Photohunt/Save the world: Giant garage sale for African children.

Live succulents for sale. They are alive, so they should be fresh???


In New Zealand, where there is a fund raiser, there is bound to be a sausage sizzle. Sausages BBQed on the premises, how fresh can that be? Judy of CBM makes sure the sausage is fresh. She BBQed it herself.




Busy people, Mike Buckley, and Nell Dickey from CBM, Jean Morley from CBM and church, Eileen and David Asbury from Church.


Jean has a passion for children. I have a passion for Africa. Jean is going to Africa. My Church Mt Albert Baptist Church supported her cause. There was a monster garage sale and more than 10 members of the CBM people were here.

The weather was glorious. I was there not to work, but to take photos and I made a new friend Mike.

Mike told me he wasn't going to Africa, but to India. Coincidentally, as I was driving to the sale, I heard over the radio, how people are afraid to go to India because they were afraid to catch the Indian belly. It is very admirable for people to leave the comforts of their home country to go to a third world.

Ka Pai jean, Ka Pai Mike.


Monster Garage Sale started today from 7.30am. It is a mutual help. You get rid of your clutter – household goods, furniture, clothing, books, toys, crockery, white-ware, kitchen-ware and so much more. The needy people buy the stuff cheaply and all the proceeds go to Africa. This time the proceeds go towards transporting children's Christian literature to Africa.

What is CBM?
Since 1963, CBM has been committed to “Helping You Reach Today’s Children”. We are a non-denominational, non-profit organisation with branches in several countries.
CBM depends on the prayer and gifts of interested supporters for the continuation of the work – helping Christians reach the children of the world with the positive Christian message and to disciple them in their walk.
A brief overview of the history and ministry of CBM.

What does CBM do?
1. We reach out to children in holiday camps, schools, churches and other ministry settings.
2. We train and equip those who are doing a spiritual work with children.
3. We produce and distribute high quality, relevant, life-changing teaching resources.



http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

Fresh is today's theme for photohunt.

http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.co.nz/

ABC Wednesday: J for Jandals, and not just for fun.

Excellent participation by this teacher and her class. Ka Pai and Paki Paki.


In New Zealand, the jandal is a national icon. Jandals stands for Japanese sandals. In Germany, my friend H tells me it is known as flip flop. In USA, I believe it is also known as flip flops, in Australia, they call it thongs, in China and Taiwan, it is cool shoes, and in Singapore, and Malaysia , we call it Japanese slippers or just slippers.

Today is a special day in school. We had a parade. The weather was terrible, so we had it in the auditorium. It was our fancy bike/scooter/skateboard parade, and it is not JUST for fun. It is serious stuff. It is about travelwise.


Please read the email from Keren, the teacher who organised this day.

I know the Year 5/6’s are out that week ( They went to camp) but I am inviting the rest of our staff to take part in what I am hoping will be a fun week!



Room 2 are going to help me organise the following:



A teacher’s GUESS MY SHOE competition-this is where I am asking you the teacher to bring in 1 shoe and the kids will be guessing who it belongs to!
Lunch time: Obstacle course for Year 3 & 4 children on bikes & scooters
Lunch Time: Year 0/1 & 2 Fancy Bike Parade
Fancy Feet Competition on Friday 23rd March in Whole School Assembly-Maxx the Pukeko might be coming to judge!
All teachers who walk/bike to school from home go in the draw for a prize…or park at the top end of Point Chevalier Road (Montrose Street or Meola Road if you are coming from the North Shore) and then walk to school!



Thanks for your support

Cheers

Keren

( Mr. Pukeko, I walk to school)



http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/



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Save the World/Thursday Theme Song: We shall not be moved.

Oliver's like a tree by the water, we shall not be moved.

When I was growing up in Borneo, the Government was very strict, any one deemed to be protesting would be thrown to jail aka eating curry rice. So when the first time I had a chance to protest, I went. I was in Windsor, Ontario in Canada in the mid 1970s.

It was a student led protest against the University of Windsor's decision to increase the fees of international students. My lecturer of International Economics led the protest and we went round the university, into the lecture halls, singing We shall not be moved. My friends told me that I was crazy to join the protest. There were spies everywhere and when I returned to Borneo, I will be hauled to Hotel "Hilton Sibu" and made to eat curry rice.

