An Honest Look At Flood Water Damage And Its Victims
There is hardly anything more horrendous than flooding on the scale of something like Hurricane Katrina or a tsunami like the one that affected Thailand and other countries.
What is left in the wake of these violent fits of Mother Nature can hardly be described adequately with words. It can be heart wrenching to look at the damage raging flood waters can leave behind when they have receded.
There are always so many pictures that inundate the media sources of the damage to the building structures and the damage to the land and its beauty. We see all the victims sifting through what is left of their homes and the life that they lived there and so many times there is simply nothing left to sift through.
Homes have been completely washed away and often loved ones were swept away with them. How can anyone not affected by this possibly begin to understand what it must be like?
For those that were lucky enough to have insurance coverage for flooding, at least they could repair or rebuild their homes and replace the things that are necessary to furnish them. For those who had no insurance to help them, well, it was only a tragedy on top of a tragedy.
To be homeless, living in shelters, penniless and relying on the help of strangers, who no matter how hard they tried or how much they gave, probably could not possibly really feel the utter helplessness that so many had to endure for weeks and months.
With the passing years most of those that were so severely touched by these disasters have already begun new lives. The trials and problems they faced seemingly unending for them. Many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were distributed to other states that had help to offer them.
Many of the refugees chose to begin their new lives there. New homes, new jobs, new schools, and new churches, and even though they have a new beginning, for so many it still does not replace what they lost, nor does it erase the loss of loved ones or the utter despair they had to face.
Material things can always be replaced and the land usually eventually recovers. For the people whose lives that were forever changed, there were multitudes of caring individuals who were there to give them a hand and help them take a new place in society.
Mother Nature can take away a lot of things, but she has yet been unable to destroy the will to survive in the human spirit and its desire to help each other in times of crisis.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.localrestoration.com
http://www.localrestorations.com
Kenyan Mother With HIV Saves Lives
The message on Sarah’s T-shirt is intended to shock people: HIV POSITIVE. These bold words on her self-made shirt are there because she is on a mission to save lives.
Sarah, who lives in a poor, dusty neighborhood in Kenya, is HIV-positive. Living with the disease for more than 16 years, Sarah has found herself near death many times.
Sarah’s 8-year-old daughter, Sherley, is also HIV-positive. Yet Sherley is blessed to have a sponsor through Compassion International, a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty.
Through Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program, Sherley enjoys health care, nutritional supplements, educational opportunities, biblical training and much more. She also receives lifesaving benefits through Compassion’s AIDS Initiative, such as medical checkups and treatments to help her stay strong.
Sarah wears her T-shirt to fight the heavy public stigma surrounding the disease in Kenya. Sarah knows firsthand that people who are HIV-positive are often abandoned by family and friends who are afraid of catching the disease.
Others believe that anyone who has HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), must be promiscuous and deserves the consequences of that behavior. Still others fear that people will think they too have HIV if they stick by their stricken friends. Tragically, many people who suspect they may be HIV-positive refuse to be tested.
Sarah has seen too many grow increasingly ill with HIV, uncared for and alone. And that makes her angry. “Stigma and discrimination are killing people,” she says. So in her fight against HIV, Sarah preaches abstinence, promotes HIV testing for everyone, and encourages aggressive medical treatments for victims. She also challenges Christians to overcome fear and ignorance, and embrace HIV victims with the love of Jesus. She knows what she is talking about.
Sarah’s husband, brother and sister died from AIDS and she was left alone to raise not only her three children but also the five children of her siblings – all while she dealt with her own HIV-positive status.
“There was no one to take care of them,” Sarah explains. “If I had not watched over them, they would have gone into child labor, prostitution or early marriages in the village. I was not going to make that mistake – so I struggled and took care of them.” Her family’s experience is not unique.
Through Compassion International’s AIDS Initiative, AIDS-affected children and their families receive AIDS awareness education, health screening and medical tests, food supplements and lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that can dramatically inhibit the progression of AIDS. Sarah explains, “ARV therapy has changed us from just people who are HIV-positive to people who are living positively!”
