Category Archives: Global awareness

Jun16

Every Child Deserves A #5thBDay

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Every Child Deserves A #5thBDay

Me turning 5 years old

Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday.  Preventable infectious diseases cause most child deaths under the age of  5 years old on a global level. Over the past 50 years, there has been major progress; child mortality has been reduced by 70%. This is largely due to high-impact tools and interventions for child survival; most notable are new vaccines, distribution of mosquito nets, and more community health workers. The USAID  Child Survival Summit and Call to Action  brought 700 International Leaders to Washington D.C. to meet June 14th and 15th to renew their commitment to ending preventable child deaths. See what Hillary Clinton and Ben Affleck had to say at the summit in the  below video:

Click Image to Play Video

 

 

With four children of my own this issue hits home for me, I feel fortunate to have access to good healthcare for my family.  I can only imagine the anguish as a mother to not have that access to easily preventable diseases.

My oldest daughter at age 5

May all the worlds’ children have the opportunity to celebrate their 5th birthday.

Jun4

(RED)RUSH TO ZERO

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(RED)RUSH TO ZERO

Photo by Elizabeth Atalay

1,000 babies are born every day with HIV.  By the year 2015 that number could come close to zero.  That is the goal of  (RED), and until June 10th you can take part in the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO campaign to help make that happen!  Check out the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO website to find out ten things you can do through June 10th to contribute. Two easy steps I am planning to take today to get started are to visit Starbucks  like I love to do, and check in on my foursquare account, which will then automatically donate a dollar to The Global Fund!  Then I am going do a little shopping on-line and pick a (RED) product to purchase, which will also donate to the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO campaign. Both actions are easy and fun for me to do, and it makes me feel good to know that the money I spend today on things I would buy anyway, will go towards such an important global cause.  If you need another good reason to take a look at how some of your favorite brands are getting involved, Father’s Day is coming up soon (I’m thinking the Dr. Dre headphones look pretty cool for dad)! 

 

 

You can track (RED) Money at work in Africa. To date, over $190 Million has been contributed to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS (from (RED) partners and events). *100% goes to programs on the ground via the Global Fund-supported HIV/AIDS programs in 6 African countries: Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. Over 14 Million people have been reached by programs (RED) supports.

May25

Vietnam is More Than a War: Guest Post by Leah DeCesare

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Vietnam is More Than a War: Guest Post by Leah DeCesare

 Leah DeCesare is a Doula, writer and mother of three, to find out more about her check out her Mother’s Circle Blog.

The Author, Leah DeCesare

Photo by Leah DeCesare

When you hear Vietnam, do you immediately think “war”?  It was the first word association I had when I heard my parents were planning to visit Vietnam for a vacation. Months later, through a series of lucky events, I ended up going in place of my Dad.

War has, indeed, been a repeating theme in Vietnamese history and without a doubt, the Vietnam War is more present and visible there than in the US, but traveling there, we also got a glimpse into the complexities and treasures of a culture and a people that run deeper than what they call the American War.

We landed in Hanoi at 10:00 pm on February 1, 2012, haggard and fatigued after the long flights, we met up with our tour group and guide, Quang, a 47 year old for whom, by the end of our time together, we would feel a special affection.

Photo by Leah DeCesare

Since this was a tour group and planned for people more my parents age, it turned out that Quang and I were closer in age than the others. As he shared his life stories, I found myself continually figuring out what I was doing while he was swimming in flooded bomb craters during the rainy season or what it would feel like to have my brother leave home for another country, facing pirates and dangers, never to see him again.

 

Photo by Leah DeCesare

What kind of parallel did his life have to mine growing up only 5 years apart? The comparisons were dramatic, I was safe, doing homework, school activities and swimming at beaches, my family was together, and in the post-war years, I happily studied at college and lived a carefree, peaceful, and fun-filled life. Quang grew up with the war.

