A DNGO: Ayudemos a un niño.

There are my friend and my old 'support' baby, with my photo in her hands (my friend carry the suit I bouht to the girl, and you can see the book in the left)

My favorite DNGO is, obviously, the one I collaborate with. It’s named ‘Helping to children’ (Ayudemos a un niño) and it was created in Almería in September, 2001. My best friend works there, so I am completely sure that my money is saved with them. It is destined to the children’s welfare, especially children from Nicaragua, also Argentina. I am supporting a child called Mylias Guadalupe, who sends to me a Christmas card every year. However, the most amazing thing I have lived here was when my old ‘support’ baby was changed because her family has no needed money anymore. (The government gave them a new house because of an environmental disaster happened there some years ago). I know that the money which is donated here will be well used; not also because I have a photograph with my friend and my old pupil, with some presents I sent, but because my friend is the person in charge of the accounts there. The thing was that they changed my pupil before keeping quiet and contnue getting my money. 

The system they deal with is not only an education for children. Our support covers food, education and home, for the child we have and for the whole family, too. This was the situation that made me choosing this NGO. The funding is not only sponsored by us, but donations, grants and others, helping by public and private associations.

Nowadays, the projects they have developing are in Peru, Nicaragua (Chindandega, Leon, Managua and Matagalpa), where they protect violence against women, children abuse, Health and scholar support. Moreover, they are also working in Argentina, concretely in Salta, where there are taking care of 20 boys and girls. 

As I see, they are a lot of famous people who support this cause, as David Bisbal, Antonio Orozco, Juan Y Medio, Rosario Flores, Diana Navarro, Joaquín Sabina, Bustamante, Sergio Dalma, José MaríaManzanares, Malú, El Fandi, Pastora Soler, Mojinos Escocíos, in the way of making  short videos, giving gifts to sell an auction, or whatever...so I think that this is an important place where help with your money and make sure there will have a very good destiny.

The proof that famous people collaborated with the NOG. 

In my opinion, when you want to collaborate with an association and you do not know which could you choose,  take one in which you trust. Definitely, this is one of them. 

Here you are some videos, just if you are curious. The first one is short and fun. Enjoy them!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia1kZszT398

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEKbrhWuOls

Gregoy Peck Interview

Nobody knows how a film can change us, can be made us better… Films are the production of the books. Sometimes are worse, but they may carry us out of our minds. Colours (not in this case), screens, landscapes, portraits… anything is useful to bring us to another world. I had the opportunity to see that film in my twenties, and I will see again. Meanwhile, here I will put a video form one of the biggest. Please, tell me you watched ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’, ‘The guns of Navarone’, ‘Days of Glory’ or the unforgettable ‘Roman Holiday’ or ‘The Scarlet and the Black’. Everyone of them, among others, are spectacular. It is worth to see them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOHrl8MNVI

Shadowlands

Everyone has a different point of view even if all of us are watching the same film. Like a kaleidoscope, things have many ways to reveal, many ways to make us feel. Shadowlands is a superb production where you could extract a variety of lessons to think about. Directing by an extraordinary Richard Attenborough, with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger on the top, without forgetting some of the goods like John Wood, the movie show us the relationship between a man and a woman, two different minds in the society of the 50’s in England.

As most of reviews note, the main theme is about how the relation of the main characters is developing. First, they meet each other because she admires him and his books. Then, they become friends. After that, there are a convenience marriage because of her nationality and the possibility of living there for her, Joy, and her son Douglas. At the end, she is diagnosed with a terminal cancer. She is subjected to a treatment. Jack is committed himself to caring about her and discover how much he loves her. Finally, she dies.

The paragraph above tells us the plot, but we can go farther. In my opinion, the real story speaks about the changes that Jack suffers during the film. At the beginning, he is a middle-age single man, with his own habits, with a particular idea of God among other things, who is used to win every fight, someone with a clear mind. When he meets Joy, he starts to change his behavior; it seems he runs after her. He is marveled at her manners, her way to see the world, but he does not know what is happening inside him, so he does the same things he use to do before her, even hiding their marriage. At the moment he knows she is going to die, he is not thinking about the others anymore, he recognizes his love and decides about living for the first time. Truly, I would say he is getting more handsome along the time is running, maybe because of the expression of his face. The final reflection with the new pupil is about love, something he has never had into account. The purpose to read is not to be alone, not to be alone is falling in love with someone. 

Another day in Paradise, a tribute to homeless.

Three years ago, a giant of artist was retired. Phil Collins was and always will be an amazing musician, not only for the songs but for the lyrics. One of my favorites is precisely “Another day in paradise”. This song was the first single of his LP ‘But seriously’(1989) and was kept on the top along four weeks, between 80’s and 90’s, so we can consider one of the most popular high hits in both decades. It is a tribute to homeless, as it were. A very beautiful way to explain that all of us are in the same fix, our situation can be changed in a moment. Even if sometimes we are not aware of it. Now, very close to Christmas time, we should make a self-reflection of our situation. Stop thinking about us, stop complaining about everything. It is time to believe in us, as the same universal thing. It is time to stare at the present, face to every problem, enjoy with your people. It is time to live another day in paradise for you and me.

My speech

I was thinking about sharing to you the speeh I prepared for you. As you can see, all these words have not told, but all these things that the ones I wanted to speak about. You can see here how different are the thing that you want to say, and the things that you really say...

