More than meets the eye

It is a haunting image but there is more to this picture than meets the eye.

Photographer Jonathan May, 34, met Stanford, the boy in the picture, in 2011. May was visiting the blind school in Kenya where he previously took photographs and where, for $1.30 a day, he sponsors the schooling of a young girl, Teresa.

He looks so vulnerable, I wanted him to look strong 

Chatting with Teresa's teacher, May spotted Stanford, who boards at the school, and was stopped dead mid-sentence. "I saw this young boy blindly stumbling along," he recalls. "I couldn't stop staring."

Stanford had baby soft, smooth skin on his hands and feet, but his skin appeared to be melting down his mutilated face.

"I thought he'd been burnt or someone had done something to him," May says. The teacher revealed that Stanford has a rare skin condition that made him hyper-sensitive to sunlight.
Stanford's mother and three siblings were among the 600,000 forced to flee their homes after the volatile 2007 election, which left 1200 people dead.

While Stanford, born partially blind, was living at a refugee camp, where there was little shelter from the harsh sun, his condition really deteriorated. Scabs and blood now spot his forehead. He has lost his nose and with skin dripping down over his eyelids, he can now "only see a tiny bit". May says.

Despite this, the 12-year-old is incredibly "positive and outgoing".

"He loves cars and music... and wants to be a gospel singer, " says May who has since bought him an MP3 player jam-packed with gospel music.

Along with one of the blind teachers from the school, May and Stanford drove the six hours to the refugee camp where the youngster's family still live.

On the way there they got lost several times and May was able to see the reaction of others to Stanford's condition.

"People would come up to help with directions and would jump back in shock [when they saw him]," May says. "They were genuinely scared. I was glad he couldn't see."

Back at the camp, May photographed his willing subject cradling his cherished pet dog. He wears a Spider-Man costume that May bought for him.

"He looks so vulnerable, I wanted him to look strong," May says. He also wanted people to see the child instead of the freak. "I wanted him to look like a normal kid."

The powerful picture has had the desired effect. On Saturday, May won the Head On Portrait Prize, which is a part of Australia's largest photo festival and the world's second largest festival.
He is using the $5000 prize money to pay for Stanford's treatment.

May phoned Stanford's mother on the night he won to tell her the news. "She was over the moon," he says. "She was so excited.

"First we need a proper diagnosis to find out exactly what [the skin condition is]," May says.
He has arranged for someone to take Stanford to a hospital in Nairobi to do this. Once they know what they're dealing with "it's a question of how... whether he can be treated locally or needs to be flown over here".

Either way, the picture of Stanford's future is looking as positive as the little boy himself.

Souce - http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/more-than-meets-the-eye-20130523-2k35y.html

Reddit Users Attempt to Shame Sikh Woman, Get Righteously Schooled

A Reddit user going by the handle "european_douchebag" posted a surreptitious photo of a Sikh woman with the caption "i'm not sure what to conclude from this." The user's apparent confusion stems from the fact that the woman—bound by her religion not to cut her hair or alter her body—has an abundance of dark, untrimmed facial hair. The mind of european_douchebag was SO INCREDIBLY BLOWN by the fact that women have hair on their bodies—and, yes, faces—and that some women are bold, self-assured, and pious enough not to cave to western beauty standards (and gender expectations), there was nothing for him to do but post her photo online and wait for the abuse to flood in.

But then something totally lovely and unexpected happened. The woman in the photo responded:

