February 7, 2012 a team of three people from the Prince of Peace Parish, Great Bend, Kansas will travel to Haiti to learn what their churches donations have accomplished. The church in Great Bend has provided earthquake recovery funds to help a small rural parish.
Star of Hope was chosen to facilitate the relationship because our America office is close to Great Bend and our work on the ground in Haiti is well documented. For more than 30 years Star of Hope has worked in a partnership with local community based organizations in Haiti to help build a world where children become educated, healthy adults who are involved in their communities and share their love of Jesus Christ.
While we presently don't have a permanent relationship with the particular rural Haitian Parish we are happy to help make possible the relationship between Great Bend Kansas and that parish.
The team will be led by Barry Borror, President & CEO. While in Haiti the team will visit the rural parish, meet with the Priest and discuss possible ways to help each other. They will also see several Star of Hope partnership projects and get to interact with the children.
While in Haiti the team members will blog to keep you informed.
Each new year is a chance to think about what is really important. As a Grandfather of three young girls, I find children come to mind as the most important thing after my faith. The importance of equiping these precious girls for life cannot be underestimated. My son Huck and his wife Katty are doing a wonderful job as parents.
As I watch my son raise his 3 beautiful girls, I also think about the tens of thousands of parents who have so little to offer their children. Across the world, in places I have visited and others I only read about, parents are unable to provide the things in their childs life that might make a difference. They often cannot afford even the tiny cost of sending their child to a school. I am glad I can be a part in helping them too, by working to provide schools, healthcare and the opportunity to hear the gospel. I can also help them by telling you about their plight.
Please consider joining in this effort this year. Sponsoring a child is so easy and yet makes such a difference. You can find out how to do this by clicking on the Give menu on our website.
May God Bless you Richly in 2012
Barry Borror
President & CEO
For several millennia, Gran Chaco was a melting pot of different minority groups from all over the continent. "Chaco" roughly means hunting ground, the various groups helped each other to hunt. They drove up all the animals to a central point, they then let to the pregnant female animals and the young animals free again. Then killed off the rest. In colonial times, the Spaniards soon realzied to take over the area would not be particularly attractive: no metal extractions and the minority groups were as unfriendly as the climate.
In the late 1800s, the area explored in his major asset: QUEBRACHO forest. This special wood is very resistant and does not rot. A destruction of the forest began. The wood was used mainly for railway sleepers to lay the rails on but also to fuel the Argentine railway locomotives.
This destruction paved the way for the cotton farming boom of 1940 - and 1950's. In those days you could get two or three crops a year of the "white gold". Nowadays it is hardly profitable to harvest even once a year.
Gran Chaco's and Formosa provinces are the ones with the most inhabitants of the various indigenous minorities in Argentina.
Toba indians, also called Komlek or Qom belongs to the group called Guaraní and has a population of about 50,000 and is the largest in number of the various minority groups. They live mainly in the eastern Chaco province but also in Formosa province, and in the northern parts of the province of Santa Fe. Small groups Toba are also living in Salta and Buenos Aires provinces.
After the Toba came in contact with the Spaniards they began using horses and was known to fight hard against the Spaniards, and they expanded their areas of other indigenous groups' expense in the Chaco province.
Many of the indigenous groups living in groups in the country while others live in the suburbs of major cities like Resistencia where they live on manual labor and crafts: basket weaving, lerdrejning, woodcarving, and weaving.
Toba indians has a rich tradition of music, they play particular instruments like the fiddle nvik which is a small stringed instrument.
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Dennis Thern
in MyBlog on Nov 01, 2011
Tagged in: star of hope usa , star of hope , sponsor child , sponsor a child , spiritual growth , social skills, , one kid for me , myblog , internet sponsor , develop knowledge , develop education
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Cristina F. de Kirchner got 53.96% of the votes in the Argentine presidential election in late October. It is the highest figure since the 1983 election. Has she proved herself so well the first four years, or was there no competition in the election? Electoral fraud perhaps?
Her big electoral victory surprised some. Two years ago she was very unpopular after she introduced grotesque export taxes on agriculture items. Then it was less than 30 percent of voters who thought she did a good job.
Christina Kirchner succeeded her husband Nestor in 2007 as the country's first female president. After her amazing comeback she has now also become the country's first re-elected female president.
Haiti has the highest rate of cholera in the world a year after the disease first arrived in the country. Cholera has sickened more than 450,000 people in a nation of 10 million, or nearly 5 percent of the population, and killed more than 6,000.
