Since 2001 I have been going to Dhaka, Bangladesh and working with the Canadian organization, Families For Children at their orphanage. The first time I wen there I fell in love with the kids and immediately started sponsoring one - Khadiza who is now 9-years old and is always giggling, running around and doing gymnastics! The more I got involved the more I became attached to the kids and to FFC itself. It was founded in the 1970's by an amazing woman named Sandra Simpson who also runs another project in India. Everyone outside of Bangladesh works on a volunteer basis so there is almost no overhead ensuring the money can be used directly to help the kids! If you are interested and want more information either go to the website (link below) or contact me to ask me any questions!
Check it out: www.familiesforchildren.ca
The reason I am writing this now is that I spent 3 months there last year and due to the funding of a CIDA grant I was able to help open up The Spa, a beauty parlour and a training centre for the older girls to give the marketable job skills for when they leave FFC. This grant was received through the university where I am taking my Master's in Communications, Royal Roads University, and their magazine InRoads recently published an article on my trip.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
An Amzing Video - VIrtual World
This is a simply amazing video - a must watch! From Christian Renaud's website. Again, off-topic but this is too good not to share!
World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.
World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Happy April Fool's Day!
So, I'm straying from my main topic today to say Happy April Fool's to everyone! I personally am staying inside all day, not answering the door or my phone! It's just safer that way.
I've been checking out some funny April Fool's day jokes and put 5 of my favourite below. Enjoy!
1. Youtube: Check out YouTube today - they are playing all their videos upside down!
2. Guardian publishing on Twitter only: The U.K. newspaper The Guardian announced that it was shutting down both its print edition and Web site, turning instead to a Twitter-only format. "Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters," the announcement read.
I fell for this - only realized it's a joke now!
3. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
See the video on YouTube!
4. The Left-Handed Whopper 1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version.
Seriously people! A left-handed burger!?!?!
5.UFO Lands in London 1989: On March 31, 1989 thousands of motorists driving on the highway outside London looked up in the air to see a glowing flying saucer descending on their city. Many of them pulled to the side of the road to watch the bizarre craft float through the air. The saucer finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London where local residents immediately called the police to warn them of an alien invasion. Soon the police arrived on the scene, and one brave officer approached the craft with his truncheon extended before him. When a door in the craft popped open, and a small, silver-suited figure emerged, the policeman ran in the opposite direction. The saucer turned out to be a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records. The stunt combined his passion for ballooning with his love of pranks. His plan was to land the craft in London's Hyde Park on April 1. Unfortunately, the wind blew him off course, and he was forced to land a day early in the wrong location.
I would have paid to see this!
Thanks to:
Museum of HoaxesShow all
and Caroline McCarthy at CNET
I've been checking out some funny April Fool's day jokes and put 5 of my favourite below. Enjoy!
1. Youtube: Check out YouTube today - they are playing all their videos upside down!
2. Guardian publishing on Twitter only: The U.K. newspaper The Guardian announced that it was shutting down both its print edition and Web site, turning instead to a Twitter-only format. "Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters," the announcement read.
I fell for this - only realized it's a joke now!
3. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
See the video on YouTube!
4. The Left-Handed Whopper 1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version.
Seriously people! A left-handed burger!?!?!
5.UFO Lands in London 1989: On March 31, 1989 thousands of motorists driving on the highway outside London looked up in the air to see a glowing flying saucer descending on their city. Many of them pulled to the side of the road to watch the bizarre craft float through the air. The saucer finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London where local residents immediately called the police to warn them of an alien invasion. Soon the police arrived on the scene, and one brave officer approached the craft with his truncheon extended before him. When a door in the craft popped open, and a small, silver-suited figure emerged, the policeman ran in the opposite direction. The saucer turned out to be a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records. The stunt combined his passion for ballooning with his love of pranks. His plan was to land the craft in London's Hyde Park on April 1. Unfortunately, the wind blew him off course, and he was forced to land a day early in the wrong location.
I would have paid to see this!
Thanks to:
Museum of HoaxesShow all
and Caroline McCarthy at CNET
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