1.html
Veni, Vidi, Vici: Caesar vs. the Helvetii
by John Hammel, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI
Edgy camera work merges with ancient Latin script in Hammel’s Veni, Vidi, Vici to evoke the Götterdämmerung wrought by Rome and the steely generalship of Julius Caesar in Book 1 of Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico. Hammel combines heavy metal music, model soldiers, and gritty commentary in Latin and English to dramatize Caesar’s crushing defeat of the Gallic tribe, the Helvetii.
The website had Jonathan answer the following questions after winning the Bronze Chalice Award
To which classical figure do you most relate and why?
Hercules because of his childhood.
What book has been most influential to your career?
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Powers
If you could travel back to ancient Rome, what five items would you take with you from the present?
Aspirin, Monopoly (I may be able to finish the game for once), Toilet paper and Kleenex, and I would also take a lot of books: Latin Dictionary, Ancient World History Texts, Science books (Chemistry, Physics [so that I can make money being a magician.]) and every other book that I could possibly think of.
What book are you currently reading?
The Great Gatsby and The Millionaire’s Dinner Party (as a part of Latin Class)
If it were possible, with whom, dead or alive, from the world outside of Classical Studies would you like to have dinner?
Leonardo Da Vinci.
What albums would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?
Pearl Jam – Greatest Hits; Guns N’ Roses – Greatest Hits; Aerosmith – Greatest Hits; Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits; ACDC – Back in Black
If it were possible, with whom, dead or alive, from Classical times would you want to deliver your eulogy?
Cicero.
What trend in Classical Studies do you see as positive?
Hands on learning in classroom; learning by doing rather than being taught at.
John Hammel is a student at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. Hammel is the winner of AbleMedia's Bronze Chalice award for his submission of Caesar Video.
Who has been the most important mentor in your career?
All of the teachers that I have ever had. They have all affected me in different and unique ways
How would you like to be remembered?
As a good person - Caring, Compassionate, understanding and above all a great friend
What is the best advice you have ever received?
“Never take your work too seriously.” - friend
What law, rule, event, or custom from Classical times would you like to see reincarnated today?
Community leisure - Resuscitations of Stories and being together, Community Entertainment.
What is the most interesting thing in your car right now?
Lounge Chair.
Summarize yourself in the title of a Classics paper?
"The Ancient World in Modern Form."
What would be the title of your autobiography?
Phoenix.
What trend in Classical Studies do you see as negative?
My personal problem would be memorizing vocabulary. Although I do regard memorizing as an important aspect to Classical Studies, it could be made much more interesting through games and PowerPoint presentations, Interactive.
Humiliations, spankings and beatings, slaps in the face, betrayal, sexual exploitation, derision, neglect, etc. are all forms of mistreatment, because they injure the integrity and dignity of a child, even if their consequences are not visible right away. However, as adults, most abused children will suffer, and let others suffer, from these injuries. This dynamic of violence can deform some victims into hangmen who take revenge even on whole nations and become willing executors to dictators as unutterably appalling as Hitler and other cruel leaders. Beaten children very early on assimilate the violence they endured, which they may glorify and apply later as parents, in believing that they deserved the punishment and were beaten out of love. They don't know that the only reason for the punishments they have ( or in retrospect, had) to endure is the fact that their parents themselves endured and learned violence without being able to question it. Later, the adults, once abused children, beat their own children and often feel grateful to their parents who mistreated them when they were small and defenseless.
This is why society's ignorance remains so immovable and parents continue to produce severe pain and destructivity - in all "good will", in every generation. Most people tolerate this blindly because the origins of human violence in childhood have been and are still being ignored worldwide. Almost all small children are smacked during the first three years of life when they begin to walk and to touch objects which may not be touched. This happens at exactly the time when the human brain builds up its structure and should thus learn kindness, truthfulness, and love but never, never cruelty and lies. Fortunately, there are many mistreated children who find "helping witnesses" and can feel loved by them.