At the anniversary of cholera's arrival in Haiti, it is also on the verge of becoming the leading cause of death by infectious disease in the Caribbean nation, according to health experts.
That's significantly more than the 100,000 to 300,000 cases documented annually in Bangladesh. The Democratic Republic of Congo sees 13,000 to 30,000 cases a year.
Cholera is likely to become endemic in Haiti, meaning it will become "native" to the country. It is very possible that it will be with Haiti for a very long time.
Haiti's has a status as the "most water insecure" country in the world, which means many people have insufficient access to clean water.
Haiti has long suffered from improper sanitation because of its poverty but sanitation conditions in the capital and other urban areas became much worse after last year's earthquake forced thousands of people to set up tents and basic shelters in public plazas, parks, soccer fields and other open areas.
The epidemic threatens to worsen as the year's second rainy season causes the disease to spread.
Also worsen the situation will be the withdrawal of humanitarian workers who leave because of a lack of funding. That means fewer drainage services and less maintenance on the latrines aid workers set up in the settlement camps.
It is absolutely important to improve Haiti's water system and sanitation. The use of education, water treatment and oral vaccines is also important.
Star of Hope actions
Star of Hope has supplied water treatment directly after the earthquake to Star of Hope projects to “secure” the water available.
After the cholera outbreak a year ago, Star of Hope started to give out the water purification and oral vaccine to the projects again. Star of Hope also informed the school leaders, teachers, children and community leaders about safe water and also about the cholera.
Star of Hope also started several water projects at the schools and communities that Star of Hope support, meaning digging wells, building water pumps, building reservoirs and more. Most schools and communities now have easy access to safe water.
Currently Star of Hope is trying to raise funds together with Swedish agriculture magazine LAND to raise funds for water pipes in Hesse. If we can complete this, we will have water at the school in Hesse. This is great for the children and staff; they will have access to safe water for drinking, cooking and sanitation at the premises.
If you would like to donate money for this or any water project please contact Star of Hope. The importance of access to safe water has never been more obvious in Haiti.
I saw close up with my own eyes people of all ages suffering of this terrible disease last year. A couple of pictures from a hospital and Star of Hope actions below:
I see children whose parents love them and agonize over their future in every country where we have projects. They understand that education, family and God are the hope for the future. Star of Hope is one way that makes it possible.
We have the programs, material and dedicated people. When our donors give their gift they provide the fuel that makes it all work.
Together with the childs family we all make a difference. Thank you.
The U.N. Security Council has decided to reduce the number of U.N. peacekeeping troops and police in Haiti to levels before the January 2010 earthquake devastated the impoverished Caribbean nation.
"The overall security situation, while fragile, has improved," the council's resolution says.
The council backed a recommendation by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and voted unanimously Friday to reduce the mission's current authorized military strength of 8,940 to 7,340 troops, and its international police force from 4,391 to 4,241 officers.
We will see how this pan out in the future. Some people want UN to stay; some people want them to leave. I have no idea what would happen if they leave.
After the flooding due to the tropical storms in the fall of 2008 the UN troops in Marigot, Dano and Paillant helped us with crowd control when we distributed food and roof tins. Especially in Marigot it was very bad flooding so the situation was very tough for the people there. The troops were very helpful to us then.
Some pictures from September 2008:
Argentina
Star of Hope has worked in Argentina for 30 years among the poor indian tribes in the north of the country. Star of Hope have built houses, water systems, schools and supported the teachers and students. We have come a long way with many different projects to raise living standards for the vulnerable people. I hope the work can continue for years to come. It would be necessary.
It has been difficult for the tribe people to reach in to the community and higher education and employment. Closed racism and open racism inhibits them at many different levels. But more and more young people work their through better education, some with the support of Star of Hope. Good, it is necessary for them to show that they are knowledgeable, although most live under more basic conditions.
The Football school among the Indians the Star of Hope began in 2005 has created opportunities for young people with dreams and also reaped great success. More on that ina later entry.
october 6th, 2011
third day of seminar session is another successful day; rich of learning lesson on mamagement by Roland, worshop, presentation debat, questions, prayer and singing
Be part of star of hope work
Yesterday...schools opened all across Haiti thanks to the efforts of you and many others who helped in so many ways. Thank you for your continuous support to rebuilt this impoverished and suffering country.
4000 children at the Star of Hope supported schools were all ready for the new school year. The preschool teachers are newly trained and motivated.
This week Star of Hope is also having a management-training course for the village leaders and school principals. Everyone is excited to become better leaders.
Let us all wish our friends in Haiti a very happy and successful school year.
