Aiding Literacy

I recently stumbled upon The Literacy Site Store. This site allows visitors to purchase jewelry, clothing, gardening, kitchen goods, etc. to benefit literacy.

The site also gives people the chance to fund literacy directly!

For $20 you can send two girls to school in Afghanistan.

For $10 you can give books to U.S. children in need.

For $24 you can pay a teacher's salary in Darfur.

For $50 you can liberate a girl in western Nepal from indentured servitude, and give her the chance to earn an education.

For $100 you can heat a classroom for the entire winter.

For $1 you can contribute to children's literacy

......and the list continues!

You can make a donation or buy something that's really unique and beautiful.

Either way, you can make a difference.

Defining the Problem

The following map illustrates the world literacy rate:

As you can see, the highest rates of illiteracy exist in the global south/developing nations.

Illiteracy is a major cause of civil unrest and economic/social instability. These issues pose major geopolitical implications for nations with low literacy rates. Literacy is also an issue for the global north/industrialized/developed nations. The U.S. and the majority of developed nations are not 100% literate.

Between 1970 and 2005, world literacy has decreased by half.

In short, literacy is a global issue. It is not something that affects only poor or underdeveloped nations. Literacy is power-- power to reach your full potential as a person. A literate world is a secure world, a prosperous world, and a healthy world.

New Cause: Literacy!

Please join me in celebrating heartfulmindmindfulheart's newest cause.... LITERACY!

Literacy is ordinarily described as the ability to read and write.

However, a more useful definition of literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute, and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.

Literacy involves continuous learning that enables individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community as well as in society.

**As we move forward in supporting literacy efforts around the world, please note that we will continue to acknowledge and contribute to past causes. No post involving Lupus has been removed. We will also continue to list our past causes in the sidebar.**

Memory & The Present

Thank you so much for choosing to follow my blog!

I'm very grateful to everyone who has become a follower, and to those who have left comments on my posts.

I also want to thank Jessica (a.k.a. Jallowa23) and Sonja (a.k.a. eipysgudps) for supporting this blog, and mentioning this project on their YouTube channels. You both have brought many new readers to heartfulmindmindfulheart, and you have helped to inspire people to think and act in a new way. I appreciate all that you've done and all that you continue to do to help me in my quest.

Today, I was remembering a time in my life when I felt as if things were perfect, and that they'd be like that forever. As children we often think that life is one dimensional because we're shielded from so much.

I remember when I knew nothing of disease, hunger, illiteracy, pain, genocide, natural disasters, etc. Things appeared simple, and I thought everyone was healthy and happy.

This idea was destroyed when I found out that my grandmother had been living with Lupus for years. The disease had surfaced long before I was born, and, for much of my early life, my family had not told me about it.

I remember my grandmother had trouble with sore joints and she felt weak often times. She would always try to brush her pain aside, and she tried not to acknowledge it when I was around. I never thought she was ill.

When I was 5 or 6, my family explained to me that my grandmother had Lupus. They explained that she was sore and tired because she was "sick." No one really knew much about the disease, and my grandmother could not necessarily predict when she'd have a flare up.

This really tore at me.

I realized that if this could happen to MY grandmother, it could happen to anyone's grandmother. After a while, I started looking for signs and symptoms of illness in almost everyone. It soon became clear that everyone had the potential to be affected by some illness or other affliction.

I'd later realize that people could also be affected by social, economic, and environmental issues. All of these realizations stemmed from the initial discovery that my grandmother had Lupus.

It's amazing how one idea can spawn so many more.

This is part of why it was so important for me to create this blog. This blog will not be related to one sole issue because all issues--everything--is interconnected.

This is something I learned long ago, but it's truth deeply resonates today.

Thank you for taking the time to explore my blog!

Please feel free to comment and follow if you'd like. I'm looking forward to updating this page in the near future. I will be featuring a new cause soon!

Love.

What This Blog is All About!

Lipgloss for Lupus

Carol's Daughter will donate 50% of proceeds earned from the sale of their

Purple Reign Candy Paint lipgloss to the Lupus Foundation of America.

This is a simple and beautiful way to support a great cause + the shade is super pretty!

Lupus Advocacy Day 2010

The Lupus Foundation of America's Advocacy Day is an annual event where lupus advocates come together on Capitol Hill to educate Members of Congress about lupus, and encourage them to support more funding for lupus research.

This year's event will be held on March 15-16, 2010.

Although most of us cannot attend events like this, we can still take an active role as advocates for this and other causes.

Just talking about this disease and it's implications is a form of advocacy.

By reading this blog, and sharing information with your family, friends, and community-

YOU ARE AN ADVOCATE!

New Advancements

New Advancements in Lupus research are taking place at this very moment!

Belimumab is a new drug that is being developed as a way to effectively treat Lupus flares for up to four years. This amazing treatment must be FDA approved, but once it is, it will greatly reduce the painful symptoms that are associated with the disease.

Researchers are also developing new ways to detect Lupus. This is significant as it is estimated that about 1.5 million Americans have Lupus. Additionally, nearly 5 million people throughout the world suffer from the disease.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Lupus. This is why it is so important for us to make our voices heard!

We must ask for a cure.

We must promote awareness.

We must help others to understand the impact of this disease and its effects.

We must resolve to take this cause to heart.