Hey, guys. This is Balpreet Kaur, the girl from the picture. I actually didn't know about this until one of my friends told on facebook. If the OP wanted a picture, they could have just asked and I could have smiled :) However, I'm not embarrased or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positve] that this picture is getting because, it's who I am. Yes, I'm a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women. However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body - it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. Just as a child doesn't reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us. By crying 'mine, mine' and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a seperateness between ourselves and the divinity within us. By transcending societal views of beauty, I believe that I can focus more on my actions. My attitude and thoughts and actions have more value in them than my body because I recognize that this body is just going to become ash in the end, so why fuss about it? When I die, no one is going to remember what I looked like, heck, my kids will forget my voice, and slowly, all physical memory will fade away. However, my impact and legacy will remain: and, by not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to cultivate those inner virtues and hopefully, focus my life on creating change and progress for this world in any way I can. So, to me, my face isn't important but the smile and the happiness that lie behind the face are. :-) So, if anyone sees me at OSU, please come up and say hello. I appreciate all of the comments here, both positive and less positive because I've gotten a better understanding of myself and others from this. Also, the yoga pants are quite comfortable and the Better Together tshirt is actually from Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that focuses on storytelling and engagement between different faiths. :) I hope this explains everything a bit more, and I apologize for causing such confusion and uttering anything that hurt anyone.

And then, THEN, something even more miraculous happened—the original poster apologized:

I know that this post ISN'T a funny post but I felt the need to apologize to the Sikhs, Balpreet, and anyone else I offended when I posted that picture. Put simply it was stupid. Making fun of people is funny to some but incredibly degrading to the people you're making fun of. It was an incredibly rude, judgmental, and ignorant thing to post.

/r/Funny wasn't the proper place to post this. Maybe /r/racism or /r/douchebagsofreddit or /r/intolerance would have been more appropriate. Reddit shouldn't be about putting people down, but a group of people sending cool, interesting, or funny things. Reddit's been in the news alot lately about a lot of cool things we've done, like a freaking AMA by the president. I'm sorry for being the part of reddit that is intolerant and douchebaggy. This isn't 4chan, or 9gag, or some other stupid website where people post things like I did. It's fucking reddit. Where some pretty amazing stuff has happened.
I've read more about the Sikh faith and it was actually really interesting. It makes a whole lot of sense to work on having a legacy and not worrying about what you look like. I made that post for stupid internet points and I was ignorant.
So reddit I'm sorry for being an asshole and for giving you negative publicity.
Balpreet, I'm sorry for being a closed minded individual. You are a much better person than I am
Sikhs, I'm sorry for insulting your culture and way of life.
Balpreet's faith in what she believes is astounding.

Holy shit, internet, I don't even know you anymore! I never thought something would come out of the seeping necrotic abscess that is Reddit that would actually make my day better, but wow. MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES THIS DAY.

Source - http://jezebel.com/5946643/reddit-users-attempt-to-shame-sikh-woman-get-righteously-schooled

2 Proud Aussies Win The Prestigious Chelsea Flower Show

THEY'VE won accolades from Prince Harry, praise from the Queen and plaudits from the public and after nine years of trying a team of Australian horticulturalists last night convinced the judges to win the most prestigious flower show in the world.

"It's a dream come true," exclaimed Phillip Johnson as his garden beat the best from across the globe at the Chelsea Flower Show this year in its milestone 100th year.

For six weeks the garden's designer Johnson, driving force Wes Fleming and a team of 18 volunteers have labored over the largest and most elaborate garden ever attempted, a stunning showcase of an Australian lush gorge complete with giant boulders and a large billabong fed by a series of small waterfalls overlooked by a pine and aluminium studio in the shape of a giant Waratah.

The design while fun also carries a serious message of sustainability, collecting and filtrating rain water from all hard surfaces channeling into two catchments including the central billabong. It also collects run off from neighbouring sites. Solar panels at the rear of the garden ensure the whole site is powered "off the grid".

As well as natural sounds of the Aussie bush, a tape of frog calls, recorded from Johnson's home in Yarra Glen outside Melbourne, can be heard about the site adding to the magic.

The Queen visited the site yesterday. Fleming, from Melbourne and the founder of Australia's ninth garden campaign, was told she had no time to stop but she did and then walked about the site. It was a good omen.

Fleming said he was "dangerously confident" of winning but it was still unbelievable; no other Australian entry has ever won best in show.

"I have dreamed of this moment since I was a little boy growing up on the nursery and mum and dad regaling in tales of Chelsea Flower Show," an emotional Fleming said.

