Author Archives: World Mind Network

Foundation Inspires Nepali School, Village with 3D Printing

KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 31, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The Adelina Foundation and World Mind Network recently completed a humanitarian and educational project at the TriKa School in Narayanpur, Nepal. According to Director John Toomey, the group engaged students and villagers in several programs designed to improve general health in the region and to inspire educational achievement. Lessons learned in Nepal will be applied to similar projects in the Philippines, Africa, India, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Members were inspired by the accomplishments of school founder and Principal Govinda Panthy, who recently completed construction of the school, the only certified earthquake-safe educational institution in the Dang district of Southwestern Nepal. After the massive April 24 quake that destroyed temples in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, some Narayanpur residents sought shelter inside the school, afraid to stay in their own homes constructed of un-reinforced mud brick.

The group introduced 3D printing to students, as a way to interest them in science, art, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Panthy and Toomey believe that 3D printing can someday become an economic lifeline for remote villages in Nepal and other developing countries, because it can form the basis for sustainable social enterprises that can create useful household items unavailable in local retail stores. Group members Mary Huang and Pulkit Agrawal partnered with the students in creating a 3D printed model of the Dharahara, the legendary nine story tower in Kathmandu which was a symbol of Nepali statehood and which was tragically destroyed by the April quake.

Previously, the Foundation had purchased a solar roof panel for the school, making it the only local school with a permanent source of power.

Participants brought 27 of the newest model of Sawyer PointONE water purifiers, each capable of turning the village's unsafe well water into 150 gallons a day of pure, healthy water by filtering out harmful bacteria and protozoa. Previous studies conducted in the same village by Open World Cause, a group associated with the University of Kansas that spent a month at the TriKa School in June, had shown that every household in the village had at least one family member affected by water-borne diseases. Several families reported that disease alone had been preventing them from sending their children to school.

Group members also worked with students in creating a public relations campaign to alert Nepalis about the dangers of antibiotic abuse. Antibiotics are often available without prescription in Nepal, which means that their overuse has led to mutations in bacterial pathogens, making them resistant to common medicines. Students will conduct a campaign on social media, radio, and newspapers to spread public awareness about the issue.

There was also a discussion with students about the new Nepal Constitution, which has been several years in the making and has initiated vigorous disagreement among opposing political parties.

The Foundation welcomes public comment, and even participation in future missions around the world. For more information contact worldmindnetwork@gmail.com. Also see http://worldmindnetwork.net/ and http://openworldcause.com/.

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NEWS SOURCE World Mind Network :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2015 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

Foundation Helps Nepali School and Community Bounce Back

KATHMANDU, Nepal, July 10, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The Adelina Foundation of Torrance, California is assisting the World Mind Network in helping the TriKA school in Narayanpur, Nepal bounce back from the massive April and May earthquakes that devastated so much of the country.

According to Director John Toomey, the group will be visiting the school in late July to deliver needed water purification equipment, provide training on a new educational computer, introduce 3D printing to the students as a way to interest them in technology and art, and gather data to support similar future projects in the Philippines, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Although this region of Southwestern Nepal was not one of the most severely damaged areas, children in the area still live in fear of future quakes. The school was used as a shelter after the quakes for village residents whose homes were felt to be unsafe.

3D printing, which is almost unknown in Nepal, is seen by some as a way to help remote rural communities begin to build sustainable village enterprises.

The group also will be working with high school students in launching a social media campaign to publicize the dangers of anti-biotic overuse. In Nepal antibiotics are sold over the counter without prescriptions, and many disease pathogens have developed mutations which are resistant to common medicines. Students will develop informational media in local languages to inform the public.

In addition, the Foundation will help to create an online discussion group which will review the recently issued draft of the new Nepali Constitution. Nepal has been without a working constitution for years, and students and group members hope to initiate a national conversation about the new document's merits.

For more information, including opportunities for public participation, contact worldmindnetwork@gmail.com.

