Each year on May 17 Norwegians fill the streets with cheers and flags in celebration of Norway’s constitution, adopted in 1814. It sometimes happens that foreigners inadvertently walk out of Oslo’s main railway station and stumble into the capital city’s May 17 parade. Either they then join in, or they run for cover and exit the country muttering about total chauvinistic madness. There may well be an element of madness about Norway’s May 17th celebrations, everything being relative. The event commemorates the Norwegian Constitution, signed… Read More
Distant Relatives: St. Patrick’s Day & South Sudan
Today, all eyes and thoughts are on Europe’s third largest Island best known for potatoes, Shamrocks, and the reason for the season: St. Patrick’s Day. It has, however, not always been all bliss for the country that produced the Saint of the day, St. Patrick, as mass starvation, disease, and emigration during the Potato famine coupled with decades of violence between Catholics and Protestants brought much civil unrest. Though St. Patrick’s Day is not that popular in Africa—save for Catholics attending Lent Mass, who take… Read More
Don’t Want to Bring Gloom & Doom to Holidays
I don’t want to bring gloom and doom to your holidays, but I do want to make sure all our supporters are aware that we are less than three weeks away from a referendum vote that might partition Sudan and start a return to bloodshed. If you don’t mind interrupting your holidays to learn more about this potentially dire situation, the Sydney Morning Herald has put together an excellent multimedia website about it entitled Sudan: Referendum of Hope. Former Sudanese child soldier turned rap star, Emmanual Jal, has set up… Read More
Happy Saint Lucia’s Day to All Our Friends
Happy Saint Lucia’s Day to everyone in Scandanavia and around the world! Hope Ofiriha wants to send warm wishes and thanks to all of our supporters, donors, child sponsors, partners, volunteers, and everyone else playing a role in our success. Just as Saint Lucia was said to have brought food to hungry people during a famine, you gave a hand up to struggling South Sudanese women and children. Your hand up fed the hungry, gave life-saving medicines to the dying, and gave hope to widows… Read More
Inspired Gifts That Help Children in Need
Around the world, many people are celebrating the holiday season. Whether you’re putting up a Christmas tree, menorah, or kinara, please consider inspired gifts that help children in need. Instead of exchanging token presents, such as soaps, fruit cakes, or candles, you can put your money to good use and sponsor a child. As a child sponsor, you and your loved ones can help save a child from a life of extreme poverty. Your sponsorship will not only pay the fees necessary for your sponsored… Read More
