St. Louis - Adoption and Cultural Events in Your Area

Today marks the deadline for registration for Wednesday, August 27's seminar on language learning for internationally adopted children. This seminar held in Fenton, Missouri, will be led by English as a Second Language Teacher Gelene Strecker-Sayer.

This event is timely as students enter the school year to possibly learn English for the first time in a formal setting.

Click here for details and RSVP contact information.

Also coming up in St. Louis:

It is your opportunity to shop for Indian saris, see a Vietnamese dragon dance, and sample ethnic foods from around the world. The International Institute's Festival of Nations is this weekend at Tower Grove Park, August 23-24, 2008.

Don't miss out as native volunteers perform an Ethiopian coffee ritual or as Colombian and Chinese artists create works of art with brush painting, tin work, and cut paper.

Additional Resources:
Festival Website
Festival Video
Festival as featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

If you have an adoption-related or cultural event in your area, send details to Dorothy.Way@ChildrensHope.net. We will post the information on your branch website to share with all of your local families and friends!

 

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Colombia and Kazakhstan Rank Highly on Wall Street Journal Index

On December 14, we shared an article on Kazakhstan's continuing economic growth. Today, more reports are showing a glimpse behind the curtain. How are Kazakhstan and other Children's Hope countries faring economically?

Last week the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal jointly released the Index of Economic Freedom. Children's Hope countries Colombia and Kazakhstan ranked highly, placing both countries in the "moderately free" category.

Colombia ranked 67th among the world ranked 157 economies; Kazakhstan ranked 76th. The “moderately free” category also includes Spain, France, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Portugal and Turkey.

Colombia's overall score increased 2.3 percentage points over last year, "reflecting improved scores in seven freedoms, including investment and monetary freedom". Kazakhstan's comprehensive score increased 1.4 percentage points over last year, reflecting a significant improvement in trade freedom. According to the Index report, the country is ranked 13th out of 30 countries in the Asia–Pacific region.

I hope you find the material interesting!

 

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Colombian Book Review: "Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World"

Alan Weisman’s book, Gaviotas: A Village To Reinvent the World, is a firsthand account of a true Colombian treasure. Gaviotas is a village in eastern Colombia that originated in 1971 when a group of Colombian visionaries set out to design a self-sustaining community that was both environmentally sound and promoted peace and prosperity in a place that was affected by war and conflict. The simple concept behind Gaviotas was to determine if people could thrive in one of the most environmentally challenging, barren savannas on earth, and promote peace for all Colombians during a time of political and governmental turbulence.

The visionaries, Paolo Lugari and Jorge Zapp, set out to determine if "utopia" could occur at Gaviotas. If this were attainable, it would be possible to cultivate a sustainable environment anywhere in the world.

Weisman details both the inception of Gaviotas and the brilliant Colombian visionaries that have inspired biologists, scientists, environmentalists, and activists worldwide. For more than 30 years, Gaviotans have invented sustainable living with items such as windmills that convert energy, solar collection pumps for water, and the planting of renewable crops to regenerate an ancient native rain forest.

Gaviotas and its founders have been recognized by the United Nations, summits for the World Conferences, and deemed an inspiring model of Utopia for the developing world. The book details the political history of Colombia, the beautiful diversity of Colombian artists, scientists, professors, native Indians, and the common people, and the passionate cultural influences that led to the creation and success of Gaviotas.

"Gaviotas isn’t a utopia," Lugari explained. "Utopia literally means 'no place'. We call Gaviotas a topia, because it is real. We’ve moved from fantasy to reality. From utopia to topia. And therefore changed the way you see the world." --Paolo Lugari

--Review by Erika Kohn of OR, waiting family for Colombia

 

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