I went to the library today and on my way out I picked up the local newspaper The Portland Tribune. The front page news was about Vitamin D and its apparent link to numerous health conditions.
I wrote about Vitamin D before, and how people with dark skin should take a daily supplement. Actually everybody needs to take Vitamin D, specially if you live in a region with not much sun, like here in western Oregon.
I also talked before about how Vitamin D deficiency has been clearly linked to certain diseases like rickets. But the article I just read goes way beyond that to speculate that lack of this Vitamin can be responsible for many types of cancers and to the huge increase in autism in children in recent years. Even when there is still no scientific proof of that, many researchers are almost convinced that there is a link.
I became more concerned about vitamin D in the last past two years when my doctor found out that I have a big deficiency that seems hard to manage. I’ve been taking a weekly dose of 50,000IU of vitamin D and it seems it’s the only way to keep some of it in my body, since as soon as I stop taking my pills I start having leg cramps and pain in my bones because my vitamin D level drops. I’ve never had this problem before, so I started to wonder if it’s related to moving to this area where sunny days are so scarce.
It seems that all the precautions we have been taking to prevent skin cancer, like limiting our sun exposure or using sunscreen are backfiring at us and now we are seriously compromising our health in another way.
The question is if we should be concerned about our dark skin children, specially those living in rainy places like Portland.
I must confess that this summer I’m not using sunscreen all the time, and that I’m exposing myself and my family to more sunlight in hours in which the risk of sunburn is very low. Feromsa has really dark skin and he needs more sun exposure than any of us to absorb enough vitamin D. Honestly his chances of getting skin cancer in places like Portland are very very low, but the likelihood of being Vitamin D deficient is very high. The article for example, mentions the health problems that are arising among dark skinned Somali refugees living in Minnesota and Sweden.
Before reading this article I had the suspicion that sooner or later the over use of sunscreen and the many more hours we spend indoors compared to what we used to many years ago was going to cause some problems, but I never suspected that diseases like autism could be among them.
When I was a child, before sun blocks became common use, my parents limited our sun exposure to the “safe” hours, we were forbidden to go to the beach between 10AM and 4PM, and I never got sunburned as a child. They also made the sun exposure progressive, just 15 minutes the first day, a little more the next day and so on, until our skin had the chance to develop a protective tan.
Again common sense is the rule, moderate sun exposure is safe and even healthy.
We need to spend more time outdoors, and specially our children since this will impact on their future health and that of their children.
Nowadays, you can either go see your doctor and ask for a test, or check the vitamin D levels in your blood at home by buying a kit. ZRT Labs located in Beaverton, OR, sells a home test kit online for $75.
There are also “Vitamin D lights” that you can use for just a few minutes specially during the winter months but I don’t know how effective or safe these are.
I’m not suggesting not to use sunscreen at all, but to use it only when necessary, and also to expose your skin to reasonable amounts of sunlight to help boost your vitamin D levels.

AliciA

I’ve read some encouraging news recently, about the increase in forested area in Ethiopia.
Due to deforestation, Ethiopia has lost pretty much all of its green coverage.
In later years, however, there have been many campaigns to reforest the country that involved not only planting new trees, but also educating people about how to care for them.
It seems that these efforts are finally paying off and slowly, Ethiopia is recovering its old green cover.
Not so long ago, 35% of the nation was covered with trees, but by the year 2000, only 3% of that forest remained. In the last decade that percentage has increased to 9% and if the tree planting continues over time, Ethiopia has a chance to bounce back and be again a green paradise that will benefit people and wild life alike.
This recovering project is called “Greening Ethiopia” and it promises to be a success; for the first time multiple factors are converging to change the landscape and the future of Ethiopia. Local governments, the private sector and developmental agencies are working together and the most important thing of all is the involvement of local people to plant, and protect their environment.
Forests are a big weapon to combat global warming. They keep temperatures down, prevent soil erosion and oxygenate the air among other things. I can daily appreciate their multiple benefits, since I live in a neighborhood with huge trees, and in my house during the summer temperatures are usually several degrees below than in the city. Actually Oregon and Washington have the tallest trees in the world and scientists are currently studying how they soak carbon dioxide and positively influence against global warming.
You can easily compare on the map below the Pacific NW (where I live) with Ethiopia, or other parts of the world:
 

Lets keep planting trees for our children and all the future generations!