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/foundation-helps-nepali-school-and-community-bounce-back-2015-0710-04.shtml.

Ice Bucket Challenge Morphs into Rice Bucket Challenge

NEW YORK, N.Y. and TANAUAN, Philippines, Aug. 25, 2014 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Since Spring, the "Ice Bucket Challenge" has raised over $80 million for funding ALS research. Inspired by this success, the Rice Bucket Challenge has been created by non-profit groups including the World Mind Network, Adelina Foundation and BatangasVarsitarian.net.

According to Foundation president Reina Timbol, UNESCO estimates that 842 million people around the world suffer from malnutrition. The Rice Bucket Challenge invites participants to help end world hunger by spreading weird photos of themselves, together with the organization's poster in the same picture, while also donating to the U.N.'s World Food Programme. Those who do so may have their photos publicized on a website, entered in a contest for strangest entry, and may have their donations to the WFP matched.

Timbol points out that despite the admirable success of the Ice Bucket Challenge, there are some obstacles that could hamper further participation. For one thing, in a world stricken with drought, dumping several gallons of ice water on people might not give the best message about saving this precious resource, especially if repeated millions of times.

Also, in a small number of cases, there have been seizures reported from the shock of an instant ice bath.

The Rice Bucket Challenge attempts to preserve the fun aspect of the Ice Bucket Challenge, by encouraging creativity and silliness in the photos submitted. But the fact that no one needs to obtain a bucket of ice water, or suffer the unpleasant effects thereof, may increase participation.

The Rice Bucket Challenge also invites those who wish to submit their photos to the organization's website, and to be entered in a contest to determine the strangest picture.

For more information see the website at http://ricebucketchallenge.net/ or write to worldmindnetwork@gmail.com.

* IMAGE: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/14-0825-rice-poster_300dpi.jpg .

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NEWS SOURCE World Mind Network :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2014 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

Mukuria Wins Adelina Award

NAIROBI, KENYA, Dec. 6, 2013 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Megan White Mukuria, founder of ZanaAfrica, is the latest recipient of the Adelina Award, a prize awarded for exemplary accomplishment in the areas of humanitarian assistance, environmental improvement, education reform, sustainability, and disaster relief, according to John Toomey, Eula Laki and Lydia Ramos of Friends Beyond Borders and the World Mind Network, co-chairs of the Awards Committee.

Mukuria's organization provides a holistic and sustainable solution to keeping Kenyan girls in school by providing them with locally made sanitary pads.

In Kenya, one million girls miss up to 1.5 months of school because of their period, and the drop-out rate is twice that of boys starting at puberty. Considering that staying in school means girls are four times less likely to contract HIV, five times less likely to become teen mothers, and can earn 10 to 20 percent more, it becomes clear that it is necessary to work on keeping these young women in the classroom.

Mukuria believes that pads for girls, though crucial, are only one part of the equation. Her group is developing a new, more affordable pad that can be distributed widely to meet womens' needs and offer a sustainable and scalable business model. They are reinventing the pad-leveraging agricultural byproducts, streamlining the process, and creating a high-quality, radically affordable pad that helps solve an environmental problem rather than creating one.

They have also designed engaging comics to provide critical health education to girls in a way that is fun, standardized, and easily sharable. Young women can better take control of their lives and livelihoods and inspire those around them to do the same.

65 percent of women and girls in Kenya cannot afford pads. This means that over 850,000 girls miss 6 weeks of school every year and women miss valuable work hours. The problem is worse across East Africa with 4 in 5 unable to afford pads.

Reusable pads and rags are the alternatives, but can be unhygienic, leading to long-term health complications. They also cause embarrassing leaks. Girls would rather stay home than risk such humiliation

ZanaAfrica's mission is to produce the lowest-cost, most eco-responsible sanitary pad in the world and to provide large-scale, cascading impact to women and intermediary partners through distribution.

