Child labor had dramatically increased in Syria

Child labour isn’t a new phenomenon in Dera’a, in southern Syria, but it has dramatically increased in recent times as families have lost breadwinners due to bombing or clashes. They now look to children to provide support to make ends meet.

"Many of the children who left school have done so because of the harsh conditions in Syria right now. Often it’s because schools were destroyed in shelling and clashes, and I know one child who was forced to work when the family’s breadwinner was killed. The child had to work to pay for a home for him and his family,” Fatima, a teacher at a primary school in the countryside east of Dera’a, told Middle East Eye.

Children who are working take on enormous responsibilities, working long hours, sometimes more than 12 hours per day, and often doing work adults can’t or won’t. 
 
Source:  Child-labour-rise-destitute-southern-Syria

 

Why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them? - Rose Kennedy

Besides butterflies and bees, my flowers also attract birds. 

My Rememberer

My forgetter's getting better But my rememberer is broke To you that may seem funny But, to me, that is no joke. For when I'm 'here' I'm wondering If I really should be 'there' And, when I try to think it through, I haven't got a prayer! Often times I walk into a room, Say "what am I here for?" I wrack my brain, but all in vain A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away Where it is safe, but, Gee! The person it is safest from Is, generally, me! When shopping I may see someone, Say "Hi" and have a chat, Then, when the person walks away I ask myself, "who was that?" Yes, my forgetter's getting better While my rememberer is broke, And it's driving me plumb crazy And that isn't any joke.

P.S. Send this to everyone you know . . . because I don't remember who sent it to me!

Source: http://www.dennydavis.net/poemfiles/aging2b.htm

I'm Fine, How are You?

  

There's nothing the matter with me,

I'm just as healthy as can be

I have arthritis in both knees,
And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze.
My pulse is weak, my blood is thin,
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.
All my teeth have had to come out,
And my diet I hate to think about.
I'm overweight and I can't get thin,
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.
Arch supports I need for my feet.
Or I wouldn't be able to go out in the street.
Sleep is denied me night after night,
But every morning I find I'm all right.
My memory's failing, my head's in a spin.
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.
The moral of this as the tale unfolds,
Is that for you and me, who are growing old.
It is better to say "I'm fine" with a grin,
Than to let people know the shape we are in.
I'm fine, how are you ?

Source: http://www.dennydavis.net/poemfiles/aging2b.htm

168 million child laborers globally

According to the International Labor Office, there are about 168 million child laborers globally, which accounts for approximately one in 10 of the world’s children. Albeit a one-third reduction since 2000, the problem remains acute. An estimated 13 million children work in India alone, despite laws prohibiting child labor and mandating school attendance.  About four percent of child laborers are in forced or bonded labor, prostitution, or fighting in armed conflict. The remainder of the world’s child laborers work in family businesses or on family farms, where they often toil as much as 27 hours per week and are, like the child tobacco laborers, exposed to a variety of dangerous chemicals and pesticides.

Source: http://www.counterpunch.org

Paulo Henrique Felix da Silveira, aged 9, collects recyclable materials by wading into the Arruda Canal near the Saramandaia slum in Recife, Brazil. According to a 2010 census, 3.6% of the 20,166 people who collect items for recycling in Pernambuco State were aged 10-17 - Reuters

Rustam,10, works at an aluminium factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where about 25 children were employed, 

many of them working for 12 hours a day - Reuters

Source of photographs: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk

Nothing is ever really lost to us

“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.”
― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

Too bad...

Playing a musical instrument could help protect against mental decline

Playing a musical instrument could help protect against mental decline through age or illness, according to a new study.

'The research suggests that musical activity could be used as an effective intervention to slow, stop or even reverse age or illness-related decline in mental functioning.'

The study, published in the journal Neuropsychologia, builds on previous work showing the benefits of musical activity on mental and physical well-being.

Please read: Playing-musical-instrument-sharpen-thoughts--help-ward-depression-dementia
Mmm...better put my 32 year old piano to better use.....

They are God's gift to you

Birthday dinner at home, courtesy of Farouk and his wife Azni

Let's toast to good health

.

My painful leg reminds me to be grateful for life's little blessings.  It does not matter how much money you have, how great your last vacation was, how many friends you have, how stylish your hair looks, how beautiful your apartment is, because, when you are not fit, you cannot enjoy any of it

So, let's toast to good health and remind us to appreciate our health, the little things around us and our short stop-over on this earth.