Oliver, the protestor.














It seems things have changed, people are not afraid to protest. Today, my artist friend Oliver Wong was in a 15,000 strong protest march in Kuantan, Malaysia for anti-Lynas rally.




Oliver, his wife, and his friends were rallying to oppose the construction of a rare earth refinery nearby, which they fear will pose radioactive risks.





The rally - dubbed Himpunan Hijau 2.0 (Green Gathering 2.0) - gathered people from all over the country at the Kuantan Municipal Council field.

http://www.isarawak.com.my/v2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1304%3A15000-swarm-kuantan-for-anti-lynas-rally&catid=34%3Anews&Itemid=53


http://annkschin.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/save-world-artist-oliver-wong-dancing.html



Oliver, when I knew him as a university student in 1978 in Auckland New Zealand

http://ollieartgallery.blogspot.com/


We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved

We Shall Not Be Moved" is a traditional American folk song whose lyrics probably stretch back to the slave era, although there is no indication of when the song was written or who wrote it. It is a spiritual song that was adapted by the activists of the 1930s, with lyrics changed to "We Shall Not Be Moved," similarly to how "We Shall Overcome" took on the collective voice in protest rather than its original singular voice.


http://youtu.be/M_LtPSlWwxA




http://hootin--anni.blogspot.com/



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Mellow Yellow/save the world:Matschie's tree kangaroos

When I finished high school in Borneo, I had a gap year before I went to the University of Windsor in Canada. It was a great year as I left my parents home and went to teach in Kai Chung Secondary School in Binatang. They have since changed the name because Binatang means animal. A coincidence to this post.

As a 19 year old, I got very involved with the students. I enjoyed my time and it seems the students liked me too. Last year, some of these students found me at Facebook. Moh Mee Sui was a senior in the school, I didn't teach him, but we are now friends.He works in Papua New Guinea. He posted this photo and I was curious.

Matschie's tree kangaroos are native to Papua New Guinea, where logging and hunting have threatened the species. They are in danger of extinction. Matschie's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), also known as the Huon tree-kangaroo is a tree-kangaroo native to the Huon Peninsula of North Eastern New Guinea. Under the IUCN classification, Matschie's tree-kangaroo is endangered In 1996, the IUCN classified the Matschie’s tree-kangaroos as endangered animals.

The scientific name honours German biologist Paul Matschie.

Fortunately, conservation biologists from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle recently collaborated with Papua New Guinea villagers to create a 187,800-acre conservation area to protect species like Matschie's tree kangaroo.

The species is one of over 50 species of kangaroo, including about 10 types of tree kangaroo. They're much smaller than the kangaroos most of us are more familiar with (like Australia's red kangaroo

Thanks, Mee Sui.



http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/




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Save the world,: Save the battery chicken

Photo by Rachel Yang.


A free ranged mother hen.



http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/


When I was young, we lived in suburbia, Mum and Dad always kept some chicken and ducks. We had mostly free ranged ducks and chicken. But we also had about twenty caged hens for laying eggs. So I know about battery chicken and animal cruelty. Chickens have weird personality. If one chick gets pecked, the others will peck her too.

On Sunday, I watched a program on TV. There is a group of SAFE activists going round the country to expose egg farmers. There are some "bad" eggs among the farmers.

My friend Rachel Yang snapped this photo at Spencer Hotel in Takapuna in Auckland. Rachel is my facebook friend. We both belong to the Auckland University Chinese Alumni.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) in February released a draft welfare code for hens which would phase out the use of existing cages for the nation's 2.88 million battery hens, which each lay about 25 dozen eggs a year.

New "enriched cages", which feature a nest box, perch and a scratch pad, have been proposed.

The proposed colony systems would require 750cu cm per bird. A piece of A4 paper is equivalent to 623sq cm.

Would you pay a lot more for a free ranged egg?

Photohunt/save the world:Light

http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

I

http://tnchicks.wordpress.com


These beautiful lights at the Gold Coast Park are powered by solar energy.

The lights changes color, and I was very impressed that they were powered by solar power.

If only more buildings were powered by solar, we won't have so much pollution and shortage of fossil fuel.

http://apps.facebook.com/yourlifecontest/content/diary-bereaved-mother

last 10 days to vote.