It wasn’t always that way for Sarah. Initially, she lived in denial of her disease. Denial turned into depression. But after several years of anguish and fear, Sarah came to grips with her circumstance and began making choices that built a new future.
In addition to caring for her newly enlarged family, two years ago Sarah and three friends co-founded a support group in their church for people with HIV.
The four women – all HIV-positive, all with children sponsored through the Compassion International program – began supporting and encouraging each other in their daily battles. Their hope spread, and soon others from the community joined the group, which now has 50 members.
A key distinctive of Compassion International’s AIDS Initiative is that it is coordinated through the local church. Every aspect of the initiative is Christ centered and administered in Jesus’ name.
Consistent medical care, unconditional love and spiritual growth embrace AIDS victims who receive benefits through the churches in their communities. These churches, whose members are committed to caring for AIDS victims long term, are giving renewed hope and health to women like Sarah and their children.
Through the church and the AIDS Initiative, Sarah’s support group also received a grant to help its members start income-generating enterprises. Sarah makes glass-bead jewelry.
Others sell dry goods from their homes, roast and sell nuts, and make decorative bedspreads to sell. These businesses provide desperately needed money so these mothers can supply food, clothing and shelter for their families.
One group member explains what life was like before she and her son received help from Compassion International’s AIDS Initiative: “I often got sick with malaria and my son suffered constantly from pneumonia. By taking the ARV drugs through Compassion International, we are now stronger.
Compassion International has given us a new start, a chance to live normally again. I now have a purpose, whereas before I thought I would die quickly. But that is not so because of Compassion International. I now live with a fresh start.”
Sarah’s experiences with the horrors of HIV and her unwavering faith in Christ have also given her a unique perspective on her life. People are shocked when she says, “I am grateful to God for the virus!
The virus has made me realize my purpose in life, and I now enjoy sharing my personal experience to influence others. I have been living with HIV for 16 years now. At the age of 40, I have seen my first grandson. This is amazing! Compassion International is why I’m still alive today and I can now assist others.”
Compassion, a nonprofit organization, depends on generous sponsors and tax deductible contributions to continue saving lives. If you would like more information on this ministry visit http://www.compassion.com.
Native American Drums And The History Of Native Americans
Native American drums are probably the most recognizable Native American instruments among American Indians and non Native people alike. Drums for generations have been at the center of Native lifestyle, forming what has become the foundation of religion and spirituality as well as social gatherings where a pow wow drum is center stage.
Indian tribes in North America history have all used drums in various ways to connect with a higher power known to most as the Great Spirit. To Native people, Indian drums are much more than just decorations or interesting musical instruments. American Indian drums are believed to speak to the drummer. Native drums being made in a circle represent the earth and life. The most well know being hoop drums and shaman drums which are Indian hand drums used in many personal healing and religious ceremonies as well as public ceremonies such as a Native American powwow.
The hide of the animal that is stretched over the ring brings with it unique characteristics of the spirit of the animal and brings life to the drum when played. Many people think of pounding a drum to make a sound, but to Indian drummers and those involved in modern drumming groups and drum circles, the desire is to draw out the sound. The beating drum is compared to the beating of a human heart and is said to represent the heart beat of the earth which is a belief that is classic Native American. Drums in this way become the vehicle to connect one’s spirit with that of the earth and the Great Spirit through out the history of Native Americans.
Native American Indian drums have a rich culture and because they are so important they are used in not only music but art and dance as well. Decorating a drum becomes a very personal task to the owner. The Indian drummer becomes an artist and communicates impressions of his inner feelings and beliefs in his Indian art. Some American Indian tribes use animals to decorate their drums and others use geometric patterns and everything in between. In some tribal cultures the drummer will place something of personal value inside the drum to permanently join himself with his hand drum.