"I've been chasing this honour for my whole adult life so to have been awarded not only the coveted gold medal but Best in Show at the world's most highly regarded event is a moment no words can describe."

Of his meeting with the Queen, Fleming said: "She did more listening than talking but she did say "I believe this is your last garden" and we explained to her the reasons why we couldn't come back and she was quite disappointed," Fleming said.

"It was really quite lovely that the Queen knows about you, it's really quite special. She thought our display this year was lovely and the comments by those about her Majesty was it was a beautiful slice of Australia."

Despite the win, it will be Fleming's and his Trailfinders Australian Garden team's last showing.

"Chelsea is wonderful media and a great event but in all honesty it's like building dolls houses," Fleming said.

"For us it has been about increasing awareness and influencing policy and government about the need for planning, the need for green and better open spaces for environment and have the horticultural industry involved in future planning.

"In 100 or 50 years time it's not going to be accountants telling us how we live and the health of society, it's not going to be lawyers, marketing people or IT people, it will be the horticultural industry that determines the future of our life.

"That might sound trumped up … but we need to get governments and the greater populace generally to recognise that planting trees and creating landscapes is not just for aesthetics."

Source - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/home-garden/chelsea-flower-show-win-a-dream-come-true-for-aussie-green-thumbs-phillip-johnson-and-wes-fleming/story-fni0dllf-1226647867089

Happy Anniversary Buffy!

10 years ago today, Buffy aired its final episode. 
  
Happy anniversary!

What was your favourite episode?

How 5 coins and an 'X' on a map could rewrite our history

Five copper coins and a nearly 70-year-old map with an ''X'' could rewrite Australia's history.
Ian McIntosh, an Australian scientist and professor of anthropology at Indiana University in the US, is planing an expedition in July to revisit the location where five 1000-year-old coins were found in the Northern Territory in 1944.

Seafarers from distant countries landed in Australia much earlier. 

The coins could mean seafarers from distant countries landed in Australia much earlier than is believed.

In 1944, the Wessel Islands - an uninhabited group of islands off Australia's north coast - had become a strategic position to help protect the mainland.

Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg was stationed on one of the islands to man a radar station and spent his spare time fishing on the idyllic beaches. He discovered the handful of coins in the sand.

In 1979, he sent the coins to a museum to get them identified. They proved to be 1000 years old.

Still not fully realising their significance, he marked an old map with an ''X'' where he had found them. The discovery was apparently forgotten until a few months ago.

Professor McIntosh and his team of Australian and American historians, archaeologists, geomorphologists and Aboriginal rangers say the five coins date back to the 900s to 1300s.

They are African coins from the former Kilwa sultanate, now a World Heritage ruin on an island off Tanzania. Kilwa once was a flourishing trade port with links to India in the 13th century to 16th century.

The copper coins were the first coins produced in Sub-Saharan Africa and, according to Professor McIntosh, have only twice been found outside Africa: once in Oman and Mr Isenberg's find.

Archaeologists have long suspected that there may have been early maritime trading routes that linked East Africa, Arabia, India and the Spice Islands, even 1000 years ago. Or the coins could have washed ashore after a shipwreck.

When Mr Isenberg discovered the copper coins, he also found four coins that originated from the Dutch East India Company - with one dating back to 1690.

Professor McIntosh wants to answer some of these mysteries during his planned expedition to the Wessel Islands.

He will also be looking for a secret cave Aboriginal legends refer to. It is supposed to be close to the beach where Mr Isenberg found the coins and is said to be filled with doubloons and weaponry.

Source - http://www.smh.com.au/national/x-marks-the-spot-1000yearold-coins-may-prove-traders-visit-20130519-2junc.html

Denmark wins Eurovision with quirky song

Denmark won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmoe early Sunday with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest.

Denmark, widely tipped to win the annual music competition, garnered 281 points at a glittering ceremony watched by millions of viewers, beating runner ups Azerbaijan (234 points) and Ukraine (214 points.)