I was raised with being whipped by both of my parents with a leather belt. I believe it is wrong to spank or whip children. I believe it is wrong to humiliate children. I believe it is our job as parents to build their inner strengths, a belief in themselves, a trust in their own wisdom and nurture their natural talents and strengths of character. My son had all of these things - beatings, humiliations, neglect, witnessing others being beaten... happen to him and worse. Butbefore he was adopted. Never once since he was adopted.
It has always taken a huge amount of courage for me to speak up to my authoritarian, over-reaching parents even as an adult. However, I spoke up once to my father when he was striking my young niece at his house when he was watching over the grandchildren when I was visiting from Rhode Island.
I had learned from a principal that hitting was not the way to carry on and found other ways as a teacher to deal with a child's correction needs.
I told my father that he could choose to sit my niece on the sofa for a time and not strike her any more. Dad made a comment later to me that she responded appropriately with this manner of correction. I believe it made a difference.
I know I am affected as an adult by these leather belt episodes in my younger life. I was affected also because I couldn't protect my older brother from the terrible beatings that I witnessed him getting. Years later I experienced a draining memory of one of these episodes of witnessing my brother bear the "acting out" of our dad. Even when I was in college and my sister was in high school, I took her to the living room to huddle in the corner during another time of outrage being carried out on our brother. The effects will never completely go away.
Consistency is the key to correction. The spanking and beatings need to stop.
If you strike your children or humiliate them, ask yourself what kind of relationship do you want with your adult children? Because spanking , humiliating them - provoking their fears as children - will affect them, their relationships throughout their lives and your relationship with them now and in the future when they are adults. I know my putting up with an abusive boyfriend in my thirties, would not have been acceptable to me had I not had the acceptance that I could be hit by someone who "loved" me. Everything has its foundation in our childhoods. Adult anxiety, reinforced fears and depression.
And if your son sees you hit your daughter, what is he learning from you? He is learning it is okay to hit a woman. And he is learning someone who loves you can hurt you and it is supposed to be all right.
It is not all right.
When you are elderly, and your adult children could take advantage of your vulnerable state, do you want it to be acceptable for them to hit you? Elderly abuse happens. A lot.
Abuse is a cop out versus being wise, patient and putting yourself in someone else's "shoes". Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ~ that line is the most important thing my parents ever said to me from their Christian values. Sad they didn't live it.
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children." And he said: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of Teaching." And he said: No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.
The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.
And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man. And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.
In 2004, I watched a PBS Frontline show called Ghosts of Rwanda. Then I read some books and information online about the genocide in Rwanda. Two organizations that I support are Rwanda Partners and Women for Women. Learning about the story of Rwanda, motivated me to get involved in ending genocide and specifically as a Darfur community activist leader with Save Darfur and Genocide Intervention which includes Stand Now.
I sponsor a Rwandan sister each year through Women for Women. This means I give $27 monthly to her and we exchange letters and pictures. It usually takes 3 months for the letters to get back and forth with the original letter and a translation. Last week, I received a letter (which was written November 21, 2008) from Odette, my sister, which reads:
To my beloved sponsor,
To my parent that I love and wish (you) to be with God's peace.
Sandra, are you fine? We are also fine. I was happy after seeing your (emotional) support. The love you loved me without knowing me - caused me to love you this kind of love that has no end. Now I wish to see your face.
I am also a mother of four children, three girls and one boy. I am a farmer. Now I do Cassova, g-nuts, soghum, potatoes. I am preparing for Christmas, so greet for me your family and tell them we wish them Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank You.
The one who loves you,
Odette
These words touched me tenderly and are most precious to me.
Odette, has no education, cannot read or write. And her house has no electricity and the main source of lighting is by kerosene lamp. There is no water in the house. And the reason two of her four children do not go to school is lack of funds. Whenever I feel sorry for myself, I think of Odette. And it puts my life in perspective. Many of the young women of Rwanda are raising orphans. Remember many people were killed during the 1994 100 day genocide.
