Growing up, I had on several occasions wished I belonged to a certain family, and not mine. At certain times I had wished I belong to the family of my friend whose parents were rich, and they all live together a happy family. I had wished I had a caring father like my classmate whose school fees were paid on time, and who never had to engage in street hawking before being able to pay their school fees.
Trust me, as a child; I was for a very long time ashamed of my family because I felt I deserved a better one. It was much later that I began to see that the only reason my mother went through all the hardship and indebtedness was for our well-being. Her sacrifices and hard work was the foundation of our well being. I realized I couldn’t have a lovelier, caring and prayerful mother. My family is certainly irreplaceable!
What is family to you? Family is everything to some people, and to another majority, its nothing; just a medium through which we came into this world. Whichever school of thought you belong to, family is always important.
Family is the smallest unit of every society. God’s intention for creating man and woman was to raise a family that would occupy the earth. God commissioned man to multiply, replenish, cover the earth and dominate. And for animals, he made them male and female for the same purpose of reproduction.
Every man born into this world was a product of a relationship between a man and a woman (that is, a parent). A person may also become a member of a family by adoption, howbeit; he or she must first be born by the union of a man and a woman. Thus, the union between same sex cannot reproduce a biological offspring, as this is a perversion of God’s purpose for man.
Family performs different functions ranging from individual to society. Some of these functions include; meeting the basic needs of dependents; creating a sense of belonging for the family members through affections and care; training the children in acceptable way and inculcating morals and virtues necessary for a healthy society. A family also offer support for one another in many different ways.
The family becomes a community, and the communities make a great nation. The kind of society we have is a reflection of the kind of families that makes up such societies. Children get to learn values in the family; they learn to work together as a team; thereby building teamwork capacity from a young age. Family also functions as a bulwark against crime.
Literally, if we all had a choice of choosing our families; some marriages would be fruitless (barren forever) and some countries would be deserted forever too. In fact, imagine you reading this article had a choice of a country; would you have picked a your domicile of origin? OK, lets hold the country thought for a moment, would you have picked your father and mother to be your parents?
A family on the Bike
Sometimes, we regret belonging to our families and you wished you were never born into the country of your origin. Trust me, God wouldn’t have placed you in a better country. God strategically and divinely placed you here for a purpose, and so your family is irreplaceable!
Your background is not a reason for you to remain on the ground. Chogyam Trungpa puts it this way, “We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly enlightened or peaceful or intelligent. Nevertheless, we have soil good enough to cultivate; we can plant anything in it.”
As we commemorate the International Day of Families, remember; if life gives you lemon, make a lemonade out of it! Enjoy this family you’ve got, those ones you’re envying are probably wishing they had a family like yours. What you have is precious; celebrate your family! Happy World Family Day.
For more on the International Day of Families is observed every May 15. According to the UN website, the annual observance of the International Day of Families reflects the importance the international community attaches to families and their role in development. Recent commemorations of the Day focused on the role of families for the achievement of SDGs 1 – 5 and SDG 16. The Theme for this year’s celebration is: “Families and Climate Action: Focus on SDG13.” For more on this event, click: https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/international-day-of-families/2019-2.html
The World Malaria Day is Commemorated every 25 April, as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Malaria Day highlights the need for sustained investment and political commitment for malaria prevention, control and elimination. This year’s campaign, “Zero malaria starts with me,” is a grassroots campaign that emphasizes country ownership and community empowerment of malaria prevention and care.
“As we watched the Paris’s beloved Notre-Dame cathedral razed in fire, we felt very sad and were afraid that the ancient walls would collapse in the disaster. But thank God the fire was stopped within crucial half hour. At the end of the day, it was not as terrible as we had thought, thankfully.” -Jean-marie
It was indeed a sad day for the french as a critical part of France’s destiny, The Notre-Dam Cathedral was gutted in fire on April 15 2019.
Built 850 years ago, Notre-Dame, which translates in English as “Our Lady”, has played a role in key moments of history and captured the imagination of people around the world, drawing an estimated 13 million visitors a year.
We stand by the French on this painful incident, and we pray that the new Cathedral will be adorned with greater beauty and glory.
Thankfully, a number of companies, organizations and business tycoons have began to contribute to the re-building of the 1,000-year-old Strasbourg cathedral, which may take decades to rebuild. Although, President Macro has pledged to rebuild the cathedral in 5 years
The overwhelming support from different quarters is a moral boost to the french and tourists who are always in awe of this amazing pride of Paris.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated but have been linked to the renovation work going on on the French heritage site. Meanwhile investigation has shown that some important part of the building were left intact after the inferno.