The Scandinavian country last won the contest in 2000 with "Fly on the wings of love" by Olsen Brothers, also in Sweden.

There was no shortage of Danish support in the Malmoe Arena, located just minutes away from Sweden's southern neighbour across the eight-kilometre (five-mile) Oeresund bridge.

"I believed in the song, but the exciting thing about Eurovision is that you never know what's going to happen," de Forest told reporters after the competition. In the past the contest has produced surprise winners, such as the monster-mask clad Finnish rockers Lordi in 2006.

The 20-year-old Danish singer performed the winning entry barefoot -- her trademark since she began performing in her early teens -- against a flaming backdrop.

She became the bookmakers' only odds-on candidate after winning Tuesday's semi-final.

Although it was never a serious threat to de Forest's dramatic pop number about the state of the world, Azerbaijan earned top marks from several countries, propelling Farid Mammadov to second place.

Mammadov's emotional ballad "Hold me" was one of several eye-catching performances during the evening, the singer's moves mirrored by a dancer inside a glass cage.

Ukrainian entry "Gravity" had drawn media attention after it became clear that singer Zlata Ognevich would be carried on stage by a 2.34-metre (7 feet 8 inches) tall "giant" meant to symbolise her inner strength.

Crisis-stricken Greece made a strong showing in early voting but soon fell back, ending in sixth place, calming fears it would have to host the costly event next year.

The country had initially ruled out taking part this year because of the costs involved, but reversed its decision after a private broadcaster stepped in to finance the production of the country's national final.

Their song, "Alcohol Is Free", by Koza Mostra and Agathon Iakovidis, used metaphors to describe Greece's suffering during the economic crisis.

Sweden had pledged to scale back the spectacular music fest after costs soared in recent years, vowing to stage a sparkling show for a fraction of what last year's host Azerbaijan spent.

Despite that, the largest Nordic nation opened Saturday's show with pageantry fit for an Olympic ceremony.

Flag bearers entered on stage to a special hymn by pop icon ABBA's song-writing duo Benny Andersson and Bjoern Ulvaeus.

During the evening there were several references to the Swedish supergroup, which won the Eurovision in 1974 with "Waterloo".

One tribute was a rendition of their hit "The winner takes it all" by Swedish singer Sarah Dawn Finer.

Hostess Petre Mede wore a pink dress by Jean-Paul Gaultier as she welcomed 11,000 fans -- including the French designer -- to the Malmoe Arena.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also put in an appearance in one of several sketches lampooning Swedish culture.

Some estimates put the price tag for regenerating last year's host city Baku at one billion dollars (780 million euros).

By comparison, Swedish organisers had a budget of 125 million kronor (14.5 million euros, $18.7 million.)

With an estimated 125 million viewers, Eurovision is a bigger broadcasting event than American football's Super Bowl.

However, the continent's cultural differences came to the fore this year after show rehearsals in socially liberal Sweden showed not one but two gay kisses.

Turkish observers said that may have been the reason for public broadcaster TRT dropping the event earlier this week.

TRT cited low ratings as the reason for the cancellation: Turkey did not field a Eurovision candidate this year.

Saturday's live broadcast included two male Swedish folk dancers kissing each other; and Finland's Krista Siegfrids doing the same with one of her female dancers when performing gay marriage anthem "Marry Me."

Source - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/2013/05/19/12/14/denmark-claims-eurovision-win

Minnesota town’s 4-year-old mayor draws national attention

DORSET, Minn. -- Dorset’s Mayor, Robert “Bobbie” Tufts, has become a national sensation after a WCCO TV interview went viral over the weekend.

Robert is no ordinary mayor. The 4-year-old from Nevis was “elected” mayor of the tiny town of Dorset (population 22) at last year’s Taste of Dorset festival. Each year, anyone can pay $1 to put his or her name in a hat for a chance to have the title and key to the city for a year.

Last August, Robert was the lucky winner.

His mother, Emma, said her son usually includes his title as Dorset Mayor when he meets people.

“It’s just part of his spiel -- he’s always pushing it,” she said. “I don’t think he even realizes it.”