Links:

Ethiopia’s forest cover triples
’Greening Ethiopia’ breaks a vicious cycle
Greening Ethiopia for food security and end to poverty
Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation

AliciA

I’ve been working for a while on a book for children. I wanted to write something for my two Ethiopian children, a book to show them where they come from, to be proud of their country and their heritage, and also as a starting point to discuss their culture and the adoption.
I was trained as an artist but not as a writer/illustrator, so it’s taking me a little bit longer than I thought.
I have completed the writing already and I’m working on the illustrations. The text is simple and highlights the main characteristics of Ethiopia and its culture and I want to make one version in English and another in Spanish, or maybe only a bilingual version, I don’t know yet.
Maybe someone can help with an Amharic version too…
I’m planning to start by self publishing it and see how things go from there.
I’m trying different styles for the illustrations and so far I haven’t settled for one.
I don’t have much to show yet, but I’ll post when the book is ready for sale and I will give away a few copies to my readers.
I’m quite excited with this project!

AliciA

The first reunion of adoptive parents and their children, who adopted from Toukoul orphanage is coming.
If you haven’t registered yet to attend you have until July 24th 2010 to do so. The reunion will take place between August 5th and 8th in Portland, OR and among the things planned there is a dinner at an Ethiopian Restaurant, a group trip to the Zoo, a lunch at the park, and a meeting with the Adoption agency staff.
The most important thing though is the chance to meet other adoptive families from Toukoul and an opportunity for your children to meet and form bonds with other children that have been adopted from the same place and country as them. I encourage all families to attend and to start a tradition that hopefully will continue for many years to come.
I know that Portland is a city a bit far from the big towns, we are the far west after all, but it’s a beautiful place and it’s a reunion that only happens once a year. I also know that many families are planning to attend other Ethiopian gatherings that probably have more activities planned than this one, but consider that this is the first time we, families from Toukoul, meet and I’m sure more things will come in the future.
If you live in Oregon, Washington or California, I’m sure you can easily take a trip to Portland, so please, don’t miss this opportunity and register soon!
See you there!

BTW, next year the meeting will be in Chicago.

AliciA

What will drive you to leave your country? How much are you ready to endure for a chance to a better life? Will you dare to risk your life? Will you be prepared to live in the fringes of society for a shot to get a spot in a first world society for you and your family? Will you be ready to bear racism just to have a place to live and food on your plate? 
If you were born in a developed country, you’ll never have to face these terrible questions, but for thousands or even millions of people these are everyday challenges. They have to decide between living in their native country and maybe risking their lives, or to emigrate and face similar risks abroad. They don’t have a safe place to live anywhere in the world. If they stay, they could die from hunger or just for having certain religion, political ideas, or ethnicity. If they leave, well, they usually are not welcome in the new land, sometimes only because they have the wrong skin color. They have to prove that their lives are at risk and that they need help to be allowed to stay, but sometimes this is an almost impossible task. 
Millions of asylum seekers take a chance and aim for a developed society hoping that their plea will be heard. Some of them are lucky enough to be able to stay, even when the life they get is not exactly what they have imagined, but many of them are deported back to their nations.
But there are also those who are neither here, nor there, and are living in such a terrible situations that it’s hard to believe that any human being can endure that kind of life. If you’ve read this, you already know what I’m talking about, if not, please do it. This particular article tells the story of four asylum seekers in the UK, Abdi and Muhammad from Somalia, and Mimi and Haile from Ethiopia. They have been denied asylum, but haven’t been deported yet and are applying for asylum for a second time. In the meantime they can’t work, don’t have a place to live, and have no financial support from the government. They could be in “limbo” for years, waiting and surviving the best that they can. They aren’t drunks, or drug addicts, or criminals, or even illegal aliens, but they are treated as such. Some of them are highly educated persons, that had to leave their places of birth because their lives were in danger.
Some are surviving thanks to a small amount of money they get from the Red Cross, only £10 a week (approximately 16 dollars or 12 Euros). Who can survive with that? Of course they don’t have access to medical attention and the conditions in which they live are so extreme that sooner or later they will get sick. Many asylum seekers end up committing suicide because they find no way of changing their situations and prefer death to a return to their countries.
What kind of society have we built where we deny help to these people? What kind of human beings shout “Go back to your country!” to these desperate people instead of offering them food or shelter?
What kind of world we live in?

