We need to find meaning. We need to be useful. We need to know that who we are matters. I give, you give, we all give.
Today’s NEWS from Oregon: 2 Teen Girls Save Dad By Lifting 3,000 Pound Tractor Off His Chest
Jeff Smith, at home recovering from a broken wrist and compression injuries, was saved by his 14-year old daughter, Haylee, and 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, and their amazing feat of strength. Jeff was pushing his tractor against a stump when his foot slipped off the clutch. The 1949 Ferguson tractor walked up the stump and flipped over backwards, crushing him beneath the steering wheel. “We heard him yelling. When we got there, his face was white, his eyes blood red, and he couldn’t breath.” said Haylee. “So we each grabbed an axle, counted to three, and lifted.” Jeff was able to get one precious breath of air. They lifted again. He was able to scoot over enough for his lungs to fill but his arm was still pinned. One of the girls went for help while one of the girls stayed with him, continuing to dig beneath him with her hands so he could continue to breath.
Go super-human-strength can-do will-do FARMGIRLS!!!!!!!!
Winnie Nielsen says: Heroic effort when seconds really counted!! Way to go Farmgirls for thinking on your feet and keeping your Dad alive!
Carol Gillen says: Wow! You GO, Girls!!
It’s been almost three years since the publication of the groundbreaking book,
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
Have you read it?
If not, skedaddle on over to your favorite book shop and pick up a copy.
Today.
It’s not just a book.
It’s action,
evolution,
momentum.
From the seeds of the book sprouted a PBS television series, which branched into websites, blogs, art exhibitions, music, and a social media tour-de-force.
Like I said, this thing is on a roll.
The latest limb in the Half the Sky mega-movement is deceptively diminutive:
A game.
On Facebook.
Sounds trivial, right?
But when you consider the multitudes of Facebook members worldwide, a game to engage people in women’s issues is nothing short of
GENIUS.
The book and TV series attracted attention from those who already care about the challenges facing women around the globe, says the book’s co-author Nicholas Kristof. But the Facebook game is intended to reach those who don’t yet know the gravity of the problem.
Half the Sky Movement: The Game introduces you to a fictional character named Radhika, described as “a simple woman from India who wants to make things better … for both herself and women worldwide.”
From Radhika’s perspective, you set off on a series of quests, facing issues and making choices that many women must deal with daily in terms of health care, education, meager income, gender bias, family matters, personal safety, and so on.
The game begins in Radhika’s home country of India, and from there you travel to Kenya, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the United States, eventually becoming a global leader and a role-model for women worldwide.
“I hope that it will lead people to some degree to think about that perspective and the choices—often impossible choices—that women like [Radhika] face every day,” says Kristof.
Along the way, you encounter opportunities to unlock real-life donations from sponsors that reflect the important issues portrayed in the game, and you can also choose to donate directly to the game’s nonprofit partners, including The Fistula Foundation, GEMS, Heifer International, ONE, Room to Read, The United Nations Foundation, and World Vision.
Here’s the game trailer:
Winnie Nielsen says: I am not on Facebook, but I do closely follow the global movement of women becoming empowered to start up businesses and take free online university classes. It is so important, I believe, for the chains of discrimination and suppression that women still experience to be broken for good. Our world will be all the better when women everywhere are treated as equals and allowed to set laws and sit at the table where important decisions are made everyday that effect the lives of families and nations.
Alice - Farmgirl #12 says: I’m on Facebook (and into many FB games). I’m going to give this a try!
In Gothenburg, Sweden, you can book a stay in, say …
a city park or empty paper mill,
an abandoned café or a dark corner of a fishing wharf.
Mind you, it was only about 20°F in Gothenburg last week.
Chilling.
These accommodations are all about empathy, not luxury.
Photo by Mikko J. Putkonen via Wikimedia Commons
Gothenberg, Sweden’s second largest city, has about 3,400 homeless people within its limits, and Swedish advertising agency Forsman and Bodenfors is determined to chip away at that number using an unusual tactic:
Faktum Hotels. (And you thought this post was leading into something to do with April Fools Day.)
“We have chosen 10 of the places where the homeless might spend the night and made it possible for you to book a place. Just like any hotel,” explains the F&B website. “You can book for yourself or as a gift for somebody else. Either way, the money goes to our work for homeless and socially vulnerable people.”
Personally, I’m partial to Room Number One. For about 15 bucks, you get to nestle into a well-worn sleeping bag in a private grove of Haga Park …
Photo courtesy of FaktumHotels.com
Okay, let’s get real.
If the notion of packing your jammies for a night on a park bench makes you shudder, rest assured.
Faktum Hotels are actually an elaborate work of fiction, but the idea is catchy, and the mission has a heart.
“Faktum Hotels are not real hotels where you can book real hotel accommodations. It’s a smart way to support Gothenburg’s street newspaper, Faktum,” the Faktum founders who are using the money for a good cause confess. “We provide those most in need with an occupation. This helps them to take a step towards a more structured life, as the work involves responsibility, routine, and the opportunity for a positive social exchange—things that are vitally important when trying to find somewhere to live. Or build a life, for that matter.”
Do you think this sort of scheme would fly here in the U.S.?
Winnie Nielsen says: The Swedes have a great idea here. Finding creative ways to address homelessness is difficult as there is not one simple solution and funding is always a huge barrier. I do like the idea of the hotel as both a unique way to raise money as well as the start reality of what a homeless person looks for when shelter is needed. This scheme might fly in the US in a select community but there are so many ordinances that would have to be obeyed that it could be tricky. The sleeping outside was a huge issue in Occupation WallStreet in 2011 for protesters in various areas.
Sus King says: This is to bring attention to a problem and the solution. It’s like the stay-home soirées you may have gotten invites for: just send is money to help our cause and skip the money spent on ballroom rental, catering, etc. In this case the money helps hire homeless. The only legal limits are, thank goodness, the charity is registered and subject to scrutiny.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
As the snow is falling & blowing here, those daffodils are a bright spot in my life today. Thanks!
I never tire of looking at daffodils! Teri, you must be so tired of the endless snows this winter up your way!!
Daffodils….Natures gentle reminder that Spring always comes.