A visit to Dorset’s restaurants Thursday was part of the 2013 Governor’s Fishing Opener festivities for media. WCCO TV’s Frank Vascellaro and Chris Shaffer met Robert during their visit and recorded an interview with the young mayor.

Robert didn’t miss a beat. He described the best bait to use to catch fish, gave a shout-out to his girlfriend, Sophia, and performed a song and dance routine. The video was posted to YouTube over the weekend and had more than 10,000 hits as of Tuesday morning.

“The video has only been up for two days. It’s just crazy,” Emma said.

The Tufts have been receiving media requests from many outlets, including “World News with Diane Sawyer,” “Good Morning America,” “Inside Edition” and radio stations from the Twin Cities and beyond. Yahoo and MSN each had stories about Robert on their home pages Monday.

What does Robert think of all the attention?

“It’s just another day for him,” his mother said. “He likes the attention but doesn’t think too much of it.”

The experience has been fun for Emma as well, and she thinks the publicity is great for the area.

“When I was explaining to the person from Yahoo the fishing opener and the celebration, she didn’t understand why we would celebrate fishing,” Emma said. “I told her, this is Minnesota and it’s a big deal here.It’s just awesome for the area, for Dorset, for Park Rapids, for all of Minnesota. It’s huge.”

Source - http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/minnesota-towns-4-year-old-mayor-draws-national-attention

Australia, be proud, we have and NDIS

The letter that made Prime Minister Julia Gillard cry

THIS heartfelt letter of gratitude and support from Queenslanders for the disability reforms brought the Prime Minister to tears today.

Julia Gillard broke down in Parliament when introducing legislation to raise the Medicare levy to help fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The NDIS is one of the issues dearest to the PM’s heart, and she has staked much of her reputation on it.

During her speech, Ms Gillard became emotional when discussing the positive impact it would have on people's lives and it was this letter of thanks that brought her to tears.

Ms Gillard struggled for composure as she introduced the scheme, describing it as "a mighty force for good".

When she sat down, the Labor Party and a group of about 20 disability advocates in the gallery gave the PM a standing ovation.

Her tears came after a torrid 24 hours in the spotlight over a Budget which has come under intense scrutiny.

But this afternoon the PM's press office retweeted this message from Sky News reporter, David Lipson, explaining what cracked Ms Gillard's "hard shell".

Source - http://www.news.com.au/national-news/the-letter-that-made-prime-minister-julia-gillard-cry/story-fncynjr2-1226643196866

An Inspiring Story of an Australian Man's Fight Against the Trafficking of Children - Blue Dragon

Listening to Michael Brosowski speak with Richard Glover on 702 yesterday, you could not help but be inspired by what this man has achieved in the past 11 years.

Here is his story taken from the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation website.

The Beginning

"In October 2002, an Australian teacher, Michael Brosowski, arrived in Hanoi to teach English at the national university. However, within two months, Michael found himself teaching English to a group of kids he never expected to meet: shoeshine boys who walked the streets hoping to earn enough money to survive. Michael recognised the potential in these boys and took it upon himself to help them turn their lives around.

Enlisting the help of one of his university students, Pham Sy Chung, Michael and some friends began to offer classes in English, maths, art and yoga to the boys. Eventually, in an effort to give the boys a chance to just be kids, they started a football team – “Real Betis Vietnam”. The first game was attended by three teenage boys. Today an average of 45 boys and girls play every Sunday at a stadium by the Red River.

At the start, Michael and Chung taught lessons once a week for 5 to 10 kids. It wasn’t long before more and more kids were coming for help, all with varying needs. As the number of kids grew, so did the challenges presented to Michael and Chung. It was at that point that Michael decided to quit his job at the university and work full time with street kids, thus creating a snowball effect that continues today.

Birth Of The Dragon

By February 2003, many more kids were coming with medical needs, seeking a place to sleep, and wishing to return to school and training. Realising that nobody else in Hanoi was willing to help these children, Michael and Chung decided to create their own organisation.

