A "lucky baby" who intends to pay it forward

Her name really is Hongjin Lin, but she uses Nicole, most of the time, and although she is sitting across the table from me weeping, she considers herself the "lucky" one, because, unlike the siblings that preceded her, who never lived to glimpse daylight, Hongjin Lin escaped abortion despite China's One Child policy. It is largely because of this simple fact that Nicole is driven by a sense of obligation, especially to Chinese girls who are not as fortunate as she.

Nicole posed for me to conceal the obvious: I really only wanted a photo of the Tsoka flea market.

I met her in the airline terminal in Addis Ababa, between legs of a flight connecting Toronto and Malawi's capital city, Lilongwe. You can meet a lot of interesting people at the Addis Ababa terminal. Most of the faces are black, so Westerners stand out, and it's a safe assumption that they speak English.

There's always a reason to speak up, if for only to make sure you are in the right line in unfamilair surroundings. One of the people I engaged conversation with was a doctor who was on her way to provide medical services in a remote Arican destination -- I don't remember just where. Next to her was her young shy daughter, an ingenue perhaps already far more worldly than her peers. One man I spoke with was an archeologist, heading to a dig. On the flight home, catching a nap on a chaise the Ethiopians had set out for weary travelers in Addis Abbaba's airport, I found myself next to a young Irish woman who conducted tours for students familiarizing themselves with conditions in Northern Malawi. The north is heavily forested, but the south of Malawi is nearly denuded of forests, she said; if they don't get a handle on their environment and their birth rate, this country that hosts two refugee camps for several African Nations could be in its own civil war in 10 years, she observed.

Face it, if they are between flights in Central Africa, the people you meet on the road  have a life different from the ordinary and a story to share.

Nicole was no different. The fact that she was a young Asian female traveling with a male companion, set her apart. But it wasn't until we were on the plane and she was sitting in front of me that she began to share pieces of her story. I think I had been telling her about the One World Futbol, because that's what I tend to talk about when people ask me what I'm up to. I explained that these tough balls sustains hundreds of punctures without ill effect, and that's why they are ideal for disadvantaged communities such as refugee camps.  Well, said Nicole, she was volunteering for There Is Hope, an organization serving Dzaleka, the major refugee camp in Southern Malawi. And then she mentioned Innocent Magambi, author of Refugee for Life, who had organized There Is Hope, suggesting that I should get in contact with him.

This was rather overwhelming, I had barely started the final flight to Lilongwe, and we were already making plans to connect when we landed, and what were the chances of that, and what was this organization, anyway, and who was this fellow, Innocent Magambi?

Sometimes, it's a small world. My hostess in Malawi knew a driver, Duncan Zimba, who could drive me around for the first few days when I was in Lilongwe getting adjusted to the time change. And when I mentioned There is Hope to Duncan, and Innocent Magambi, he needed no explanation. Duncan knew Innocent. They were virtually friends. Naturally. He's a taxi driver. They know everyone.

What that means was that there was not going to be any difficulty finding a home for 40 One World futols and 85 hats and assorted clothing I raised at the African Hat Dance -- my pre-birthday party at First Class Ballroom in Everett, WA, a few days before I flew out. But don't let me get sidetracked. This story is about Nicole -- whom I ran into immediately after arriving at There Is Hope's office in Lilongwe, and I'll be telling you all about that in a few days. Later, during my stay in Lilongwe, Nicole and I connected a couple times, including going on a shopping spree, and it was on those later connections that I heard the rest of her personal story.

Nicole speaks English fluently, but her home is in China. Sort of. In her early 20s, she really is a citizen of the world. She is a graduate of Occidental College, which was attended by a recent American president. ("After graduating from high school in 1979, Barack Obama moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, Obama made his first public speech, calling for Occidental to participate in the disinvestment from South Africa in response to that nation's policy of apartheid." --Wikipedia)

She also attended college in Britain, and she was an intern at the United Nations, where she witnessed President Trump's famous "Rocket Man" comments about North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. (Diplomats tend to be reserved when a head of state is speaking, but  Trump's remarks noticeably influenced facial expressions, she said.)

Graduation Day at Occidental was not totally a joyful experience for Nicole. She felt the weight of responsibility of being so privileged when literally millions of young Chinese women have limited opportunities to experience the same achievements. And to have come so far when only chance prevented her from being aborted gives her a sense that she has a debt to pay for the honors and privileges she has experienced.

Nicole's eyes moistened as she shared her story over lunch: Her parents were well educated, and her father was an accountant in a Chinese firm. He and her mother lived in a village at a time of China's one-child policy, when neighbors would report when a woman's pregnancy became obvious. If her family didn't have an abortion after the first child, her father could lose his job, Nicole said. And so two siblings ahead of her were aborted.