The Native American designs that the artwork on the drums depict is often painted with natural earth colors taken from nature. Some are dull and others are bright coming from flowers, roots, berries, bark or herbs that are boiled to release their unique earth tones. Other Native American drums are adorned with iron oxide which is a naturally occurring red rock that can be easily crushed. When mixed with water, it produces a rich orange red dye that is much like paint and is indicative if the surrounding hillsides and rock formations like those of the beautiful Arizona red rock canyons. The region of Sedona is thought to be a special place with spiritual power like the energy created by American Indian drums.
Native American Education except for those Indian boarding schools that have tried to stamp out Native culture has always involved the sharing of beliefs through music, songs, stories and legends. It is in harmony with these forms of learning that the communication and cultural importance has been found in the use of drums. If you are interested in the spiritual aspects of life as pertain to Indian beliefs, you will enjoy owning and playing Native American drums.
Craig Chambers is an expert on drumming in Native culture. Learn more about the meaning and use of Native American drums at http://www.nativeamericandrums.net
Almost 400 Years Of Detroit History
For hundreds of years, what is now the Detroit area was so important to commerce between Native American tribes that only traders were allowed into the territory.
As a city, Detroit wouldn’t begin to shape into its current form until roughly four centuries ago. In the 1600’s, France began establishing forts at strategic locations in North America, in order to try to keep the British from moving west out of New England and to establish a monopoly on trade. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac felt that the area that had become known as le detroit, or the straits, was an obvious location for a major post. The river was narrow enough that a cannon could be fired from one side to the other, but substantial enough to provide a defense. The surrounding Great Lakes and waterways meant easy travel from most major points. The court in France agreed, and Cadillac was allowed to establish a settlement at the Detroit River in 1701.
Fort Ponchartrain, built by Cadillac, was probably not the first settlement in the area, although there is little known about any previous inhabitants. Some early explorers reported evidence of Jesuits and coureurs de bois, or fur trappers, in the area; others reported evidence of Native American settlements. Previous to that, a people known as the Mound Builders lived in the area.
That’s when French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landed on the banks of the Detroit River and established a fort in 1701. Nine years later he was removed from his post as outpost commander due to “ill conduct”, or the excessive lining of his own pockets.
Change would remain a constant throughout Detroit’s first century. In 1760, French rule gave way to British. And in 1796 the United States took over Detroit as a result of Jay’s Treaty.
Detroit was incorporated as a city in 1815 and spent the decades leading up to the Civil War as the final U.S. stop on the Underground Railroad. The area also was earning a reputation for, among other things, the manufacturing of cigars and kitchen ranges.
So how did Detroit become the Motor City instead of the stove-making capital of the world?
It’s due in large part to the influence an entrepreneurial farmer’s son, Henry Ford. In 1896, Ford built his first car in Detroit – not quite the earth-shattering event since the automobile had already been around for a few years. It was the method of building cars that he would later devise – the moving assembly line – that put the world on wheels and Detroit on the industrial map.
During the early part of the 20th century, dozens of companies emerged in the Detroit area committed to finding success in the new industry. During World War II, the factories they built to produce cars were put to use churning out weapons for the Allied Powers. The production edge they provided helped to win the war.
Ironically, it was a former autoworker that led the way for Detroit’s other famous 20th century contribution – Motown. Founded by Berry Gordy Jr. with just an $800 family loan, the upstart record company introduced the world to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokie Robinson, Michael Jackson, the Temptations, Diana Ross and others – all of whom either grew up or gained their first fame in Detroit.
In the last half of the 20th Century the city has had its ups and downs, including the 1967 riots and the downturn of auto industry fortunes. At the start of the 21st century, metro Detroit is starting to reap the rewards of decades of work put into revitalization.
Ann Knapp writes for Checker Sedan. Where ever you’re going, Checker Sedan is a better way to get there. Our vehicles and drivers will spoil you with luxury. And our little extras make us the obvious choice for people who are going places. http://www.checkersedan.com