all images and stories are the property of Catherine Beerda-Basso and are not to be used without given permission...thank you
Showing posts with label Seeds of Love and Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seeds of Love and Hope. Show all posts

Monday, 26 November 2012

Monday Offering...Seeds of Love and Hope



This past weekend we had out 5th Annual
Fundraising Banquet.
This is our big event of the year...
the one that pulls in the most people 
and the most funds.

This year we raised over $120, 000.00

THAT
is so something to celebrate.

(this is one of my kids Claudia...we sponsor her and her brother)

This year I spoke at the banquet, 
reflecting on my trip this past Spring.
I offer my words, that I shared that night,
to you today...


Hunger: the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; the exhausted condition caused by want of food...
World Hunger refers to those who live in malnutrition; the lack of proper protein in their diet.
In 2010 925 million people went hungry everyday
1 out of every 7 people

(this is Oscar-Daniel, he is another one of our children...we sponsor him and one of his sisters, Sarah.
There are 5 children in his family, all of which are sponsored.  He and Sarah are the youngest.)
Does the world produce enough food to feed everyone?
Yes
World Agriculture produces 17% more calories per person 
then it did 30 years ago, despite a 70% population increase.
This is enough to provide every person with at least 2,720 calories per day.

What are the causes of World Hunger?
Poverty
harmful Economic systems
Climate Change

(my butterfly girl Anna-Marie and her little sister)

1 out of 3 persons in developing countries
are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Approximately
10% of the worlds population owns a car
50% of the worlds population own their own home
4% of the world own a computer
12% have access to one
3-5% have internet access
25% of the worlds population sleep in their own bed
30% have enough money to have a bank account

(giving Daniel his gift)
I do not share these statistics to cause us to feel bad or guilty.
In fact it is with these facts I hope to empower ourselves.
To shift us into awareness of our position in the world.
For we are a minority
The way we live here in North America is not the norm
in comparison to most of the worlds life styles.
It is easy in our society to feel like we live in lack.
The media speaks of recession, global warming, loss of jobs, horrible violence and crimes, things that cause us to draw ourselves inward,
feeling like there is not enough.
Of course
the "forget" to tell inform us of all the wonderful abundance, love  and giving that goes on...


When we live in this kind of
Fear or Lack
we live with a perception that if another is successful there will not be enough let for us.
From this way of thinking we become steeped in 
living competitively, 
pitting us one another instead
of working together.
But
the truth is there is more than enough
and by living past the physical
we no longer see ourselves as separate from one another.
Instead we see ourselves as the spiritual beings we are
each coming from one Source...a Love Creator
thus coming from a source of Abundance.


During my last trip I felt the shift 
of deeper connections being formed 
A Trust
A Unity
was becoming ever present
and this realization brought me to a deeper sense of 
what we are doing
and why.
This is about Unity
about Family
This is about being threads in the same tapestry of Life
and holding fast to one another
and realizing each ones importance
in that tapestry
when one thread is removed
the tapestries strength
is compromised.
So yes
we go down to feed, provide, assist,
but on a deeper level
we come to strengthen the human bond
that lies between all human beings...
we go to lay claim to our birthright of belonging
and being a family
and loving one another 
beyond social status
beyond skin colour
beyond language.

When One heals we all heal
When one succeeds we all succeed 
When one grieves we all grieve
When one is fed we all are fed
When one Loves we all Love


Living in Unity moves us away from ourselves
and into a deeper relationship with each other...

Today, my lovelies, I challenge us to walk out
into our lives in Unity.
Share with someone the importance of Unity
and what that means/looks like to you.


Accepting our position in the world
and being responsible with it
understanding all we do has an effect 
on the rest of the world
it is our choice as to 
whether that affect
is positive
or
negative.

Love and Light

Seeds of Love and Hope International Society

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Back to Colombia...

Jorge
(Seeds of Love and Hope International Society's president) 
and his family
left at the beginning of the week
 to go for a family visit
and to spend some time up at the centre


my heart went with them...


I think about our last day there


the broken hearts
the tears


I think about this young woman
she had been a permanent fixture in my "hair studio"
her and her beautiful daughter
she became a mother at 15
she was now 18
and living day to day on the hill side
no apparent future...
maybe a hairstylist?
*
this last day
she sought me out
to give me a gift
and with tears streaming down her cheeks
she slipped a bracelet on my wrist
it still brings tears to my eyes to think of it
I hadn't talk to her a lot
but she was there everyday
and everyday 
I greeted her with my limited spanish
and was happy to have her there...
I had no idea
how my being there had affected her
till that afternoon
when she found me in the storage room
we embraced
we shared tears
and I held her close
I felt her heart beat against mine


there were others
I came home bejewelled


trinkets
wrist bands
childhood beads


gifts I treasure
wear with pride
knowing the deep meaning of each
remembering the face of each who gave


and so
as Jorge went back
gifts from my heart went with
small tokens
to remind
that in the absence
the love remains
never
that far away
*
I leave you with these visuals
and

sometimes my lovelies
we need to go back
to where a piece of our heart remains
Where does a piece of your heart remain?

Love and Light

(for more on my pilgrimage to Colombia go here)