Photo by Leah DeCesare

Photo by Leah DeCesare

In moving detail, Quang told us of his decision to try to flee his country, a decision that meant he was leaving his family behind for an unknown future. After extensive planning, while bobbing in the dark in a tiny row boat, he watched as the boat that was supposed to stop for him continued past. Devastated, he retraced his steps stealthily, hiding in shoreline brush, making his way back home without being detected to his relieved parents.

All while I worried about my marketing class project or my statistics exam.

Our group toured many key historical locations associated with the war: the prison known as “Hanoi Hilton,” Reunification Palace where Ho Chi Minh’s tanks crashed through the front gates, the elaborate, narrow Cu Chi Tunnels, a small section of the tunnel system used by the Viet Cong army.  We saw old American ships being used by current day river police and abandoned US airplane hangars in Da Nang, we swam and walked along China Beach, one site where our troops took R&R. Signs of the American War were everywhere.

 

Photo by Leah DeCesare

These and many other places were important and critical to see and experience as Americans in Vietnam, but we also learned about an other Vietnam, one independent of, and pre-dating America.  We got acquainted with the Cham people, visited vibrant (and smelly) local markets and floating river markets, we experienced traditional Vietnamese dance and music and played a unique instrument, the Mono Chord, we watched water puppetry, an art form that dates back to the 11th century. From the foods, the silks, the rice paddies and the people, to the cyclo rides, pagodas, temples and the natural beauty of Ha Long Bay, we experienced a Vietnam that had nothing to do with “the War.”

Group Guide Quang; Photo by Leah DeCesare

Yes, Vietnam is a war-scarred nation, but it’s not defined by the war. The people continue to heal and unite, and those who fought against the communist regime live side by side with former Viet Cong soldiers. Increasingly, a “market economy” (i.e. capitalism) is flourishing and tourism has grown markedly in recent years reaching 6 million visitors in 2011.

Through serendipity or some plan of the universe, I ended up in Vietnam, and because of those 20 days, I now hold this Southeast Asian country in my heart. “War” is no longer my first thought when I hear “Vietnam” and I have a friend in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Author of this post Leah DeCesare is a Doula, writer and mother of three, to find out more about her check out her Mother’s Circle Blog.

 

 

 

 

May19

Arabian Feasts, KSA part 4

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Arabian Feasts, KSA part 4

A huge part of any foreign travel for me is the opportunity to taste different cuisines.  The food we experienced on our trip to Saudi Arabia last month was as consistently abundant as it was delicious.  I would describe the traditional dishes we tasted as Middle Eastern with a touch of Indian flavor. Our first night we went to the Fakher Dein Palace restaurant on the 11th floor of the Faisaliah Tower. I was enchanted by the interior set to feel like a tented desert palace, and from the outdoor balcony we could see beautiful sweeping views of the vast city on three sides of the building.  It was the perfect beginning on our first night in Riyadh. The buffet style allowed us to try an assortment of dishes.  We sat inside the tented decor,  and on the balcony just outside our window sat a group of young twenty something girlfriends.  They ate and laughed, and took tons of photos together and of each other.  Only their eyes were visible through their hijabs, but other than the way they were dressed, they reminded me of myself with a group of friends on a typical girls night out.

 

 

Dragon Fruit

Breakfast in our hotel was also a grand buffet that served both western and Saudi cuisine.  My favorite part of the breakfast assortment was the daily fresh honeycomb that was set out to be sliced into by the guests. My other favorite was the always-present delicious kiwi tasting fruit that I had never heard of before (I love coming across a new fruit!) called a Pitaya or Dragon Fruit, which is imported to the KSA from Asia.

Holding the Oud burner

One night we were taken to a traditional Saudi Arabian meal at Najd Village. Housed in historic mud brick architecture with an open courtyard in the middle, meals are served in the custom of sitting on the floor.  We were the only foreigners in the place, and with women in the party we had been directed to enter through the back “family entrance”.  The meal began with the tradition of  Qahwa (Arabic coffee) and dates being served.  The food was laid out family style over a long runner on the floor. Food served in this manner is customarily eaten with the right hand or with bread.  We passed around dishes of hummus, Baba ghanoush, and Tabbouleh, to be dipped into with flat breads called Fatir and Kimaje.  Entrees of Kapsa, a traditional chicken and rice dish, and mild curried stews of lamb, beef or potato were passed around and accompanied by Saudi style rice as we each tried to taste from the multitude of offerings.  After the meal a chalice of burning incense made of wood chips and called Oud was passed around to each person twice, and we were encouraged to let the smoke permeate our clothes to leave it’s perfumed scent.