And then chance took center stage: The factory closed. The family had an excuse for being displaced, and her mother, who was not yet showing with Nicole, went to a city where she had a degree of anonymity. After Nicole's birth, sometimes her mother would hide with her in public toilets, where the odor discouraged individuals from investigating them.

Nicole, who was "undocumented" into her teen years, learned the story by bits and pieces as she grew up, only learning later in life that two siblings had to be sacrificed. And so, along with the gift of life she carries with her a sense that she has an obligation to make a difference.

Nicole shows off Kibebe products: pen holders, cards, bibs, shopping bags, colorful storage boxes.

In Lilongwe, her plan is to make a difference using a $10,000 Davis Projects grant with There is Hope  to help refugees at Dzaleka produce goods for sale via an Online Shop for Refugee Empowerment. You can also see images of their products on Facebook at Kibebe Malawi.

Showing fabrics

 Because the camp is supported by the United Nations, the refugees are prohibited from holding jobs. But they can still manufacture goods for sale. Nicole is marketing the goods via Shopify.com. I purchased a couple of the items for sale -- a purse that unzips and unfolds into a shopping bag and a picnic blanket.

Nicole's story resonated with me. It reminded me of the time 50 years ago, when President Lyndon Johnson, following the assassination of President Kennedy, persuaded Congress to create a domestic Peace Corps called Volunteers in Service to America (V.I.S.T.A.).

In 1965, one such VISTA volunteer went to Appalachia, realized that girls were living in poverty because they didn't graduate from school due to poor clothing, and wrote a grant for sewing machines so she could teach their mothers how to make clothes cheaper than they could purchase them.

A few years ago, I discovered and read that grant proposal which that young woman wrote to obtain the machines to teach those skills. I had located that remarkably well-written proposal among her effects when it came time for her memorial service following our 30-year marriage. Nicole is close to the age that Betty was when she was serving in Appalachia. So, as you might imagine, I dearly hope that Nicole -- Hongjin Lin -- stays in touch and keeps me informed about the progress of her career.

Like Yogi Berra was supposed to have said: "It's déjà vu all over again."

Love,
Robert

And Shu

In Cambodia: futbols and kazoos a big hit

In the 1984 film, Amadeus, I believe there is a scene in which the young Mozart plays the piano upside down and backwards. Well, I can see how one can do that with a piano, but a kazoo?  I always believed the kazoo was designed to be played in one direction, until I saw this image of  a young Cambodian student playing the kazoo backward!  With her hands off the control surfaces!  The kazoo is a rather straightforward instrument. But playing it in reverse? The kazoo? Sacre bleu!

Blowing on the wrong end of a kazoo, and lovin' it.

Afterward she lost it.  In the photo below, the young lady is cracking up while her classmate struggles to keep a straight face.

The smiles make a caption for this photo totally unecessary.

In the photos above, taken as grab shots from a video David Biviano forwarded, the kids are clapping their hands and blowing notes to that old Sunday School standard, "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" (clap, clap). It's not a song I would have expected to hear in Bosthom Village, which I can't find on Google Maps and have no idea where it is.

This, of course, is just my way of saying that my good friend David Biviano has already returned to Cambodia, and has started distributing One World Futbols. And kazoos. Especially kazoos.

I'm sure you remember David from the last blog post -- he's the philosophy professor who ran an

Vanny and mother

orphanage in Siem Reap,  called the Cambodian Children's House of Peace, until the government bowed to a suggestion from Unicef and closed down orphanages, sending the children back to villages.

However, David had the last laugh, sort of. When he returned to Cambodia this summer, he visited Bosthom Village, where a Mr. Vanny, a graduate of David's orphanage, now teaches, after completing a two-year teachers college in Siem Reap. Vanny is now attending Cambodia's Build Bright University in pursuit of a bachelor's degree, and his mother is the principal of the school where he teaches. That's a photo of the two of them at the right.



Naturally, with David's connections to Bosthom Village, there was a ceremony for distributing the balls.  In the photo below, Vanny is translating for David, gesturing to clarify that the One World Futbol will never go flat.

"This ball never goes flat," said  Mr. Vanny, translating for David.

Then they all said "thank you for the ball," like they were supposed to . . .

And then they got down to it -- the first game was "keep away."

David also visited the primary school in Bos Village to present a One World Futbol to Ms. Sohkeng, a teacher assistant and another graduate of the Cambodian Children's House of Peace. In the photo below she is sitting with her cousins at the end of the school day.