Links:

The asylum seekers who survive on £10 a week The Guardian UK
How to help asylum seekers (in the UK) The Guardian UK
New report calls for end to asylum seekers’ destitution British Red Cross
Asylum seekers: popular myths debunked British Red Cross Blog

58 asylum seekers/migrants in the UK, have taken their own lives Free Movement UK
Asylum seeker runs for charity that saved his life CPO
Genetic Tests for UK Asylum Seekers Sparks Controversy US News
High-rise asylum seekers plumb depths of despair in Scotland The Time Online UK

Somalis seeking asylum take back-door route to U.S. The Washington Post
Seeking asylum, dozens of Somalis wait in Tacoma Hiiran Online
Human Rights First (U.S.)
Amnesty International USA
Human Rights Watch

AliciA

Hair extension: Yes or No?
That’s a common question among mothers of black girls and it has become a heated debate as is everything related to African hair, specially in the US.
I found the matter of black African hair much more open in European countries, there is less criticism and nobody really cares much about how black people, men and women, style their hair.
Here however, it seems as if you can never do something right, hair is too short, too long, too dry, etc. Certain styles are also polemic as dreadlocks, or big afros, and specially relaxed hair and hair extensions.
I think that for an adult, you can do whatever you want with your hair, if it pleases you and if it makes you happy, it’s OK.
Regarding children, unless what you do damages the hair, compromises the health of your child, or the style looks so extreme as to make other people laugh at your kid, then, it’s OK too. Use common sense, as in everything in life.
Hair extensions have to be treated in the same way. It’s just another style you can use.
Do I use it in Feven? Yes I do. Not very frequently, and not because I think her hair isn’t good enough. I use it because I think it’s fun, she likes it and there are certain things that really look good and you can’t do with just her natural hair.
I only do extensions with yarn, not hair. Usually we play with different yarn colors, beads, ribbons, etc. Acrylic yarn is really light, much lighter than many hair accessories, and won’t damage her hair; it can be washed or taken off after a few days.
When we were in Argentina for example, the day the Argentinean soccer team was playing against the Mexican team and everybody was watching the match, I made a special style on Feven’s hair: two long braids with black, white and blue yarn (these last two the colors of the Argentinean flag) held together by a fabric flower.
 
Sometimes I just make an only braid with black yarn and then tie around red or pink ribbon, or any other color matching her outfit.
Feven loves her hair in any way possible, if she has braids, she plays with them, if she has beads or a loose afro, she will shake it all day. She asks me to comb her hair everyday, even if it isn’t really necessary, and I don’t think using extensions will make her hate her natural hair, on the contrary, she has learned how versatile it is and how beautiful it looks in any way.
Hair is quite appreciated in Africa and they can really do amazing styles that can look like sculptures. Also certain hair styles convey certain meanings, and you can see how much time some Africans spend styling their hair.
So I don’t know why we can’t do here the same and appreciate and play with hair.
People in Argentina loved Feven’s hair and styles. Her hairdos were a breath of fresh air to the usually boring styles they see everyday in everybody: short hair, pony tail or simply loose straight hair… Yawn…
Enjoy your children’s hair along with them; experiment, have fun, don’t be afraid about what others think and in this way you’ll teach them to be free.
Your little girl will grow up fast and by then you won’t be part of her choices of hair styles anymore.

