Okay. Well, I hope most of you know about the Millenium Campaign which is trying to hold the governments right around the world responsible for the poverty in our globe. This is an easy initiative for all of you to take part in. If you live in South Africa, especially in the Joburg/Pretoria area, just go to this website, I have created an event and everyone is welcome.

STAND UP is an exciting challenge to set an official Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to STAND UP Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. From schools in Kathmandu to churches in Texas , the world will STAND UP to remind their governments that promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and help the billions living in extreme poverty, must be kept.

To be part of this Guinness World Record, all you have to do is STAND UP for one minute in support of the Millennium Development Goals in the 24 hour period between 10:00 AM GMT, 15 October and 10:00 AM GMT, 16 October.  You can hold your own event or find events in your area.

Our new STAND UP website (www.standagainstpoverty.org) is filled with resources for you to find or organize your own events. You will also find materials like fliers, brochures, and banners to promote STAND UP to your friends and networks.

World leaders cannot ignore us if we all make our voices heard and STAND UP together. We are the first generation that can finally end extreme poverty, please join us and refuse to miss this historic opportunity.

www.millenniumcampaign.org/standup

Broken Laughter

 

Laughter chased after her as she made her way out of the door. Or rather, echoes of laughter. A chilling reminder of the good times she had had in that house.

 

He had always stood on the bottom stair when she returned home from work. If she had had a hard day, he would gently embrace her and listen attentively. Sometimes he would surprise her with a romantic, candle lit dinner or they would just spend a night watching a movie. She had come to rely on his love and constant laughter to cheer her up and conjure up a matching grin on her face.

 

The last few months had been horrific. Slowly the cancer ate at his insides, his health declining until he couldn’t meet her downstairs anymore. She then took to taking a tray up to him and talking to him in bed. His eyes still shone with life and laughter although his face was pale and fatigued. She told him stories of her day and he would chuckle or commiserate. He never complained, even when his deteriorating body limited what his always-lively mind could achieve.

 

One night she found him crying silently into his pillows. She had slid onto the bed next to him and transferred his head to her shoulder, sitting quietly as she felt her shoulder turn warm and wet from his tears. She caressed his hair with her fingers, loving him with every fibre of her being.

 

His death had been quiet and painless, from what she could make out, although the days leading up to it was filled with hacking coughs and painful breathing. One moment she was sitting next to his sleeping form on the hospital bed, stroking his hand, and the next a blanket of silence enveloped the whole room. For a moment she listened to the absence of his breathing and then gave in to the sobs that wracked her body. Screaming with loss, she clutched at his lifeless body until a nurse came in and led her away with soothing hands.

 

The funeral had been short and formal, but the after party loud and lively, just as he would’ve liked it. After her guests had left, she had sat silently in the house, his house, and saw him in everything around her.

 

Now she was leaving, having gotten a moving company to pack up all his stuff. She put it all into storage, not knowing when, or if, she would ever find the courage to face the memories of having to sort through his stuff. She could still hear his dry chuckles in the sweep of wind on leaves and see his smile glinting off the water in the pond. Everything felt unreal, only the stark reality of his absence making the tears sting in her eyes. She walked through the park, not really seeing much, except the pain.