Ubuntu

I saw this on Facebook and I think it's quite inspiring.

An anthropologist devised ​​a game for some children of an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit next to a tree and told the children that the first who came to the tree would win all the fruit. Given the signal, all the kids came out at the same time and holding hands! Then they sat down together to enjoy the reward. When the anthropologist asked why they had acted that way, knowing that one of them could have all the fruit for themselves, they replied: Ubuntu, how could one of us be happy if all the others were sad?

UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means "I am because we are"

I can't get any water!

Another bunch of nice photos

Cute, naughty duo

A big thank you

CC's niece Laura is back from Africa and has this to say:

To everyone who has wished me luck and kept me in their prayers, thank you so much! I can't tell you how incredible my trip was and how blessed I am to have been there. Fortunately, I was very well taken care of and felt extremely welcomed by the people and more importantly, the children. It's heartwarming to know that I have so many people thinking about me and praying that all went well. I will continue to pursue helping this orphanage by means of raising money. I've created a page with a paypal account to make funding easier and more accessible, please share it! Any bit of awareness helps and all donations are appreciated and go a long way!

Please visit the page.

Once again, thank you so much for everything and keeping me in your thoughts! I can't express how blessed I feel. :) Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The goal is very modest, but the amount would go a long way in Kenya...

Thank you for doing this, Laura.

One of the joys of summer

This is just a quick post because we have to go to the supermarket, which is not such a joy...

Uh-oh...

So proud of my niece!

Guest post by CC

[CC kindly sent us some photos of her niece Laura's time in Africa. I put the post together by copying CC's comments on the blog and what she wrote in the emails.]

Laura is traveling to a small village named Naivasha. It is 1.5 hours from Nairobi and she is going on a volunteer program to help children in an orphanage/school for 4 weeks. I am so proud of her for wanting to do this you cannot imagine it. She had wanted to do something like this and researched it for the past year. She is 19 years old and has traveled extensively with all of us but this is a wee bit different --- She is really looking forward to it as are all of us (her family) and I have no doubt it will be etched in her memory forever.

******

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and well wishes for my niece Laura --- I am so grateful for them --- and she is too!

My sister has been able to speak with her only once, but she sends her photos and texts when she goes into town every few days (to use their wifi..:-) ) She is extremely happy, she said the kids call her mom and she gets spontaneous hugs all the time... I am soooo happy for her. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I do have a few photos she has snapped and sent:

En route to Nairobi

The resort where she goes to use wifi ... What a beautiful view (and what a difference
from where the orphanage is... poor little ones ... Sigh)

Most of these orphans have HIV---kind of abandoned at this place. It is run by a private couple -- they have no funding -- just donations. Every time I feel humanity is just getting worse and worse, I find out about these stories and smile, realizing there are more wonderful people than not. Thankfully!


[Thank you, CC. Laura is as beautiful and as generous as her auntie... ]

Chatting on the phone

This little girl is a serious talker!

School days

I came across some school pictures and it seems that the more recent photos seem less contrived than the older ones.

Starting with the most recent, our Paul looks very cheeky:

Billy opted for a cheesy smile:

Peter's photo is from the days of sitting at the desk:

As is my sister's, who's roughly the same age as Peter.

Finally, this lad was also photographed at the desk, but his smile tells me his thoughts were far less formal than his pose...

He looks strangely familiar... any guesses?

Out of the mouths of children

A woman was driving with her three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As she was reeling from the shock, the woman heard her 4-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

******

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'

******

While working for an organization that delivers lunches to the elderly, a woman used to take her 5-year-old son on her afternoon rounds. He was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day the woman found the little boy staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As she braced herself for the inevitable barrage of questions, the boy merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

******

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

One word for each photo

Spike sent me a large collection of photos with the title "One Word Essays." I selected the ones depicting children, but will leave the one word essay to each of you...

Thank you, Spike.

Swamp monster?

Hey, it's a cute little "monster."

Devious old ad - UPDATE

I received an e-mail with a bunch of old ads, which we have seen before in a previous post. This one was new to me and I found it shocking. The text on the picture is difficult to read, so here it is:

How soon is too soon?

Not soon enough. Laboratory tests over the years have proven that babies who start drinking soda during that early formative period have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and "fitting in" during those awkward pre-teen and teen years. So, do yourself a favor. Do your child a favor. Start them on a strict regimen of sodas and other sugary carbonated beverages right now, for a lifetime of guaranteed happiness.

They invoke science, referring to laboratory tests, concluding that babies who start drinking soda at an early age will "fit in" better in later years. How can you test behaviour over a span of ten to twelve years in a lab? Did they keep a bunch of children captive, one group drinking soda and a control group having none? Then, after a number of years, concluded that the soda drinkers were more sociable?

It's a dishonest ad. Fortunately, attitudes have changed and this ad wouldn't be tolerated today, in view of the alarming rise in childhood obesity!

UPDATE

I'm relieved to find out that this ad is a fake! Thank you, Amy/Ottoline, for providing the following link:

The Museum of Hoaxes

Adorable children

Children, pets... aww

Shhh...