Cutbacks

Today I would like to speak about two things we are worried about, things that are affected by cutbacks: these are health service and education.

The first point I’d like to comment is about health service. You know that guy who go to the doctor and say… ? Doctor, I cannot eat, I cannot sleep, I cannot drink anything… what´s wrong with me? And the doctor tells him. Sir, you are hungry, you are thirsty and you are tired.  Jokes apart from that, this is the feeling we have when we go to the hospital. We feel lost and it seems anyone cares about us. I’d like to tell you two stories.

The first one is about me. I went to the doctor because of some panic attacks. The pretty knowing disease of 21 century: the anxiety. I like my doctor a lot. He has been with my family for ages and I trust him. In that case, I think that this man loves his job, but the solution was: buy a treatment for your hair that the social security doesn’t pay, which is cost 90 euros, because it is falling due to your anxiety. After that, take a lot of pills which are going to cover you problems and keep you sleepy all day. If you can, pay a psychologist and end with that. The same answer I got in Madrid. The second one is about my sister. She has stones in her vesicle. After three days going to ER with her because of terrible pains, they decided hospitalized. She spent 6 days there, with a weekend in the middle. In those days, my brother in law and I had to be care of her with no information about the situation. I remember everybody saying nothing, my sister overwhelmed and we so worried. The last day it was supposed her blood had to be analyzed, so I had to go to remember the nurse she couldn’t eat anything. She said she had no order to analyze anything, so she had to advise to the doctor. All the hell we lived there made me asking some questions: what’s happened with people who work here? Are they happy? Are they worried about the patients, or about their money? Fortunately not all of them seemed so unmotivated. But you were there and noticed the desperation, the apathy, they didn’t want to work in these conditions, I understand, but who is blame here? They, us, other people? I don’t know if the problem is less money, more work hours, maybe humans, we want everything at the moment and we are worried just about pleasure and material things.

The words mentioned below are connected with the other thing I would like to speak: education, with another story, of course. When I was at the university studying to be a special educational needs teacher, a discussion emerged. The question was… can be happy children with special educational needs, like autism, or kind of syndrome, or maybe some living with a wheelchair. It was awesome!!!! Most of the pupils said no. They cannot be happy because they probably prefer being normal. Define normal, I said. I saw the link speaking about Jacob, the link in Emilio’s blog. If you have seen it, do you think this child is unhappy? Because he doesn’t look like that. I realized that most of people there thought that children with “problems” have to be treated as a problem into itself. Poor children, we have to speak with them making disgusting noises like ohh, my dear… poor, wait, please! They are different among them, most of them are not silly, they just have difficulties making some kind of things, but so developed to do others…  The point here is that some people are not ready to deal with the profession that they have chosen. In case of education, you must have clear that this is what you want to do, because you have a huge responsibility. The child nowadays will be the man tomorrow.

To conclude, and joint the two points mentioned before, I have to explain why I think it was important the stories I’ve just told you. Both of them speak about people who don’t care about their job. About people who cannot see the magnificence of the world. Education is a primary resource, health service, too. Government must spend more money in things we are going to prepare to the future. We’re grown with the idea that we can get all that we want, this cannot be good. Everything is like a chain. If you invest in education, you will make good adults who can be able to govern. If you invest in health and medicine, you can look after these children who will be your future. If we become good citizen, smart, worried, ecologist, searching for the good and not the bad, whatever… we could create a better world. Regretfully, all of these are not in our hands, but we can start with a little step, peering around and helping in every moment we were required. Indeed, we can stop to close our eyes and talk so aloud that someone has to hear us. 

Life again

He works

He has a young lost glance in an old face

He won once

He is not going to do anymore

Time flies, he could not hold it back

He had everything we wanted to, but now…

Now he has nothing

He tries again and again, tries to catch the air, but he is blowing in the wind

He lost her, he lost the most

He wanders through a narrow path looking for an eternal youth, 

wondering if she was there, waiting for him, like always did.

A mirror in the sky

A few years ago I watched a film named ‘Kathmandu, a mirror in the sky’. The film is about a teacher who moves there to volunteer in a local school. There is a scene where a man, who she had married out of convenience, told her that everyone has their own place on Earth, which at the same time is a mirror in the sky. In fact, every person must find it. I was wondering if it could be real or not. I have ever believed that we do belong to nowhere; we are part of the planet, so we should stay wherever we want to.

            All these thoughts take me to consider about our goal in life. When I was younger I would have liked to go fighting against poverty to another country: helping people to build houses, farming lands with them, whatever. It only was one of my dreams. I would have visited Buthan, (I did not know what is called, for instance), just for the Buddhism idea, or some other paradise on Earth. I have read a lot about this kind of thinking; living as a Buddhism monk could be interesting as the same time as close to perfection. I will add that many ideas come into my brain, like being a writer locked into my room, being a tourist forever, travelling forwards to the East lands by transsiberian train, I do not know…

            According to these points, I realize that I do not really want this way of life. I would not wish to live as a hippie, or as the mother Theresa, or be a traveller. I want to be free (as Queen said) and just me. I am not sure what is the future preparing to me, but I am going to catch a brief glimpse of the fate. Wherever I will settle, I wish I found my own way, so I will have my mirror, the one which moves on with me.

          I strongly recommend this film. If you want to know a curiosity about it, the director and the main character are not getting on well with each other, or something of that I have heard. The rest, you should discover yourself.