On our penultimate evening in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we were taken to a palace for dinner.   We ate in Al Orjouan restaurant at the the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. The Ritz resides in a royal palace built to entertain guests and dignitaries, supposedly for the king, which for some sort of security reason was never utilized by the royal family.  The Ritz-Carlton opened there in 2011.  I have never stepped foot into such an opulent space. This structure and its details make the Newport Mansions look like cabins.  Massive buffet stations sprawled through the restaurant, and because this was a festive occasion we were given glasses of Saudi Arabian “champagne”. Alcohol is forbidden in the Muslim religion, and is illegal in the KSA, so Saudi champagne tasted like the fizzy white grape juice we have at home.   In the courtyard of the hotel lives a beautiful knotted olive tree estimated to be around six hundred years old. In the last hundred years that olive tree has stood witness to the transformation of Saudi Arabia from a nomadic tribal culture to a bursting modern city.  In modern day Riyadh you can find many different types of food, including an array of American chain restaurants.  Through the changed  the traditional cuisine has maintained its long standing regional integrity, and many of the same dishes served in tents a hundred years ago are still commonly eaten here today.  It is all so tasty, I can see why.

 

 

 

 

May2

Camel Auction, KSA Part 3

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Camel Auction, KSA Part 3

The dust from the road mushroomed up around the car as we drove on, Batil and Yahya could still not find the camel auction for which we searched.  It was held daily outside of Riyadh within the labyrinth of camel corrals we now passed through.  They were deeply apologetic, but really it was fine because, despite the fact that earlier that day at the souq we had purchased camel saddles, and had just bought a saddle bag from a woman selling camel accessories, they were just to bring home as souvenirs.   It’s not like we were actually going to bid on a camel that day anyway.   My husband and I were already transfixed and entertained by our surroundings. As far as the eye could see the camel corrals surrounded us. They each held anywhere from one to ten camels and the desert stretched into the infinity beyond.

Our friends Batil and Yahya

To Batil and Yahya, (who both worked for the hospital where my husband’s conference was being held and were kind enough to take us to see the camels we had asked about), this trip must have seemed mundane.  Where as just the process of driving out from the center of a bustling modern metropolis, through the construction filled surrounding suburbs, that then suddenly gave way to desert and camel territory, to us was amazing.  The camels in Saudi Arabia are Dromedaries with one hump.  In our eyes the camels are exotic and humorous creatures, and we were thoroughly entertained just observing them as we passed by.  To Saudi Arabians camels are as common as a horse is to Americans.

Batil explained that the white ones were particularly valuable and a really good camel can be worth as much as almost a million dollars.  In the KSA camel racing is a form of entertainment, and a great source of pride to the trainer and owner of the winning camel.  Spectators come from around the world for the big races.  In the camel market men wearing the traditional long robe called a thobe, led small packs of camels through the path.   Baby camels trying to make a run for it had to be chased down by these guys, and they reminded me of running after my children as toddlers when they would make a break for it (except I didn’t have that long stick they used to thwack them back into line).  Finally we gave up our search for the auction, happy with what we had been able to see of the coral area itself.  We pulled over at a roadside camel milk stand outside of the market to pose with the camels for pictures and I squealed as they sniffed my headscarf and neck while I tried to smile for the camera.

Doesn't it look like the camel is smiling for the camera!?

This was a very friendly bunch, and it turns out camels can be friendly and docile creatures if treated well. They have been domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years and are ingrained in the culture of the region.  We didn’t get to bid on a camel after all, but loved our glimpse of the Saudi Arabian camel culture.