Iqbal, one of over 250 million child labourers worldwide

Do you know?

 

About 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work either full time or part time.

Almost half, some 120 million, work full-time, every day, all year round.
61 per cent of them live in Asia, 32 per cent in Africa and 7 per cent in Latin America

The story of Iqbal Masih

Iqbal was only four when he was sold into slavery. He was a child of bondage, sold by his family to pay for a debt. Though very small and very weak, he was forced to work at a carpet factory for 12 hours a day. He was constantly beaten, verbally abused and chained to his loom for six years. Severe malnutrition and years of cramped immobility in front of a loom stunted his growth.

 

All this changed in 1992, when Iqbal and some of his friends from the carpet factory stole away to attend a freedom day celebration organized by a group working to help end bonded labour. With their help, Iqbal, too, became free and soon became a well-known critic of child labour. His campaign scared many, especially those who used children as bonded labour. In December 1994, Iqbal visited the United States to receive a human rights award. Soon after his return, Iqbal was  killed by a gunman hired by factory owners.

Iqbal was just one of over 250 million child labourers worldwide, but his story has inspired many to act for change.

Source: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/labour/labour.pdf

 

Pictures from:

http://ken-foundation.blogspot.com/2012/08/child-labour.html

http://newshopper.sulekha.com/india-world-day-against-child-labor_photo_1362758.htm

http://fascinatingplantz.blogspot.com/2010/04/instances-of-child-labour.html

Comics with Hainanese dialogue

This is too cute http://hutdugaikarsui.blogspot.com/search/label/Hainanese.  I had included this blog in my blog list.

The "Octobers," "Novembers," and "Decembers

Normally Gerontologists differentiate between the stages of aging by classifying the elderly into "early old age," "advanced old age," or "young-old," and "old-young."

I recently read a refreshing article that talked about classifying older adults based on their degree of physical and mental fitness, rather than strictly on their chronological age. The article defined three groups of older adults, i.e. "Octobers," "Novembers," and "Decembers."

"Octobers" are starting to experience some physical or mental changes but otherwise are in good shape and are socially active. They may be retired, partially retired, or do volunteer work, but they are still vitally involved in society.

"Novembers" have more physical or cognitive restrictions and may prefer to stay in familiar surroundings more often than Octobers, but Novembers are still fairly active. They may need help occasionally to do chores around the house, but for the most part they are able to live independently.

"Decembers" are physically frail, have limited mobility, impaired sensory and motor functions, and may have some cognitive deficits. They can live independently if someone checks on them regularly, perhaps helping with food preparation, light housekeeping or some hygiene functions. Due to their physical and/or mental fraility, Decembers stay close to their homes and familiar surroundings and do not venture far on their own. Because of their limited mobility, Decembers have the highest risk of social isolation.

For those of you who are interested you can read the article at here http://www.everydayergonomics.org/agingergonomics/seasonsofaging.php

I wish I can remain an "October" for a long time!

Aging gracefully?

Aging can be scarry.  Now, every morning when I get out of bed, I will gingerly step on the floor to check whether my knees or legs hurt. This had become a habit for me because last year I used to experience a pain in my left leg quite frequently, although not everyday.  Thankfully, for about half a year now, my legs and knees are okay.  The next scarry thing is of course looking at my own reflection in the mirror early in the morning.  With the wrinkles, baggy eyes, crepey eyelids, turkey neck and double chin I can no longer avoid the inevitable!  The old-as-time idea of "aging gracefully" can no longer apply to me in the looks department!

Lately I had begun to examine what "aging gracefully" would really mean to me. For me, it's about having my family, having good health, good friends, new experiences and new challenges.  Everyday that I wake up healthy is a gift that I should never take for granted.  I am focussing on staying actively engaged and physically active (just joined a women's only gym). I should continue to be engaged in the world around me, learning new things and having new experiences. I should be at peace with myself and should have the grace to accept whatever comes my way with an open heart.  While I do not like my wrinkles and turkey neck and all, I know I should not be obssessed with them.