AliciA

 
I’ve just read in Brown Condor‘s blog about the amazing documentary Awra Amba, Utopia in Ethiopia.
I didn’t even know that this Ethiopian community existed and I was pleasantly surprised. Awra Amba is a town founded by a man named Zumra Nuru, who after witnessing as a child how his mother was treated by his father decided to make a change for the better for women and men alike. He envisioned a place in which men and women were equals, where they share work and responsibilities, where respect and tolerance are the rules, and education is the goal.
So, he created Awra Amba with just a few people and little by little this community is slowly growing and spreading the word that another world is possible.
To be part of the community, you need to be an exemplary citizen; no drinking, no smoking and no drugs are allowed. They do not have religious practices or churches, but they believe in One God and hold high spiritual, ethical and moral standards.
Everybody works side by side and there is no gender specific labor, and each member of the community learns to read and write.
I’m sure there is no community anywhere in the world like this one and it’s amazing what they have accomplished. It’s sad that many want to see this type of projects destroyed.
The Awra Amba community is located in Northern Ethiopia in the Debub Gondar Zone and maybe if any of you travel to Ethiopia, you can see what a perfect society looks like.
You can buy the full documentary film at the production company’s site.

AliciA

Every summer of my childhood my family rented a house by the sea in a small town called San Clemente del Tuyu. I loved the beach, but I specially I loved the sea. I spent hours everyday negotiating the waves, so much that at night when I went to bed I still felt the waves crashing in my body while I listened to the sound of the ocean just across the street.
One thing I found amazing as a child was that even when I entered the sea at one spot, I always ended up many feet away when I left the water. Sometimes I tried to fight the surf, by inevitably after a while I let myself be carried away by the ocean.
I found this incredibly similar to life.
I can have a goal, plan carefully the steps to get there, but sooner or later life will take charge and I will need to let go and see what is prepared for me.
Many people ask me how we decided to adopt not one, but two children from Ethiopia. Why not just having another biological child, or adopting just one? Why Ethiopia and not China, or maybe the US? How we weighted the choices?
Well, I really don’t know!!
I mean, I know I made decisions, but it wasn’t that absolute.
We knew we wanted more children. I preferred to adopt instead of having another biological child, but it wasn’t that clear cut. We started evaluating options and one thing lead to another and we ended up with two wonderful Ethiopian children.
I’m not sure how I ended up living in the US either!
It wasn’t my plan when I was single and living in Argentina. Things just happened.
I usually start having a thought that little by little becomes more defined in my mind, and then it becomes like the only thing I want to do, I don’t stop until I am able to make it true. Sort of like an obsession, but a positive one, but I’m never sure where it comes from, or where it will take me, I just have no choice but to follow it.
It’s like entering the ocean. You know how to swim, you love the water and you enter the ocean wanting to have a good time. You may have the purpose to stay in the same spot, but the waves push you, they rock you and you start liking it and playing with them. After a while you let yourself float and they will carry you where you’re supposed to be, you surrender to the sea.
In the same way, you surrender to life.

AliciA

After living for a while in a developed country, you tend to take certain things for granted, like good food, good services, comfort, security, etc. And then you travel abroad and realize that most of the world lives in a way that any American or European citizen would consider impossible.
If you’ve lived all your life in America, as is the case for most American adoptive parents, and suddenly go to a country like Ethiopia to get your newly adopted child, you’ll probably have a big shock. Life is hard there, very hard.
In my case, the contrast between America and Ethiopia didn’t shock me much because I was born in Argentina, where in certain places life is much better than in Ethiopia, but it’s not comparable to life in America. There are also places in Argentina where people are really struggling to live, literally, and life is fragile, for example in provinces like Chaco or Formosa, to name just a couple.
We got a taste of what could happen in third world countries in our recent trip to Argentina. Just lowering my guard a little could have cost one of our children his life.