Within days, I received another letter. For some reason, it was delayed in its coming as it was a letter written by my sister from last year, Immaculee, which was originally written July 25, 2008 to me:
Dear Sponsor,
How are you? Let me hope that you are fine. I am also fine and doing well with all my family members and they all send you their best regards.
I have purposely written to you to say good-bye. I thank you for the support you have given me for a year, now. My wish has always been to see you, though it has not been possible. But I hope one day we shall meet. Through, your support, I have been able to build myself a house.
Did you receive my photo? I, who with my son, my mum and my neighbor. I request you to one day come and visit Rwanda. Maybe, we could meet. If you love to still write to me, I have sent my address to you. Send my regards to all your family members.
God bless you.
Immaculee
In 2005, I received a letter from my first sponsored sister, another Odette. And would like to include it here as well:
To my dear sponsor, Sandra. What is your news? Mine is fine and we are praising God.
I and my children, the orphans that I bring up, and my real mother referred to as mother number one and you being mother number two. I can't easily explain this unless God helped us to meet face to face.
Let me first say sorry, please forgive me, bear with me. I will send my photograph to you next time.
You required to know how I joined Women for Women International Rwanda. We were in a group of women with variable problems of being widows, and victims of H.I.V. AIDS. We had been grouped together by the Vice-Mayor of the locality. Personally, I have been a victim of H.I.V. AIDS for three years, and yet a widow. Then we were made to join the very organization.
Among my needs, I desire to see you face to face. I do request for your prayers, as it's very hard to bring up the children.
I was born in 1976. I am the first born, my father died and my mother is still alive and present with me. Please try to write to me frequently for it does good to me.
Thanks.
Odette
My other sister from Rwanda was Patricie. And I sponsored a sister from Iraq, Mariam, however for security reasons we were not allowed to exchange letters.
I met Edwin and Edward Mutanguha from Kigali, Rwanda a year and a half ago. They are in their second year at Salve Regina University here in Newport, Rhode Island. Both were keynote speakers at Rhode Island's Torch Relay Ceremony in 2007. Their mother, Odette Mukazi Mutanguha, who is pictured here with them, was a guest speaker at the Pell Center in Newport, RI, September 17, 2008. Her presentation was: "Build a Better Africa: Working for Women, Human Rights, Education and Peace"
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Call President Obama at 202-456-1111 or 1-800-GENOCIDE and pressure him to immediately take steps to ensure the protection of civilians in Darfur!
An example of your phone call text can be found below. It is encouraged that you make it personally your message. *
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And call the USA Secretary of State
The USA State Department public comment line works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Please, call as soon as possible.
Call the State Department's public comment line 24/7 at 202-647-6575
The White House (9 AM - 5 PM EST weekdays) at 202-456-1111
or 1-800-GENOCIDE with a similar message as the one below.
If you have called already, please call again:
* I'm calling to ask President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador Rice to protect innocent civilians in Darfur in the wake of Bashir's arrest warrant. Please issue immediate warnings to Bashir and the government of Sudan specifying consequences of attacks on civilians. Please also prepare an emergency response plan to address further violence and appoint a full-time senior level envoy. Lastly, please stand firm in support of the ICC indictment and veto any delay in the prosecution of Bashir.
PASSING ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE INAUGURAL EVENTS . . .
The Inaugural Committee sent this email today:
In just a few short days, the 56th Presidential Inaugural will be fully underway.
This will be an inauguration for all Americans, and we have an exciting list of events planned, even if you won't be in Washington, D.C. I wanted to send you an update about some of the items on the agenda:
Sunday, January 18th
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, free, live broadcast on HBO -- At 2:30 p.m. EST, HBO will offer a free nationwide broadcast of the We Are One concert featuring Bono, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend and more. Check your local listings to find out where you can watch the free HBO broadcast.