Save the world:save your life./ABC Letter C for Colon and Colonoscopy

httphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/


http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/


This week, my challenge is one that people don't like to talk about. It is about our colon aka large intestine/bowel and colonoscopy. Sometimes, if we have irregular bowel movement, it is best to check it out just in case we have cancer. Polyps can be seen and removed before it develops to cancer.

A healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables helps. We are told to eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetable. Psyllium husks helps both ways, when you go too frequently or you don't go.

A friend went for a colonoscopy recently. Three days before, she mustn't eat fruits or food with pips and tiny seeds. The day before, she had to take light breakfast and light lunch. The evening before, she took the Moviprep, a solution that is a laxative. It doesn't taste nice and is very salty.

By then, she had completely emptied her bowel from faecal material after going very frequently. During the examination, She was sedated and a small camera takes photos.

For all her trouble, the doctor told her she passed her warranty of fitness, aka WOF.

She can't drive to the hospital and after the procedure for 10 hours. So I went with her. I waited for her procedure and drove her home.

Sorry if you are having your lunch or dinner. But it can save your life. While I was waiting for my friend, the surgery was very busy.

scenic sunday/save the world: recycling plastics

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-899-CzXQWItUfFyjSFOjxOGTEkQROWseDRIH7E7c9vaS4cU9uY0dAvNwmXzEF3utxzHVq1OPmL1XKT3YtWP1_Y3xCVsYQlOtJdAYWoaTaJ-tSZW375nF4eqFVAr-h783_IcGshSyI0Bu/s1600-h/scenic+sunday.jpg">
http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/


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You see those hay bales? Plastics had been a life savior to farmers that they provide a water proof cover so the bales of hay can be kept outside. However, over time, there were a lot of these bale plastics. Farmers used to burn them or discarded.

Now in New Zealand, a company has been collected the used plastic bales and recycled them to make baleboard. The boards are used for horse stalls and pig pen floors. The material are also used for docks, benches and tables. These boards are hardy and won't rust. What a great idea.

In my local Asian supermarket, I note they are also collecting the white plastic bags.

I googled and found that this experiment is also carried out in Canada and Norway.

Ka Pai to all these companies.

save the world: share resources

http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

These archery targets are at a flat area of an extinct volcano at Mt Albert Summit. This was also a designated area where dogs were off their leash to exercise. Last year, the dog owners were angry that the area was cordoned off so that a few privileged archers could monopolized the whole space for their sole use.

Men and dog coexist, and there were a lot of petition signing. They argued that the archers were hardly there, and it was unfair and poor use of resources when the field is left unused.

Eventually both parties compromised. When the archers notify their use on their notice boards and also put up red flags. During these times, dog owners should try to exercise their dogs in another area. When the archers are not using the field, the dogs are free to roam.

I believe this is one example of save the world by coexisting and sharing resources.

Photohunt/save the world: Education

http://tnchick.com/

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Last Sunday, I was privileged to be invited by Ngarimu of the Maori NGATI WHATUA O ORAKEI tribe to be an educator of Recycling and saving the World. We slept inside this beautiful Marae on Saturday night, and listened to speakers on the need for recycling and having a hands on education of the Maori culture.

I used this experience to educate my students when I went back to school. I showed my photos to my students and talking about Maori culture become alive when they know I had been there. We did the Hongi, the traditional greeting with rubbing of the nose instead of kissing. My kids were happy to do it.

These two ladies sat in the sun the whole day, educating the younger generation and foreigners the art of using our New Zealand flax in weaving beautiful art decor and baskets. It is important that such skills are not lost with the influx of cheap imported plastic stuff. Flax is bio-degradable and will not choke the landfill. Ka Pai to these ladies.

In the Marae, they placed mattresses on the floor next to the other to accommodate 70 people. This is Graeme who slept beside me in the Marae. He told me to choose a space near the door because the Marae can be quite stuffy with so many people sleeping where there was no windows. He too manned his station the whole day. I give him respect because he is much much older than the rest of the volunteers. Many people came up to ask us if we got paid, and we explained we were volunteers. We were there to educate festival goers what to do with their rubbish at the festival and what to do when they were at home.