By 2020 ZanaAfrica will directly support 3 million girls and women with pads, to sustainably win back 5 million school days, 2 million work hours and $1 million to reinvest in their families. They will equip 23,000 saleswomen to earn an additional $100/year.

For more information go to http://www.zanaafrica.org/ .

Original syndication source of this press release: http://i.send2press.com/MfVIH .

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/Mukuria-Wins-Adelina-Award_2013-12-1206-002.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE World Mind Network :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2013 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

Courageous Typhoon Heroes Win Adelina Awards

TACLOBAN, Philippines, Nov. 20, 2013 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Several individuals and groups who exemplified great valor in the face of unimaginable tragedy during Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) have been honored by receiving the Adelina Award, the most prestigious prize in the Philippines awarded for humanitarian relief efforts, according to Lydia Ramos and Sarah Mendel of the World Mind Network and Friends Beyond Borders, who chair the Awards Committee.

The first Award went to the staff, residents and management of the Streetlight Orphanage in Tacloban, including founder Erlend Johannessen. "We were on the roof, all of us, five-meter waves pounding our walls, building shaking, 300 kilometer winds, and we were just holding on for our dear lives. But my kids are so, so brave. My staff is so amazing. They really showed true Filipino spirit. They refused to give up. They were holding onto each other. Even if they were not their own kids, they held them as if they were their own kids," Johannessen said.

Another recipient is the medical team from Mammoth Medical Missions in California, which stationed a group of 16 doctors and support staff in the ruined Town Hall of Tanauan, 30 kilometers south of Tacloban. Working under wartime conditions with no power, running water, or sufficient supplies, they performed more than 100 surgeries, including amputations and C-sections, in three days soon after the typhoon.

Medala moms is a group of Filipinas who were honored with an Adelina Award for donating breast milk to desperate mothers of infants in the typhoon zone. They work in cooperation with the Philippine General Hospital Milk Bank which uses the latest technology to preserve the breast milk and transport it to calamity-stricken areas.

British engineer Jonathan Fitzpatrick won the Award for his heroic actions in saving dozens of people trapped in the Ormoc Villa Hotel on the morning the typhoon made landfall with 170 mph winds. He and his colleagues kicked in blocked doors, shuttled people to relatively safe stairwells, and provided water until the wind subsided. According to his family, he at first thought he and the others were going to die, but decided that if he was going to perish, he would do so while fighting.

Rex Raymond Torrecampo from Batangas, Philippines, won the prize for his brilliant analysis of the tragedy which appeared on his blog LifeSoMundane. He pointed out that much misery can be avoided during disasters like typhoons for which the storm path is fairly predictable well beforehand, by storing relief supplies close to, but just outside of the estimated storm track.

Dr. Joji Tomioka and his team of 26 doctors and support staff from Japan won the Adelina Award for their ground-breaking use of new technology in the field. They deployed wireless mobile X-ray units, developed after the devastating tsunami which hit Fukushima, Japan in 2011. A small camera scans the patient, and its information is sent to an iPad and thence to a laptop. Using typical thumb and forefinger iPad gestures, doctors can zero in on an image to see exactly where a lesion or bone break might be. The Japanese team is currently seeing about 200 patients a day.

NASA and the Italian Space Agency won an Award for work performed by their ARIA (Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis) team. They produced a space-based map of the Tacloban region which helps disaster relief authorities by depicting minute surface changes in the terrain caused by natural or human-produced damage.

For more information go to http://philippinetyphoonrelief.net/ . To help typhoon victims, go to http://www.redcross.org.ph/ .

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Children’s Choir Moves Nation, World, with Performance at Earthquake-ruined Church

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines, Oct. 23, 2013 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The World Mind Network today announced that The Loboc Children's Choir provided a spontaneous moment of inspiration and hope to the quake-ravaged Philippines on Thursday, with an impromptu performance of Josh Groban's "The Prayer."

According to Sarah Mendel of Friends Beyond Borders, an NGO helping with quake aid, the group approached the ABS-CBN news team as it was reporting in front of the ruined Loboc Church, inside of which the choral group had performed many times.