The transformation from an informal group of volunteers to a registered organisation was a slow process and wasn’t completed until March 2004. In the meantime, Michael and Chung set up the first Blue Dragon residence for six former street kids, launched a program keeping poor rural children in school and continued reaching out to street kids in Hanoi.

Growth by Leaps and Bounds

When Chung left Blue Dragon to study in the US, Michael began employing staff to reach out to more children. In March 2005, with just two staff, a combined drop-in centre and office was opened in the Long Bien area of Hanoi, close to the Red River, where thousands of rural migrant families and street children live in poverty. Two and a half years later, Blue Dragon moved to a much larger centre to cope with the huge numbers of children coming every day for help.

From late 2005, Blue Dragon started working with children from central Vietnam who had been trafficked to Ho Chi Minh City to work on the streets or in factories. After Michael and a law student, Ta Ngoc Van, rescued a 13 year old boy who had been bought by traffickers, they decided to find ways to break the trafficking rings altogether. Two years later, one major trafficking ring had been permanently disrupted and over 30 trafficked children had been returned home. Van and his wife are now employed full time with Blue Dragon as Vietnam’s only Child Rights Advocates.

In 2007, Blue Dragon’s work expanded to Hoi An, in central Vietnam. A government run home for 30 girls and boys was badly in need of extra support and Blue Dragon offered to look after the daily running of the home for several years, while putting in place new systems and practices that would ensure the children could grow up in a safe and healthy environment. Since then, Blue Dragon partnered with another charity, Children’s Hope in Action, to manage the home. Also in 2007 a new combined office and drop-in centre opened back in Hanoi; more children than ever came to the new centre, many for the new free lunch program to fight malnourishment.

Blue Dragon rescued 3 girls who were kidnapped and sold to brothels in China in 2007, marking the expansion of our anti-trafficking efforts. Since then we have continued to fight international sex trafficking by rescuing young women and girls taken across the Vietnam-China border. To date, Blue Dragon has been involved with the rescue of 19 girls from brothels in China.

At the beginning of 2008, Blue Dragon was bigger than ever with 37 staff across four main programs. That year a re-named football team, “Blue Dragon United,” attracted between 40-80 children each week to the pitch. But games weren’t the only thing on our minds. VIP Bikes, a motorbike repair shop, was opened by Blue Dragon with funding from a private individual that year to provide vocational training and employment for disadvantaged youth. In 2010, a hugely successful VIP Bikes became an independent social enterprise that still retains its ties to Blue Dragon today.

2011 was a year of milestones. Blue Dragon rescued its 100th trafficked child, and played its 1000th game of football. Michael Brosowski was also honoured for his role in Blue Dragon. In 2011, he was nominated as one of that year’s “CNN Heroes”. He was most recently made a member of the Order of Australia in early 2012, a great honour that reflects the huge impact of the organization he co-founded.

Today

Blue Dragon today has 50 staff and cares for over 1,500 children in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hue, Hoi Anh and Dien Bien Phu. In 2012, Dragon House, a new centre in Hanoi, was opened, and in 2013, two new shelters have been established. Blue Dragon is able to reach out to more kids than ever before, building on the terrific results from the past ten years:

To date, Blue Dragon has:
• Sent 2,621 kids back to school and training
• Provided accommodation to 138 girls and boys
• Served 306,390 meals
• Built or repaired 59 homes for families
• Distributed 35,210 litres of milk
• Handed out 38,204 kilos of rice
• Reunited 136 runaway children with their families
• Taken 1,036 kids to a doctor or hospital
• Put 6 teens through drug rehab
• Obtained legal registration papers for 2,001 children
• Rescued 272 trafficked children
• Placed 117 teens in jobs
• Played 1,229 games of soccer!

By focusing on getting kids back into education, training and apprenticeships, we are working for the long-term benefit of children who otherwise would face very bleak futures. And in ten years time, we’ll still be here doing what we do best – creating opportunities for lasting change."