Monday, January 19th
Renew America Together: National Day of Service -- The Obama and Biden families will be participating in volunteer service in the Washington, D.C. area, and would like you to take part in your community. Join any one of more than 10,000 service events already scheduled across America, or host your own:
Kids' Inaugural: We Are The Future -- After being part of the day of service, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host a free Kids' Inaugural concert for the children of military families. Performances by Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Bow Wow and others will be broadcast on the Disney Channel and Disney Radio beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Tuesday, January 20th
The Neighborhood Ball -- On the night of the Inauguration, the newly sworn-in President and the First Lady will attend the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. Join the celebration by hosting or attending a Neighborhood Ball in your own community: http://www.pic2009.org/ball
ABC will broadcast the Washington, D.C. Neighborhood Ball, and the Presidential Inaugural Committee will be live blogging from the ballroom.
These are just a few of the events planned in the coming days. Visit www.pic2009.org to find out more. And to make sure you get up-to-the-minute updates about these and other Inaugural events, text OPEN to 56333.
I thank everyone who has committed to volunteering at the Inaugural events, or supported us with a donation. You make all of this possible, and have helped us to organize the most open and accessible inaugural in our nation's history.
We look forward to celebrating with all of you.
Thank you,
Emmett
Emmett S. Beliveau Executive Director 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee
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WEBCAST: Save Darfur Coalition and The Enough Project Panel On President Obama and Darfur
WHAT:Webcast on Darfur Policy Expectations for the Obama Administration WHEN: Thursday, January 22, 2009 — 2 p.m. EST to 2:45 p.m. EST WHERE: http://www.savedarfur.org/enoughproject/signup
About the Web Cast The new administration presents a real opportunity for the United States to use its tremendous experience in peacemaking to finally resolve the Darfur conflict. A policy letter to the new President from the Save Darfur Coalition and the Enough Project advocating an end to genocide, war, and the crisis in Sudan details a practical plan to bring peace to the region. Our two experts will discuss the plan and their expectations for the new administration: who the key players will be, the likely timetable and level of priority peacemaking in the Sudan will receive.
Jerry Fowler, President, Save Darfur Coalition, an expert on genocide and international law. An international human rights lawyer and author, he previously served the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Lawyers' Committee on Human Rights.
John Prendergast, Co-chair of the Enough Project, an Africa policy expert, activist, and author who has participated in numerous peace processes in Africa, including his service at the National Security Council and the Department of State during the Clinton Administration.
The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations - raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition's member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org
Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on crises in Sudan, Chad, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. Enough's strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a "3P" crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. To learn more about Enough and what you can do to help, visit www.enoughproject.org.
I love my life. I love where I live. And I am passionate about my passions. I love to dance. Necessary to live: music, piano, singing, writing, acting, painting.
I have been fighting for and supporting the arts all my adult life. Since 2004, I have been working with other activists to end the Darfur genocide.
I have traveled to Europe many times since my early twenties. Places I have been: many USA states including Hawaii, Montreal, Canada, Barbados, France, Spain, Luxembourg, England, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Germany - and have wonderful memories.
My last trip was in May - June 2013 to Spain.
I would like to travel to Europe and Kyoto, Japan.
I love the southwest where I have visited Hopi, Navajo, Zia and San Idlefonso potters.
Life is exciting and I intend to live it full-out to the end.
B.S. and M.M., both in music
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Khartoum, Sudan Stop Genocide Time
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Spain Time
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Melbourne Time
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Hawaii Time
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RAFA NADAL -BRING BACK LONG PANTS - SLEEVELESS TOPS
Double Click on Videos to Enlarge
Darfur - The Abandoned Genocide - a video by Sandra Hammel
Want to help? Call 1~800~GENOCIDE
"May I Suggest" by Susan Werner
Satchita - Playing for Change
Stand By Me ~ Playing for Change
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Genocide is not only a word,
it is crying of the whole human race.
There is nothing redeeming about being silent
when speaking up is the humane thing to do.
The honor and integrity of the human race is at stake.
