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Greetings to each and everyone of you.


This section for English-speaking viewers –
and all those enjoying the culture –

has developed over the months and is now offering materials of all kinds:

texts, images, poems, videos, etc.

It will continue to provide you with rich contents week after week.

 

World AIDS Orphans Day – 7 May

Children orphaned by AIDS are just a fraction of the problem, as millions more have been made vulnerable. Behind the statistics are millions of stories of human suffering. The AIDS crisis has a catastrophic impact on households and communities – deepening poverty and exacerbating hardships. More than 95 percent of children affected by AIDS, including orphans, continue to live with their extended families. However, these families are increasingly overwhelmed by poverty and struggle to protect and raise the children in their care.

Despite progress in funding, preventing and treating AIDS, the world is ignoring the basic needs of millions of vulnerable children. Few resources are reaching the families and communities that provide the front-line response, even though they provide the vast majority of care and support to orphaned and vulnerable children. A generation will be lost if we do not take urgent measures to support the basic rights of children and the families and communities that care for them. We can fight AIDS if we organize a long-term response supported by a strong political will.

Source: Text: FXB  Image: USAID

International Midwives’ Day – 5 May

International Midwives’ Day is celebrated on May 05, 2017. International Midwives’ Day was first celebrated May 5, 1991, and has since been observed in over 50 nations around the world. The idea of having a day to recognize and honor midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands.

Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and birth, during the postpartum period, and between pregnancies. Practitioners also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breast feeding. They provide birth control, education and prescriptions for well-woman health care as well. 

Source: Text: www.cute-calendar.com  Image: Midwives Association of BC

 

Firefighters’ Day – 4 May

“The role of a firefighter in today’s society – be it urban, rural, natural environment, volunteer, career, industrial, defence force, aviation, motor sport, or other is one of dedication, commitment and sacrifice – no matter what country we reside and work in. In the fire service we fight together against one common enemy – fire – no matter what country we come from, what uniform we wear or what language we speak.”  Lt JJ Edmondson, 1999

Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighter’s life.

International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is a time where the world’s community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions.

International Firefighters’ Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year.

Source: Text: International Firefighters’ Day  Image: Fée des Lettres

4th Sunday of Easter, Year A

If I pronounce the words: ‘The voice’, probably quite a few people will think of the television programme by this name.
One characteristic of the programme is that those who are to judge the performers do not see them – they only hear, yes, their voices.

This came to my mind when reading the gospel of this 4th Sunday of Easter (Year A, Jn.10:1-10).
One verse of the text says precisely:

“The shepherd goes in front of them and the sheep follow
because they know his voice.”
 
We know that – figuratively speaking, of course – we are the sheep that the Lord is leading, his followers.
But, could he say the same of us?…
Could he say that we know his voice?

Do we recognize it?
Can we identify this sound of his, calling us…
Trying to gain our attention, speaking to us personally…
And that, in the midst of so many other voices reaching us through the day?

The voices of our relatives demanding our help or giving us advice…
That of our friends and neighbours asking for assistance or offering suggestions…
The sounds of our colleagues coaxing us into doing, or not doing something…
And… the inner voices that have become part of our personality – that of our values, convictions, or… prejudices…
And, of course, the ever-present voices of publicity, propaganda, persuasive as they are…
So many voices!

What about HIS own – is it drowned in all of the surrounding sounds, becoming hardly a whisper?…
True – like the judges of the television programme – we do not, we cannot, see him.

Yet, he keeps on providing us with inspiration and guidance.
His voice… with his unique accent – altogether caring, comforting, challenging…
Could he really say that WE know his voice?

Source: Image: NCB Blog

Sun Day – 3 May

Sun Day (May 3, 1978) was designated by Jimmy Carter President of United States of America  specifically devoted to advocacy for solar power, following a joint resolution by Congress. It was modeled on the highly successful Earth Day of April 22, 1970.

International Sun day has been celebrated over the past seven years on May 3, 2008. The day is sponsored and celebrated by NASA. Its Sun-Earth connection education forum organizes and coordinates events to highlight NASA Sun-Earth Connection research and discoveries. Sun-Earth Day is during the March equinox.

The celebration on the day is marked by the celestial events, such as total solar eclipses and the Transit of Venus, and Sun-Earth Day during the March Equinox. They participate in space science activities, demonstrations, and various interactive sessions and quiz with space scientists.

One of main goals of the day is to help scientists understand the interactions between the Sun and the Earth’s environment, which will definitely facilitate them to predict the Sun’s activity and motion, and thus, space weather conditions.

Source: Text: IDEA  Image: Clipart Library

World Asthma Day – 2 May

Millions of people all over the world suffer from Asthma, and if you’ve ever met one who suffers from it then you’re familiar with the pssst psst sound of the inhalers that make a relatively normal day to day life possible for them. World Asthma Day is dedicated to raising awareness about this pernicious disease and seeks to bring awareness and advanced asthma care to sufferers throughout the world.

