Organic-Ally

I went ballistic yesterday. Then I was tearful. Then I felt a part of me died. My elder brother told me that he had just -- last week -- thrown away my Brownie uniform. This was all the more difficult to bear because I had just told a sister to look after it for me because on my next trip I would be collecting that item from her flat. You see, my son has just joined Cub Scouts and has really taken a fancy to the challenge of badge-collecting. This is a little boy who is so shy and finds it difficult to get out of his comfort zone. He joined the Cubs, asked to be enrolled and has now set sights pretty high. Many years ago I was just like that. I worked very hard to pass all the tests I needed to become a full-fledged Brownie. The Golden Hand, the Golden Bar, etc and became the Sixer of the 'Fairies'. I turned 12 before I could complete all the tests I needed to get me my Golden Wings. One could only get those Wings if one passed a series of tests before one turned twelve. The po...

The last episode of this series is a bit of an anti-climax. Basically all six young people decided to be more cautious as to where their clothes come from. The person who stood out this time was Stacey, she with the inimitable smile and indefatigable spirit and an ever-ready 'Namaste!'. She went about looking for child labourers and at the end of the show we found her returning to the factory where a boy labourer was to be sent home. She was indignant when she found another young child there. The team also visited a rescue shelter for boys rescued from child labouring. (Whatever happened to the girl child labourers?) There they hit upon the brilliant idea of repainting the walls. The children added their favourite pictures and everyone seemed happy. Stacey then managed to procure pictures drawn by these children and auctioned them off at a private function she organized. Meanwhile Tara went off in search of an organization that promotes fair trade and which shares out its profi...

We went to a different church on Sunday because my soon-to-be-enrolled Cub Scout son wanted to attend a ceremony at the church which sponsors his pack. We learned that it is Christian Aid Week. There is a little old lady who faithfully comes round to every house on the street at this time of year with this little envelope, and she'd come back again to collect, hoping that people would put some money in it. I really take my hat off to people with that kind of committment. And so we faithfully give. Present Aid is the 'shopping' outlet for Christian Aid. Through this site you could buy various gifts -- even a can of worms -- that will make a significant and positive change for those who need it most. Back to Organic-Ally .

In line with my current interest in the Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts series, I thought it worthwhile to link to some ethical / organic shopping sites. Apart from People Tree listed by Laura in a previous post (thank you, Laura.) : Sale on here for 10th to 18th May My husband is looking for some casual organic cotton shirts (to replace those from the last millennium). Any recommendations? Back to Organic-Ally .

Hats off to these young people for their cooking skills. I am suitably impressed. While five of the team were slaving at the cotton mill, Amrita who found herself allergic to this work took to the market and cooked up a meal for the team. No one complained, so the food -- which looked good -- must be good. Several of the team members complained about headaches. It might be the sun, or it could be the pesticides, we will never know. Apart from finding it difficult to complete the task set for them, leading to the owner of the mill having to resort to asking his regular workers to work overtime, there was also the ongoing dispute over who should clean up the toilet. The girls insisted that the boys had blocked it up and the boys insisted it was the toilet tissue used. No one -- and nothing -- budged. So the stand-off and stench continued. By the end of the programme we still didn't know how it was resolved. But a plumber would cost 120 rupees. It just reminded me of how boys and plum...

Having posted three times about mothers (even though I sometimes meant 'mothers and fathers') I guess it is only right to post this. But I found it too difficult to write about this. It challenges all that I held about fatherhood. The news is still about the Austrian father who imprisoned and abused his daughter. It has also affected my faith in thinking that "God does not make mistakes". Did God make a mistake in allowing the birth of this very evil man? Did God make a mistake in allowing the birth of these children/grandchildren? Having learned that I nearly did not get born because of the impoverished state of my already large family (Mum was advised to abort me) I thank God that I was given an opportunity to life. I love my life. I feel that I have been able to do so much about my life. Then we think of those children, many such children especially in areas of civil and political conflict, born of rape and we wonder "Why does God allow these children to be bo...