The church, built by the Spanish in 1602, has survived hundreds of earthquakes, but was completely destroyed by the October 17 7.2 magnitude temblor.

The quake killed at least 198, injured hundreds, and severely damaged more than 19,000 structures.

As a result of their heroic act, the Choir has won the Adelina Award, the most prestigious Humanitarian honor offered in the Philippines.

The Loboc Children's Choir has been in existence since 1980, and consists of 30 school children from the Loboc Central Elementary School in Loboc, Bohol, Philippines. The children are between nine and thirteen years of age.

A scale model of what the rebuilt church might look like, which honors the original architecture but incorporates modern design elements to help prevent future earthquake damage, will be circulated among schools in the region to assist with fundraising and recovery efforts. The new church will be rededicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Loboc.

The choir's performance can be seen here: (CBN TV News website) http://goo.gl/fpFOsn .

More information: http://philippineearthquakerelief.org/ .

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/Children-s-Choir-Moves-Nation-World-with-Performance-at-Earthquake-ruined-Church_2013-10-1023-002.shtml.

Students use Social Media to help Victims of Earthquake in Philippines

CEBU CITY, Philippines, Oct. 17, 2013 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- In efforts spearheaded by the World Mind Network, Friends Beyond Borders, and Batangas Varsitarian, young people from around the world used Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Skype, Friendster, and SMS tracking sites to help rescuers locate and aid victims of the recent earthquake in the central Philippines. The 7.2 magnitude quake struck the region of Bohol Island and Cebu just after 8 a.m. local time on October 15, 2013.

So far 161 have been confirmed dead, with hundreds injured, 19,000 homes severely damaged, and major losses to roads and infrastructure. According to Sarah Mendel and John Toomey of the World Mind Network, students from Stanford, Harvard, Emory, Utah, the University of Batangas, Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, and several others participated.

"It's becoming more and more obvious that the power people possess in the palm of their hand, namely their Smart phone or tablet, has enormous power to help people instantly," said Toomey. "Disasters like this are the most self-evident example, but the same principle applies to every kind of humanitarian, public health, and educational assistance."

Every month the Adelina Award is presented by BatangasVarsitarian.net to someone who has performed heroically on behalf of Batangas or the Philippines in the fields of Humanitarian aid, Education, Public Health, Disaster Relief, or Economic Improvement.

This week five Adelina Awards are being announced, all for people and organizations who have rendered service far beyond the call of duty in helping the victims of the Bohol earthquake:

Robert Michael Poole: Mr. Poole traveled all over Bohol on the day of the quake, taking photos which documented the destruction. Many were useful in helping rescuers locate and save victims. You can see his photos here:
http://twitchy.com/2013/10/15/major-earthquake-strikes-the-philippines-photos/ .

Mae of Natura Vista resort in Bohol, who is offering free lodging packages to those who donate to earthquake relief:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=481326218631357&set=a.150384555058860.30245.137800462983936&type=1&theater .

Bangon Bohol, a group of Boholanos from throughout the Philippines who have devoted thousands of hours to helping victims:
https://www.facebook.com/OplanBangonBohol .

Narcisa Barbanida has been awarded the honor posthumously. She died saving her daughter. See:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/regions/10/17/13/mom-dies-saving-daughter-during-bohol-quake .

Philippine Airlines (PAL), which has activated its Humanitarian Cargo Grant program. PAL will accept donations to be transported for free to Tagbiliran City in Bohol and Cebu. Certified volunteer doctors and medical specialists who will be participating in the ongoing relief efforts may also receive free air transportation via PAL.

Help is still needed, and resources and information on how to assist are listed on the group's site at http://philippineearthquakerelief.org/ as well as at batangasvarsitarian.net. For more information, or to make suggestions contact theworldmindnetwork@gmail.com.

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/Students-use-Social-Media-to-help-Victims-of-Earthquake-in-Philippines_2013-10-1017-001.shtml.

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