I (second from left) with my sister (third from left) and her friends at my niece's wedding last May

I (standing fifth from left) with my friends at Ethelyn's (sitting first from left) 80th birthday last year. 

With a grateful heart

Back in December 2000 I fell down a step and landed on my left knee cap shattering it into 2 separate pieces. I had surgery the very next day in a private hospital to wire the 2 pieces back together and my leg was immobilized.

I never would have imagined what a long process it was to recover from a broken patella. I was completely wheel chair bound for 6 months, after which I had to walk with crutches for another 6 months. During what was my longest 1-year, I began to lose confidence, although I tried not to show it.  I was constantly worried whether I would ever walk again.  I remember I was kind of "depressed" but I had to shake myself out of it because of the responsiblities I had to bear as the head of my household. 

While into my 8th month  of the operation I felt extreme pain further up my knee cap whenever I moved.  I was terrified.  When the doctor told me that the hardware had dislodged from the knee cap and moved upwards sticking into the muscle, causing me the pain, I had to have another surgery to remove the metal wires, which I still keep with me to remind myself everyday how fortunate I am to be able to walk and function normally. 

The metal wires that held my kneecap together in year 2000-2001

"Whatever we are waiting for -- peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance-- it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart." -Sarah Ban Breathnach

Love is real?

Today Associated Press carried the news of the death of  Lilian Davies whose romance with Sweden's Prince Bertil and the couple's sacrifices and lifelong dedication to one another gripped the hearts of Swedes. They met in 1943 but were only granted permission by the King to marry 33 years later in 1976.  The bride was then 61 and the groom, her Prince 64! 

Please read:  Princess whose forbidden love gripped Sweden dies

Most of us are of course familiar with the story of King Edward who abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson. 

Many of us (me inclusive) are disillusioned with love.  But stories like this restore my faith in "love" a bit, maybe just a little bit!

Picture I secretly took of a loving elderly couple enjoying the window shopping and each other's company
in a shopping complex near my housing area.  The lady seemed to have difficulty walking.  The man was very patient with her and paid full attention to her all the time.  In this case I am sure the love is real.



In this picture which I secretly took and later "cartooned" to respect their privacy, the elderly man seems to have difficulty with his movement and confined to a wheelchair.  The elderly lady was very attentive, feeding him at times.

Two million children world-wide, working themselves almost to death, just to feed our insatiable chocolate habits

World Vision, a worldwide non-profit organization said that “95% of chocolate is not certified free of child or forced labour”. Children as young as 8 can be sold or even forced into slavery by local ‘agents’, working on behalf of the corporate ‘Barons of Chocolate’; specifically, in order to recruit the cheapest of workers for their cocoa plantations. Over worked, and severely under paid; these children quite easily and secretly become, nameless, faceless, child labourers, used and abused for the sole purpose of increasing the global chocolate profits!

Information and photoraph reproduced from http://www.greenerideal.com/lifestyle/0225-chocolate-wars-tale-of-greed-child-slavery/

A little bit of my personal experiences

When I was going through a huge personal crisis in mid 1980s, I was very fortunate to have a very good head of department.  He checked on me every morning in my office for quite a while on the pretext of having breakfast with me.   I remember he often said to me "Always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Those who do not like you are not worth your energy, those who need and love you are the ones you should focus on.  Think of your children, your father and your mother". That piece of advice really made an impression on me. I memorized that and quietly repeated it to myself every morning and every night before going to bed. Over time I slowly regained my self confidence and self-esteem.  After that I had a career change when I was posted to a different department and missed my breakfasts with him. Bless him!

I realized that over time I had unconsciously ingrained in my mind the advice he gave me. For a long time already I had actually learnt to quickly get over disappointments and not worrying about the "whys",  either in the office environment or in personl relationships.  I may get upset for a while or confide my unhappiness in a friend, but I always quickly tell myself, " it is not worth wasting my energy on" and I would feel better quite immediately.