A Bit About Africa

May 7th was World AIDS Orphans Day.

Rich Stearns, President of World Vision, US said,
"I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn't they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

Facts:

There are over 15 million children orphaned by AIDS living around the world RIGHT NOW. 15 million is the equivalent to the number of all of the people living in New York, Paris, and Bangkok combined.

Well over 12 million AIDS orphans live in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.

Experts believe that millions more orphans remain unaccounted for in India, China and Russia.
At least 10 million more children will be orphans by AIDS by 2010.

From the World AIDS Orphans Day website:

In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, orphans are often subject to discrimination and are less likely to receive healthcare, education and other needed services.

In HIV affected households lacking community support, food consumption can drop by 40% putting children at risk to hunger, malnutrition and stunting.

Impoverished and often without support to educate and protect them, orphans and vulnerable children face increased risk of HIV infection. (And there are already an estimated 2 million children currently living with HIV).

Orphans are often easy prey to many forms of exploitation: forced labor, prostitution and child soldiering.

In the United States, if a child loses a parent to accident or illness, it is considered a terrible tragedy. Such stories are covered by the media, communities mourn and show their support, etc. In Sub-Saharan Africa, parents dying is a normal part of life. It is still a terrible tragedy for those children, but it happens so often that no one else really pays any attention.

Contrast this with the incredible concern and attention the 63 swine flu deaths (to date) have garnered--deaths that are mourned, noticed, and are no less tragic for their comparatively low, even miniscule, collective number.

Recent happenings in Annecy's life

Annecy wanted to show her grandparents certain chosen photos of her recent life. Here they are:

Getting ready for her friend Eleana's fairy birthday party:



Annecy with her older fairy friend.



Eleana's mother, Reven, made the Ultimate Sacrifice for Eleana's party.



Singing with her class at their program:






A few scenes of the Zion Lutheran field day:

Cy's braces, the garden, and other happenings in the Crockett household.

Cyrus' brand new braces and me wearing the dandelion crown that Emma craftily made for me with beads, flowers, and a needle and thread.



Cy up close--black and silver, in case you were wondering.


At "Wicked" the musical in Omaha.



Grant by our evolving garden (we are currently having "rabbit issues" unfortunately . . .)









This is where my Albion strawberries are?

Annecy: The Keeper of the Cats

This is India, our incredibly intelligent, long-suffering black cat who is an AMAZING hunter (meaning maimed birds, snakes, and rodents are often brought inside to us as gifts):



This is Pearl, the "baby creature" of the family, our Persian cat princess-in-training of lovely disposition:



Annecy considers herself to be the "sister" to these lovely creatures. She reads books to them, rocks them to sleep at night, in general is "talking them through" their formative cat years as a mother would her children. A few nights ago, while putting Pearl to sleep, I heard Annecy telling her,

"Pearl, you are growing up, learning so many things, and you haven't caught any mice yet but don't worry, you will . . . you are getting to be bigger every day and you can almost read . . . You should be so proud of yourself." This while stroking Pearl's jaw and caressing her long, fluffy tail.

Then she turned to me and whispered, "I am just trying to make Pearl feel like she is a big girl cat."

The cats are given several types of food each day and each has her own special blankets, toys, books; Annecy even thoughtfully purchased a goldfish so that they would have something special and interesting to watch while she is at school.

As far as the lives of housecats go, I would say that India and Pearl are doing quite well.

Journal Writing

Excellent writers, every one of them, recording in their journals on a Sunday night. We love to look back at past entries. (My own childhood journal, full of tearful entries about the ending of the Donny and Marie show, is now excellent fodder for teasing.)

Cy's Recital Piece

Excellent job, Cyrus!

Emma Playing Kabalevsky

This was Emma just prior to the recital rehearsing her piece. Bravo, Emma!