You can follow this story on Facebook or Twitter or subscribe to the You Tube channel

Please share and make others aware of this fantastic charity.

At the website http://www.streetkidsinvietnam.com/get-involved/ you can sponsor a child, donate and fund raise.

Source - http://www.streetkidsinvietnam.com/

National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer week runs from May 13 - 19 this year and the theme is "Thanks A Million.

Beginning in only 1989, these days there are over + million people in our nation volunteering which is about 36% of the adult population. These wonderful people contribute more than 700 million hours of unpaid work each year.

According to the ABS survey from 2006- the most popular age group for volunteering is 35 - 44 years old - 50% of volunteers do so because they believe they are helping others - there are more volunteers outside the capital  cities than in Volunteering Australia is the national peak body in  Australia. 



Below are some of the common questions we are frequently asked. More will be added in the coming months.

1. What is a not-for-profit organisation?

2. I want to volunteer...Where do I go?

3. Is there an age limit for volunteers?

4. What types of insurance coverage do volunteers have?

5. I want to volunteer overseas, where can I find out more?

Find the answers here! - http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/Volunteering-Facts/-FAQs.asp

This week I will be highlighting volunteer stories for you but in the mean time, here are some links for you if you are interested in volunteering. 


http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/

http://www.govolunteer.com.au/

http://volunteer.com.au/

http://www.volunteering.com.au/

Written by Samara Jenkins @theyellowsnail source - http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/

Will.i.am donates $100k to low-decile NZ schools

Hip-hop star will.i.am has donated $100,000 to help low-decile Auckland schools provide information technology to students.

Will.i.am

The US singer, songwriter and producer who rose to fame as a member of the Black Eyed Peas, was brought to New Zealand for a private show last night.

The star made a surprise appearance at Point England Primary School in east Auckland this afternoon where he presented a $100,000 cheque to digital literacy charity the Manaiakalani Education Trust.

Its executive officer, Jenny Oxley, said will.i.am's philanthropic work in the US corresponded closely with what the trust was trying to achieve here, in providing children in low socioeconomic areas with the means to participate in the digital age.

"He has his own charity in the States that encourages digital literacy, particularly in low socioeconomic communities, and as part of his visit here he came across information about Manaiakalani and made this wonderful gesture to us.''

The children were extremely excited to see the star in person.

"It was all pretty top secret until today and so the kids didn't know who was coming, they just knew it was an important celebrity, but they were over the moon,'' Ms Oxley said.

The money would go towards the trust's programmes of providing netbooks to students and their families, building its own wireless network for students, and supporting e-learning for teachers and parents.

The singer, whose real name is William Adams, talked to students about his modest beginnings in a Los Angeles ghetto, how he never knew his father and was driven by a desire to provide for his mother.

"He's clearly a very humble guy, very bright guy and it was great seeing him in person,'' Ms Oxley said.

The 38-year-old was brought to New Zealand to attend Hallensteins' Ultimate After Party at Studio on K Rd where he performed songs from his new album at the private show last night.
He said he was looking forward to exploring New Zealand.

"After tonight's party I'm looking forward to chalking up some new memories, so when I get back I can have something good to tell the folks back in America.''

He hoped to secure some tour dates later in the year in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, "and put on a proper show in this country''.

Source - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10882622

Coming soon: your personal flying car

It's 2013. Where's my flying car? Answer: about eight years away.

Learning how to safely operate a TF-X vehicle should take an average driver no more than five hours. 

Terrafugia is a Massachusetts company previously known for the Transition, which is best described as a plane you can drive. Its wings fold up, meaning pilots can drive it off the runway and straight home. Which is great for pilots, but what about the rest of us?

Now Terrafugia is working on a futuristic flying car, the TF-X, which it expects to start selling in the early 2020s. It's a cross between a Google self-driving car, a helicopter and a plane. The carbon-fibre vehicle takes off vertically, from your driveway (presuming you have 100 feet of clearance), using electric-powered rotor blades mounted on each side.

