During July 2004, my life changed. Me and my ex-fiance, Johan, went out for dinner and we were on our way home. That whole day I kept thinking about the terrible dream I had the night before. I woke up 11 times, almost screaming. It was strange, all I could remember was this strong, cold wind blowing against my face, it took my breath away. We had just picked up our daughter who was almost a year old and we were halfway home on the R573 to Kwa-Mhlanga. We were living on a smallholding with... Read Full Story
THE TITLE MAY BE AFRIKAANS FOR "SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN," but I think such relates to a couple of interesting stories of late from across the world as relate to just how cruel and sadisto children can be subjected, especially when "discipline" is expected to be the object.
First off, there's the strange and sickening case of a onetime corrective school/orphanage in the Channel Islands enclave of Jersey by name of the Haut de la Garenne ("rabbit warren heights" in the Norman... Read Full Story
What if, the day you were born, instead of rejoicing in your birth, your family connected your birth to a horrific event that happened at around the same time? What if they thought that your birth caused that horrific event, and that you must be cursed? What if they threw you away, and left you to grow up alone, hated and feared by everyone around you? That horror story is reality for many children in India. Many of them are young girls. In India, it is a widespread belief that, when bad... Read Full Story
Yeah, I know its not Saturday yet, but I'm going to Michigan this weekend with Diana and the crew, so I thought I'd post Smarty Saturday early for your reading enjoyment. Even if you're not a big fan of the Chicken Soup For The Soul series, you may want to check out this treasury of true stories about children with special needs . All of the stories in this book are different, but in many ways they are all the same, showing that children, no matter what their special needs are, are children... Read Full Story
Today is National Depression Screening Day... a day for everyone to consider whether they or someone they love should be screened for depression. It is one thing for someone to go through grief after a bad experience, or to have the "blues" occasionally... but if a person experiences a degree of sadness or "down-in-the-dumps-ness" on a regular basis, so much that it interferes with their lives, they may have depression. True depression can be a debilitating illness that can even leave people... Read Full Story
As my usual day goes, I was thinking about my children today. Suddenly a very special memory came into my thoughts. Last year September, Lili visited me for the school holiday. We went to pick her up in Kuruman and on our way back to Pretoria, my mom asked Lili that if she had three wishes and she knew they would come true, what she would wish for. Lili replied that she wished my dad who has a hearing problem could hear properly. Then she wished my mom who has had several operations on her... Read Full Story
October is, among other things, Head Start Awareness Month . You've probably heard of Head Start, right? Many people simply think of Head Start as a preschool program for children from low-income homes. But it's actually so much more than that! Head Start is meant to get at-risk children ready for school, not only by giving them a preschool program, but by serving them healrhy meals, training their parents to work with them at home, doing home visits, and inviting their parents to do... Read Full Story
Imagine that you are a child who cannot move. For all intents and purposes, you are paralyzed. You cannot run and play outside with your siblings and friends. Really, the only amusement for you is watching the other kids play, listening to them talk to you, watching TV, being read to by someone, and things like that. Wouldn't it improve the quality of your life if you could do something as simple as play a video game with other children? Actually, thanks to a program called Dream-Gamer... Read Full Story
Hi everyone! I mentioned before, when I announced this month's charity , that this month is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Most people have already heard of Down Syndrome, but I thought I'd share a few quick facts about it... like the fact that Down Syndrome is not caused by anything the parents did or didn't do during pregnancy. Also, it is impossible to be able to predict what a child with Down Syndrome will be able to accomplish in life. Like autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, etc, Down... Read Full Story
I was on youtube earlier and saw this video and I thought I'd share it with you so that you can all understand Xaynee's disability. Hemiplegia is a form of Cerebral Palsy and Xaynee is affected on the left side of her body. Although my little girl can walk on her own, her condition is getting worse and that is why I want her with me so badly to make sure that she gets treated. This video left me in tears, I have to admit that. I remember how Xaynee used to try to run as fast as she could in... Read Full Story