My mother and my brother live in two different houses built side by side and they are connected by two inside patios so in case my mom needs any help, my brother’s family can easily access her house and give her anything she needs.
One afternoon right after dinner we were in my mother’s house chatting at the table and my three children were bored and asked for permission to go and visit their cousins next door. Even when it wasn’t too late, it’s winter and it was already a little bit dark outside, but I let them go warning them to be careful when going down the few steps that separates both patios.
I wasn’t worried, after all what could happen? They were inside the house, protected from any danger, or that’s what I thought.
Feromsa went first and right after him Dylan who was taking Feven by the hand to make sure she didn’t trip on the stairs.
Two minutes after they left I heard a loud crashing sound and I immediately knew it was the patio door of my brother’s house. We ran over there and found the huge glass of the door all broken in big pieces; part of them were on the floor and part of them were still hanging from the top of the door’s frame like daggers . Dylan was crying at the top of his lungs with Feven still holding his hand. They both were fine, but we couldn’t find Feromsa anywhere. We couldn’t cross the door either since there were big pieces of glass still hanging from the door frame and threatening to fall.
Through a side door one of my nephews came out holding a bloody Feromsa on his arms. We feared the worst.
We sat Feromsa on my mothers couch and made a quick exam and I thought his eyes might have some glass pieces stuck inside them. We took him to the emergency room of a private hospital since it’s the only place where you get a chance to be seen fast if you have health insurance or, in our case, if you pay up front. Don’t even think about calling an ambulance, they will arrive too late, maybe one or two hours after you call. Miraculously he only had a few scratches on his face that caused all the bleeding and nothing else. Apparently he didn’t realize the glass door was closed and ran right through it without stopping or falling. I still don’t know how he did it without any significant cut, he could easily have cut an artery and died. His guardian angel was working overtime.
And it wasn’t an unexpected accident, I learned it has happened twice before.
The patio light was turned off. The glass they had on this door was VERY thin, so thin it breaks without much effort, and it doesn’t have any sticker on it to let you know that the door is closed. Feromsa can’t see well since he doesn’t have a good depth perception due to being blind from his right eye. I let my guard down thinking we were safe. 
This accident could have been prevented very easily. But that’s how they live in a country like Argentina. You would think that after this episode, someone has taken preventive measures. But the next day the glass was replaced by another of the same type, a cheap one. They could have installed a thicker one, or a glass that breaks into little square pieces, or maybe polycarbonate… But they chose not to, only to save money. They did not even install a security film on the glass to prevent it from cutting anyone in case it happens again. And the light is probably still off… to save money too.
I know accidents happen, but this one could have been prevented.
In places like Argentina people live precariously, sometimes because they lack the money and resources, but many times because they are used to live that way. They don’t value life, they blame things like this on destiny. There is even a national pride on living dangerously, like “machos”.
You can see in the picture below how close Feromsa came to injuring his eye.

I’m glad that now we only have to worry about erasing the scar on his cheek.
I feel guilty for letting this happen, and I’m still mad to them for not caring. I will never lower my guard again…

AliciA

I haven’t been posting much lately, because we just got back from Argentina where we spent two weeks visiting with friends and family.
My old neighborhood remains just as I left it, not many things have changed. Even when it’s winter down there, we weren’t cold, it felt like spring to us. While I was walking outside only dressed with a light shirt, the local people had sweaters, heavy coats, wool hats and scarves!
Since we arrived after the Soccer World Cup started in South Africa, and Argentineans are big fans of the sport, the city was quieter than usual because everybody was watching the matches on TV.
It was sad to see how hard life is for many Argentineans and how insecure the city has become. Besides, after living for so many years in a city like Portland, I have found Buenos Aires too noisy, dirty, and overcrowded.
But anyway, we had a great time and I hope we can travel again soon.

AliciA