History of World Asthma Day
World Asthma Day was initially established in 1998 by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). While almost all of us are familiar with the sound and visual of an inhaler for Asthma being used, not all of us are aware of the actual nature, cause, and that there are multiple types of asthma out there. The truth of the matter is asthma isn’t entirely understood, what is known is that there are multiple factors at play in the complex chemistry that creates an asthma sufferer. These include genetic interactions and elements in the environment that can change both the severity and how likely it is to respond to treatment.

The known aggravators of asthma are many and include everything from allergens, air pollution, and other chemicals that can appear in the environment that irritate the lungs. In high enough concentrations these factors can cause serious asthma attacks in sufferers and aggravate cases that are otherwise mild.

Asthma is incredibly prevalent in those areas that suffer from low air quality as a result, and those areas also tend to be those that house low-income and minority communities. As such these already disadvantaged individuals are the highest sufferers of this pernicious disease. An added factor is psychological stress, and again this element is particularly high in those living on the edge of poverty, increasing its occurrence there further.

Source: Text: DAYS of the YEAR  Image: Medscape

 

 

Labor Day – 1st May

About May Day/Labor Day
Inspired by ancient Greek festivals like the Anthesteria, May Day was originally a celebration of spring and the rebirth taking place in nature during that time of the year. Traditionally, May Day is characterized by the gathering of flowers and the fertility rite of dancing around the maypole. In recent years, particularly in socialist and Communist countries, May Day has become a labor festival honoring the military and industrial efforts of the country.

The eight-hour movement to reduce the working day from 10 to eight hours began after the Civil War. It was a major aim of the National Labor Union, whose first congress met in 1866. By 1868 congress and six states passed an eight-hour legislation. In 1884 the National Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Assemblies decided to call for a general strike on May 1, 1886, to enforce demands for employers to observe the eight-hour day. In 1947, amidst the anti-Communist Cold War hysteria, the US Veterans of Foreign Wars renamed May 1 as « Loyalty Day » and a joint session of Congress later made the pronouncement official.

In many countries, the May 1 holiday was obtained by trade union agitation supported by socialist parties. However, in Germany where such agitation had proved fruitless, it was instituted in 1933 as a gift from Hitler, being promptly followed by the abolition of trade unions. In the United Kingdom, a May Day Bank Holiday was instituted in 1978 for trade unionists to celebrate, but was held on the first Monday in May to minimize the damage to business.

In China, Labor Day was extended to 3 days during the 1990s. The Chinese government made it a seven-day holiday by moving the prior and upcoming weekends together with these three days. This holiday allowed millions of Chinese people to travel during this period. The Chinese government reduced this holiday period down to one day in 2008, while simultaneously reviving three traditional Chinese holidays: the Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Source: Text: Timeanddate.com  Images: modiachievements.in, Pinterest

World Day for Safety and Health at Work – 28 April

The UN, ILO and other organizations, communities, individuals, and government bodies with an interest in workplace health and safety unite on or around April 28 to promote an international campaign known as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The UN posts this event in its events calendar each year.

Community leaders and organizational representatives often promote the day by speaking out on issues such as workplace health and safety standards. Various media have promoted the day through news articles and broadcast programs. Different types of events and activities that center on workplace health and safety are held in many countries on or around April 28 each year.

Background
The International Labour Organization (ILO) started observing the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, 2003. The ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for people to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It aims to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, boost social protection, and strengthen dialogue in work-related issues.

Source: Text & Image: timeanddate.com

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A

“We had hoped…”
“We had thought this would happen…”
“We expected we could do this…”
“We had anticipated the coming of…”
“We had prepared for that event…”

The very mood of two disciples on the way from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Lk.24:13-35) after the terrible event of the past Friday.
They must have said to themselves that they had been foolish to believe that things could be otherwise…

And suddenly… a stranger joins them on the road and he tells them, in so many words, that they are indeed foolish – « foolish men » (v.25) not to understand what the Scriptures had foretold.

What happened then is something quite unexpected: their hopeless hearts become ‘burning within’ them as they tell each other.
They can hardly believe it and yet… they cannot not believe – it is true, it is REAL, HE is real, he shares bread with them – He is risen.

It was unexpected, unforeseen, unimaginable, unbelievable…
Perhaps… the unexpected, the unforeseen, the unimaginable, the unbelievable is the very place where God likes to make himself present.
There – in all that we no longer hoped for – he can suddenly give so much more than we could ever have dared to expect!

 

One can also see: http://image-i-nations.com/on-the-way-is-it-possible/

Source’ Image: wwww.pinterest.com