Posted by By John Njoroge & Ann Njeri
April 1, 2010

“I have seen the hand of God in the hosting of these needy children” says Lillian Ndaro, a 75-year-old woman who accepted the burden that society had rejected.

She runs Lilly Orphans' home, located at the Subukia market centre, just at the foot of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.

”This has become my life," she says, "and I have no regrets.”

Lillian Ndaaro has helped the needy since a young age and as a devoted Christian she felt God’s call during her long service for the church and the call to help become stronger later in life when she met neglected children, giving them food, clothing and a place to stay.

She later teamed up with a group of women and started a self help group to address the needs of orphans and those affected or infected with HIV-AIDS. The group started in 2005 with about 20 needy children who were looked after at Ndaro’s home. But in august 2006, the group of women broke up due to a disagreement over the management of resources.

When the other women withdrew from the group Lillian was left all alone with the kids. She couldn’t abandon them as they had nowhere to go and she couldn’t let them go without food of clothing either so she kept the home running.

Susan notes: This story from AWR fan Gaby Feile features Silvana Fucito. The information is from 2005 and 2009. I’ve tried to find updates on her story without any luck... Anyone have any more information on this fight for justice?

Silvana Fucito is a towering example of how to stand up to the brutal crime syndicate that terrorizes Naples. The Neapolitan mob, the Camorra, picked on the wrong lady when it began demanding that Fucito and her husband, Gennaro Petrucci, cough up the notorious extortion payments known as the pizzo (from the Italian word for goatee, describing those who dip their beards in their neighbors’ soup) at the family paint store four years ago.

Like many, the couple first tried shooing the thugs away with excuses, free cans of paint and an occasional small “loan” that would never get repaid. But then in 2002, a pair of Camorra came into the store in the city’s rough San Giovanni neighborhood with a check to cash—for €100,000. One of the men flashed a pistol.

Petrucci did his best, amid escalating threats, to try to convince the Camorra bosses that the couple didn’t have that kind of money. Then one day, Fucito decided that she would come out from behind the counter to confront the unwelcome guests. “When I stepped out—a woman—and told them to leave, they couldn’t unload on me,” she recalls. “They couldn’t threaten me. That must have made them even more angry.”

Click here for the full story:
Time.com
Photo Credit:
Time.com

Related Links:
Silvana Fucito – Wikipedia (Italian)

If you ever wondered what true exhaustion feels like, or claustrophobia, or utter loneliness for human companionship, Katie Spotz can enlighten you.

And if you wonder whether these things can indeed be overcome, then this young endurance athlete can answer that too. Among many other feats to her credit, she's rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Alone.

As endurance is her strong suit, she's run 150 miles across the Mojave Desert and biked 3,300 miles across the US (averaging 85 miles per day). Not to mention an impressive swim-the full 325 mile length of the Allegheny River. Then there was the Half-Iron Man, and that 62-mile marathon too.

But this time, she's rowing the Atlantic Ocean- A 2,500 mile row from Dakar, in Senegal to Cayenne French Guiana, and she's only 22 years old.

She's also responsible for inspiring and enthralling many of us land-lubbing coach potatoes along the way and raising awareness, for her cause: Water.

That is, clean, viable drinking water.

Water is very likely, the number one thing we, in developed parts of the world, all take for granted. But the truth is, 1 in 6 of us on God's green and mostly blue Earth, don't have access to this most basic of human necessities. This should, at the very least, make us think twice about leaving the water running when brushing our teeth.

Katie's quest to raise awareness for Water issues in the developing world, is no question being realized as she rows across the Atlantic, solo. Aside from raising awareness, another important goal was to raise $30,000. But that's long been been surpassed. Her efforts have amounted now to well over $50,000 and growing. But this will only cover a small portion of our fellow men, women and children who live, on a daily basis without the access to clean, safe drinking and bathing water.

Check out her website Row for Water and watch her progress which is being charted by GPS. See her location in real time, cheer her on by leaving a note of encouragement, and by all means donate what you can. For $30 you can offer someone a lifetime of safe drinking water, as we in the comfort of the developed world recognize how good we have it, when we turn on the faucet every morning to wash our face and brush out teeth. 

Click here to read the full story by
Booksaboutpeace
Ode Magazine Exchange

Related links:
Adventure related stories on AWR

The latest party circuit princess to wow the night clubs and festivals of France with her DJ skills is a British granny who took a shine to the decks after going to a birthday disco for her grandson.

Clad in her leopard-skin shrug and dark sunglasses,

69-year-old Ruth Flowers has conquered French clubland from the Cannes Film Festival to the top Paris nightspots with a mix of old-school hits, electrobeat and bling-bling style.

"It started really when my grandson had a birthday party ... they always have a little disco, don't they, after the party," Flowers told Reuters, lounging on a white sofa in a Paris hotel in a green satin bomber jacket and trademark shades contrasting with her white hair.

"I went along quite late and the gentlemen at the door said: 'I don't think you want to go in there, Madame'. And I said: 'Well I rather think I do,' " she said.

"I went in and it was very noisy and the lights were flashing, but there was an awful lot of energy and joy."

While Flowers, a trained singer, was more used to church songs, German lieder and classic pop, she was so taken by the party that she decided there and then to become a disc jockey.

"I had no idea at the time of electro music," she said.

However, as someone with interests ranging from history to theatre and fashion, she was willing to learn.

A friend put her in touch with French producer Aurelien Simon who taught her how to spin and helped her to develop a style, sprinkling her techno sets with tunes from Abba, Queen and the Rolling Stones.

"In the beginning it was just a little joke but it became serious," Simon told Reuters by phone. "It took four years because she had to learn to use the machines. I explained the basics of electro music, and then she created her own style."

Eye-catching earrings and her sartorial style make Flowers a standout when she works the turntables, nodding to the beat and clapping her hands above her head.

Click here to read the full story:
By Rakhee Radia
Montreal Gazette
Photo Credit:
Reuters

Related links:
92-year-old Sky Diver Still Finding Adventure
Never Too Old To Salsa
Music, Dance & More On AWR

Thanks to:
Lynn Harris
Author of Unwritten Rules:
What Women Need To Know About Leading
In Today's Organisations

Susan notes: my dear friend Ann Njeri is an inspiration to me and hundreds of others around the world. In these two short videos, she tells the story of how she opened her heart to former enemies and created bonds of love and friendship. I hope she will be an inspiration to you too.