"Helen, call me home"

"As 94-year-old Helen was on her deathbed, 100-year-old Joe leaned in to give her a kiss and said, "Helen, call me home."  She passed away, and only hours later, Joe followed her.

 

Though their life together was happy, it wasn't necessarily easy.  After having one child and Helen pregnant with their second, Joe left to fight in World War II.  While he was away and after having their second child, Helen sent a photo to Joe which he kept in his pocket until he was able to come home and see his children three years later. 

 

In their life together, they also saw and survived the Great Depression and the birth of 10 children, 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.  They had a very long and fullfilling life together, and, I imagine, they are happy to be home together once again.

Source of story: http://sfglobe.com

Lesson for our adult children

Ref: 5 ways adult children hurt their parents without realizing it

Standing Alone

You keep your past by having sisters

At the Putrajaya Flower Show with Sister 

A lovely day out in the city with my only Sister on 7 October 2014

You will love and will be loved, no matter what

我愛講海南話

Amazing!

Unwanted!

1.  January 2005-January 2011

517 cases of baby dumping

Boys 203; girls 164; undetermined gender 150 (too decomposed to determine)

Found alive 230; found dead 287

2. January-March 2014

26 cases of baby dumping

3. Recent cases that happened in September 2014

Baby boy dumped in monsoon drain 

A body of baby boy believed to be just weeks old was found dumped in a monsoon drain at Taman Wilayah .  Several workers carrying out grass cutting by the road shoulder made the grisly find.  Sentul police chief said the child whose umbilical cord was still intact was clad in pink clothing.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1170851

 

Newborn found dead at waste disposal site

A scrap dealer who was looking for items at a waste disposal site in Kampung Tanjung in Johor stumbled upon a dead baby wrapped in a plastic this morning.  The newborn was found in a plastic bag with its unmbilical cord intact. The baby had been born in the last 24 hours.

http://www.nst.com.my/node/33606

 

Baby found dead in trash

 

In Mersing, Johor, a baby with his umbilical cord still intact was found dead among a pile of trash. It was wrapped in newspaper and put into a plastic bag.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/09/15/Crime-baby-dead-trash 

Hard Work!

I have no Napoleonic dream. I'm just hard-working and pragmatic.
- Roman Abramovich 

Happiness is the real sense of fulfillment that comes from hard work.
Joseph Barbara 

Life is not a continuum of pleasant choices, but of inevitable problems that call for strength, determination, and hard work
Indian Proverb

Points to ponder

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” ― Bil Keane

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

- Epictetus

Mother and child

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

-Elizabeth Stone

Now that's funny

Lost

A retired woman calls 911 on her cellphone to report that her car has been broken into. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher: "They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!" she cries.

The dispatcher replies reassuringly, "Don't worry, ma'am. An officer is on his way."
A few minutes later, the dispatched officer calls in. "Disregard." He says. "She got into the back seat by mistake."

Driving

Two elderly women, Mildred and Hazel, were out driving in a large car, barely able to see over the dashboard.
As they're driving along to the grocery store, they approach an intersection. The light is red, but Mildred just drives on through, not hesitating for a second. Bewildered, Hazel thinks to herself "I must be losing it. I could've sworn we just drove through a red light."
A few minutes later, they come up to another red light. Again, Mildred drives right on through. Hazel is alarmed, but is still not sure if she's imagining things. At the next intersection, however, Mildred drives through another red light, prompting Hazel to turn to her friend. "Mildred, are you aware that we just ran through three red lights in a row?"
Mildred replies: "You know, I noticed that too!"
Hazel, flabbergasted, stammers, "You could have gotten us both killed!"
Mildred turns to her slowly, and says, "Me?! You were driving!"

Source: http://livelonger.hubpages.com/hub/Old_people_jokes

31 August 1957, 57 years ago

In January 1956, Tunku  Abdul Rahman led a mission to London to negotiate for Malayan independence, in the end securing self-government for Malaya and the promise of independence by August 1957.  Tunku Abdul Rahman became independent Malaya’s first Prime Minister (a post he would retain when the Federation of Malaysia, which consolidated the countries of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak under one umbrella, was formed in 1963). At midnight on August 30, he stood at the flagpole in Merdeka Square, in Kuala Lumpur, when the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and the new Federation of Malaya flag was raised.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, the Father of Independence.