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http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/av-7093-7308/ngc-the-orangutan-and-the-hound.html
Guest post by my friend Millie Kilayko
In all forms of media….traditional and non-traditional, we are barraged with articles from all sorts of experts who say that the economic triumphs of the Philippines in recent months will not filter down to the poor for sometime.
It will only happen after investments are made into the manufacturing sector and jobs are created.
For someone who lives in the province and sees the vast expanse of countryside, someone who also sees how vast the field of competition for these manufacturing investments is, I could only shrug my shoulders and say to myself, “How long will it take, really? How many years before I see lives of the poor around me changed?”
The logical answer is, “Patience, girl, it will indeed take a long, long time.”
But having met people who earn only P50 ($1.2) daily as fishermen’s helpers, having met mothers who sweep the ground in the hope of finding a few morsels, having met children who eat a mere few spoonfuls of rice paired with salt for viand, can I be patient?
Having met a man who said that he no longer knows how to dream of a future, because he can hardly survive the present, can I be patient?
To me, a man who has ceased to dream, a man who has ceased to even just imagine that life can someday change for the better, is a man who has ceased to be human. To me, to allow a person to continue to live this way, is one of the greatest sins we can commit against another human being.
Can we defy logic just this once so we need not be patient anymore?
A few months ago, a few men in a shoreline barangay in Negros Occidental were gifted with motorized boats. In the past, these men earned an average of P50 ($1.2) a day (if at all) as fishermen’s helpers. These were the people whose families were:
• Eating rice and salt
• Drinking water from discarded tins
• Sleeping under leaking roofs in homes no bigger than a small apartment’s bathroom
Sadly, these were the men who have ceased to dream.
As new fishermen, they began to earn an average of P150 ($3.60) daily. To a graduating student in Metro Manila, P150 daily is no dream to aspire for. But to these new fishermen, this was triple their original income.
Their wives also had an assurance of real meals for their children who could now eat from their father’s catch. This meant being able to save a little for dreams, small they may be.
This meant being able to dream again!
And how much is the cost of this dream? Less than P30,000! P28,660 ($697) to be exact.
• P20,000 will go towards the boat for the fishermen
• P8,660 will go towards a nutrition program for the family’s five children (usual size of their families) for six months, until the father’s income catches up and provides them better food.
That is a fraction of one’s earnings from investments in the stock market. That is only P78.52 daily for a year, and that can be converted to easy little daily sacrifices from those who earn substantially well.
Will you allow us to help people dream once more?
Contact us through The Peter Project: (shared from Facebook post of Millie Kilayko, board president of Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation)
Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation, Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Republic of the Philippines.
It was established by dedicated citizens who believe in creating positive change for the country by harnessing the power of individuals to help effect change in themselves and in their communities.
NVC Foundation also believes in the strength of partnership with government and continually seeks avenues for such alliances.
Here’s the history. This post is to update you on the latest needs and ask for your prayer support.
UPDATE TUESDAY, APRIL 23: ALYSHA IS HOME!
Today we had an appointment with her plastic surgeon, she really likes him :), Her wound on her leg no longer needs dressing changes!! Her skin is healing! We have to keep it moist with Coco Butter on it a lot! New skin is showing on her arm!! The Doc said it looks great! Also she got her last drain tube out! Thank you Jesus!!
When we were checking out and making her apt for next week they told her that her Doc had no openings. SOOO she asked to talk to her doc. He came around the corner and her eyes filled with tears as she told him the situation. He went to the front desk and she has an apt with him. He is planning on taking the staples out. She is a little afraid and wanted only him to do it. I am sorry if this is short but I am so tired! For now things are looking good.
Thank you all you continue prayers and your continued support in all areas!
Thank you for not forgetting her. Ange Raab
==========================================
APRIL 7, 2013
Alysha Raab’s surgery included extensive surgery to move some muscle to cover the area where the tumor in her arm was located. The grafting that took place seemed to go well, but today she had more surgery and they confirmed that the muscle didn’t “take.” There is deep concern that her arm is in jeopardy. Here are excerpts from her mother’s memo this evening:
Today she went in to surgery and the muscle is dead. Tomorrow she goes in for a 2-3 hour surgery starting at 2:00 pm if anyone is available to come pray with us before we would love it.
He will take muscle from her right side and attach it over the metal where her tumor was. Then straight to ICU so the muscle can be checked hourly for viability. Then on Tuesday she will go in to surgery for a skin flap (taking skin from her leg to place over the muscle that was moved). Then to ICU for hourly skin checks for viability.
If all goes good we will back on her regular floor and hopefully home by Saturday. The goal: SAVE HER ARM
Alysha needs lots and lots of prayers for healing, peace, comfort, pain control and to hear Jesus speaking to her through all of this and that she can feel him holding her. Please pray for Dean and I that God gives us wisdom to make the decisions that He wants us to make for His child. Also please pray that we feel God’s peace through it all. Please pray for her sisters who are trying to go to school and yet have all this on their minds and hearts.
* Dean and I have a request: let me explain first. Dean has a work truck and his mom, who lives with us, has a car. Dean’s personal truck is not drivable. Katie’s car is not drivable and as of last night my car is not drivable. Humbly we are asking for help. We don’t have enough cars for the hospital, Katie’s school, and her job and when we get her home we don’t have a car for my job.
We need help. Please let us know if you or someone you know could help us. Please call Dean 623-703-4457.
We thank all of you for your prayers, dinners, visits and everything else you all are doing for us. She won’t be able to have visitors in the next 2 days due to the ICU but when we get back to her regular floor she can. It helps her a lot! PLEASE don’t feel that if you come to visit you do not have to bring her a gift. Just your visit helps her.
We love you all…
Guest post by Carol Durkin, a call center manager and freelance writer
Tech pundits Robert Scoble, Michael Krigsman, and Val Afshar, recently talked about how video chat, mobile and analytic technology are changing the way we navigate through our day-to-day interactions and questioned whether these innovations are helping or hindering customer relations. So far, industries like car dealerships have implemented live chat tools to grab prospective clients who go to their sites. While live text chat is a fairly old technology, it is being used more frequently to close deals and help companies to better serve their clients. Will video chat help companies to achieve the same goal?
Afshar told Smartplanet.com’s Joe McKendrick that a live chat program that includes options for video chat will allow a customer to watch their agent troubleshoot a problem. If the agent doesn’t know what he’s doing, the customer will know immediately. Customers will know how well agents are trained and that they won’t be able to follow a script to help the customer, he said. On the other hand, this may force companies to invest in hiring agents who are more experienced in areas of communication and technology. Companies will also have to take more time to train their agents to understand the technology that they are offering to clients.
One company that is looking into video chat to make connections with customers stronger is CarHistory.com. The site provides vehicle history reports and tracks whether a car has been in any accidents or has failed emissions. According to Virtual-Strategy.com, the company currently uses live chat to connect its customers with reps for its online service.
Since video chat is not being widely used in customer service yet, CarHistory.com wants to take its time, weighing the pros and cons of this feature. While it is researching the effectiveness of video chat and testing out beta versions for a final product, the company says it will still offer customers 24/7 live chat with customer service and 24/7 call center assistance.
It’s clear that video chat is set to become the new portal for communication between customers and agents. Starbucks is already using this technology in its drive-thru service, allowing customers to communicate their orders to a barista who is smiling and attentively taking their order from a video screen. Joe Satran of the Huffington Post says that Starbucks is trying out the system at a few of their select locations and, depending on its success, will expand the technology to other drive-thru Starbucks restaurants.
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