In responds, Pope Francis twitted: “Today we unite in prayer with the people of France, as we wait for the sorrow inflicted by the serious damage to be transformed into hope with reconstruction. Holy Mary, Our Lady, pray for us. #NotreDame
We feel the pains of Paris. Yes We Are Winning…We CEEEyou!
In 2008, The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day.The Yes, We Are Winning Foundation was at the PATRICK SPEECH AND LANGUAGES CENTER to commemorate the day with the theme of the 2019 edition focused on “Assistive Technologies, Active Participation.”
It was an Open House Art Workshop, that has several people with different backgrounds and over 20 special Children, including those with Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy were in attendance to showcase their art and craft skills.
Autism is defined as a pervasive neurological disorder that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterized by a typical communication, language development, eye contact, and sensory experiences.
”On World Autism Awareness Day, we speak out against discrimination, celebrate the diversity of our global community and strengthen our commitment to the full inclusion and participation of people with autism. Supporting them to achieve their full potential is a vital part of our efforts to uphold the core promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: to leave no one behind.” -Secretary-General António Guterres
The School Admin, Mrs. Nsikan Essien spoke on behalf of the school, and did appreciate everyone who graced the occasion and identified with these special and amazing children. The exhibition towards this event comes up on April 28th which will be a grand finale of the project.
The Yes We Are Winning Foundation team was led by the Project Manager (Afonrinwo Babs ‘Deji) with Titi Ogunwale (Program Coordinator), Olubunmi Olaniyan (Media) and Olatunde Kikelomo, and the team also donated some gifts to the center.
If there is anything that was actually a take home for the day, it is the fact that people living with special needs do not our pity, but instead, love, equity, tolerance, care, and Integration into the circular world so that they can deliberately challenge the challenges they are facing.
I have discovered that in recent times one of the major determinant of happiness for many people, especially Youths, is sports betting. A win guarantees financial benefits and boosts the morale of the player whereas a loss brings immediate sorrow, anguish and disillusionment for the lost of scarce resources committed to the game.
The growing interests of many young people in sports especially football is not borne out of real love for the game as it were, rather it is largely motivated by economic reasons, especially with the introduction of sports bet. It is certain that the love many Nigerians have for sports but also about making money.
The sports betting industry is billion dollar industry and growing astronomically and as become a phenomenon across Nigeria, apparently because there is good money to be made and everyone wants to be a part of it.
By reason of the money involved, disappointments and regrets often ends the happiness of many who are involved sports betting, and who have adopted it as a quick cash alternative. One reason for the display of anger, mood swing, aggravations and transfer of aggression by many sport bets enthusiasts are consequent upon failure to win sports predictions.
The increasing number of Betting companies in Nigeria is not unconnected with the economic hardship, occasioned by joblessness and widespread poverty in many homes. Sports betting and lotto has become very rampart especially among many young people and this is very worrisome.
The YWAW media team was on the street to interview some sport betting enthusiasts about how a win or lost affect their happiness and those around them. Click the link to see a short video of the interview:
The impact of unhappiness has unpleasant effect on the mental wellness as well as physical wellbeing of a person. This in turn affects those around the person who is unhappy. Since happiness is contagious, an absence of it create an atmosphere of sadness and disaffection.
As we commemorate the International Day Of Happiness, it is most appropriate to create awareness about the need to promote the things and experiences that makes us happy. To read about 10 reasons to be happy click: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-reasons-to-be-happy
The International Day of Happiness is celebrated worldwide every March 20,[1] and was conceptualized and founded by philanthropist, activist, statesman, and prominent United Nations special advisor Jayme Illien to inspire, mobilize, and advance the global happiness movement.[2][3][4][5][6]
For information about the top 10 countries with the highest number of happy people click the link:
What is family to you? Family is everything to some people, and to another majority, its nothing; just a medium through which we came into this world. Whichever school of thought you belong to, family is always important.
The family becomes a community, and the communities make a great nation. The kind of society we have is a reflection of the kind of families that makes up such societies. Children get to learn values in the family; they learn to work together as a team; thereby building teamwork capacity from a young age. Family also functions as a bulwark against crime.
Built 850 years ago, Notre-Dame, which translates in English as “Our Lady”, has played a role in key moments of history and captured the imagination of people around the world, drawing an estimated 13 million visitors a year.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated but have been linked to the renovation work going on on the French heritage site. Meanwhile investigation has shown that some important part of the building were left intact after the inferno.