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Once in the air, the rotor blades drop and a rear-mounted gas engine takes over. In normal weather, the computer lands for you, though you have a parachute as a backup – just in case you encounter any HAL-style situations. It has a range of up to 800 kilometres.

The concept behind the TF-X is that it puts as much of the process as possible on autopilot; as much as your average commercial aeroplane, if not more. "Learning how to safely operate a TF-X vehicle should take an average driver no more than five hours," the company claims.

Terrafugia isn't announcing the cost until it gets closer to production, though it does claim: "With investment in automotive scale production, early studies indicate that it is possible that the final price point could be on-par with very high-end luxury cars."

Currently, the company estimates it will start shipping the $US270,000 Transition plane to customers in 2015. If they sell well, it will increase the likelihood of the TF-X flying car becoming a reality in the early 2020s.

Mashable is the largest independent news source covering digital culture, social media and technology. This post was originally published on Mashable.

ABBA museum unveiled in Stockholm

SWEDEN'S iconic pop group ABBA has no plan for a reunion, but a new Stockholm museum opening will offer the second-best opportunity to experience the foursome on stage.

"In the museum you can see us together again. That I think is the closest you could ever get," band member Bjoern Ulvaeus, a youthful-looking 68-year-old, joked in front of a group of reporters ahead of Tuesday's opening.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, former member of the Swedish music group ABBA,
is photographed during a press preview of 'ABBA
The Museum' at the Swedish Music Hall of Fame in
Stockholm, Sweden

ABBA The Museum expects to draw a quarter million visitors before the end of the year, showing that nearly 40 years after they broke onto the world music scene, the Scandinavian superstars have lost none of their lustre.

Ulvaeus stressed that the band, which split in 1983, will never perform together again even though they all remain friends.

In an interview with AFP, he admitted that he had initially been lukewarm towards the idea of becoming a museum piece, and that the three others - Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Agnetha Faeltskog and Benny Andersson - had reacted the same way.

"The others were like, 'a museum, no, really?' ... but we were all won over by the idea," he said.

"A museum, that's something permanent, it'll be in the guidebooks!"

The quartet dominated the 1970s disco scene with their glitzy costumes, kitsch dance routines and catchy melodies such as "Voulez Vous", "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo", the song that won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and thrust the band into the international spotlight.

The group has sold some 378 million albums worldwide.

Swedish music group ABBA memorabilia seen during a
press preview of 'ABBA The Museum' at the
Swedish Music Hall of Fame in Stockholm, Sweden

The museum was unveiled to the press on Monday and a VIP event in the evening was to be attended by Ulvaeus, Lyngstad and Andersson - or Bjoern, Frida and Benny, as they're better known.

Agnetha Faeltskog told Swedish television SVT recently that she would be in London promoting her latest solo album and would not attend the opening.

But some fans are hoping Agnetha will make a surprise appearance nonetheless.

Outside the museum early on Monday, a group of about 50 ABBA lovers stood around hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous foursome.

"They told us Agnetha wasn't coming but my gut feeling is that she'll be here," Patricia, a 47-year-old who came from Belgium with two friends for the opening, told AFP.

At the state-of-the-art five-storey museum, located on Stockholm's leafy island of Djurgaarden, visitors can pretend to be the fifth member of the band, appearing on stage with the foursome and recording a song with them in a computer simulation.

Another room dedicated to the song "Ring, Ring" features a 1970s telephone, for which only the four band members have the number. They are expected to call occasionally to speak live with museum visitors.

Other rooms will feature childhood photos, the band's costumes, replicas of their recording studio and dressing rooms, and their stylist's worktable.

Visitors will get the inside story told "with humour and warmth. They'll get close to the truth," said Ulvaeus, who was married to Faeltskog.

Andersson and Lyngstad were also married.

"We also talk about daily life, life with the children, our break-up, the crises, things we haven't talked much about, the divorces. We've gone beyond the happy image that we presented," he told AFP. 

Source - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/abba-museum-unveiled-in-stockholm/story-e6frfn09-1226636680236