Teacher assistant Ms. Sohkeng receives One World Futbol for Bos Village primary school.

What follows tells the tale. The children turned into a blur of activity. And lest you think this is just a boy's game, follow the sequence below. He is about to give the ball a swift kick in the first photo. In the second grab shot, she's already blocked it and has gotten the ball away from him.

Looks like he's got it all under control . . .

. . . but she blocks it with her knee and hooks it with her foot before he knows what happened.

By the way, before I close this post, I should admit a little aggravation about these kazoos.  I am the man who introduced the kazoo to Hanoi, and then to Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. And I wanted to include Cambodia in my résumé of firsts, but now David has claimed that honor. But I have my revenge, because, as it turns out, he is the reason those kids play the kazoo backward.

"I am embarrassed to say I have been playing the kazoo from the wrong end, which nevertheless still works, just not as efficiently," he confessed. Well, I guess it's time to repeat the tutorial I posted back in 2016 which I introduced the kazoo to Hanoi. Here it is:

Deceptive in its simplicity, the kazoo has only one moving part--your vocal cord. (Tongues optional)

The kazoo is a musical instrument sophisticated in its simplicity. There is the blowificator, where you place your lips, the musicator, where the tune emerges, and the buzzifier on top, which yields the kazoo's unique tonal qualities. There are also the control surfaces between the buzzifier and the musicator, where you spontificate the sounds for melodious effect by pressing down or fluttering with your fingers.

Well, that should settle that. Now then, I know in the last blog I indicated I was going to profile a new individual. That was before I knew that David would report back so quickly. So he gets two shots at the spotlight. But now I really am going to return to the subject of  Malawi and some other notable characters. There's more to tell.

Love,

Robert,

And Shu

Seven futbols to Cambodia!

The Wilson campaign has finally reached a long-sought objective: One World Futbols to Cambodia.

I have a personal interest in Cambodia. A childhood friend, Jay Hastings, has created a novel program,  not just of low-interest micro loans--but of interest free micro loans--to 10 fishing villages associated with  Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Jay flies to Cambodia twice a year to help these villages manage these loans to built their own capital by re-loaning the money to their villagers. His effort, supported by the national government's fisheries department, has drawn the attention and participation of a major Japanese university. It got my attention, too. I sponsored the loan for one of the villages, Kanleng Phe, and had wanted to return to distribute One World Futbols. That trip wasn't in the cards this year, but things changed, when I met the newest member of Team Wilson during a visit to Chacala, Mexico, in February.

Biviano

David Biviano, Team Wilson's newest member, is a philosophy professor who once operated an orphanage in Siem Reap, where he now teaches Western philosophy at Paññasastra University of Cambodia (PUC). Siem Reap is the city where the World Heritage Site, Angkor Wat, is situated. PUC is the first higher learning institution in Cambodia that provides English based education in all subjects, and is officially accredited by the Royal Government of Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

World heritage site, Angkor Wat

I met David while visiting a friend in Chacala, Mexico, a tiny fishing village 90 kilometers by car north of Puerto Vallarta. Years earlier, David had  decided he was tired of Seattle weather and opted for warmer climates. He spends time each winter in Chacala. He began spending part of his year in Cambodia as a result of a Buddhism pilgrimage to Southeast Asia. The low cost of living there on Social Security, and the sale of his condominium, made it possible for him to start the Cambodian Child House of Peace, with 30 orphaned children, in 2008.  Schools like it were later closed at the recommendation of Unicef, which felt that the children were better back in their villages. David disagrees; he sees the villages as impoverished and isolating.

The "joy of his life"

The policy of closing orphanages still grates with him. For a three-year period he had overseen operation of the home and conducted fund raising. "It was the joy of my life," he said. He takes pride that, on his limited income, he was able to put two of the kids through college; one is a real estate salesman and the other, who is blind, specializes in business management. The blind student is also an English conversation teacher who speaks with an American accent, and who started the Cambodian Blind Students Association.

The cover of True Moon, David's morality tale for children at his Cambodian orphanage.

A child's morality tale

In Chacala, David shared his story about his book True Moon. It's a children's tale about the moon coming to terms with the reality that it is not the only light in the sky. The cover illustration, shown here, is based on a night photo of The Cambodian Children's House of Peace with a bicycle in the foreground and  a tiny crescent moon, with two tiny planets for eyes, seeming to smile down from the heavens. Proceeds from sales of the book, which is available through Amazon, supported the Children's House.

David with futbols & kazoos

A story like that begs for another, so I shared with David my adventures that began four years ago when I was training to climb Mount Adams and learned about this marvelous creation -- a soccer ball that never goes flat. It didn't take him long to realize he wanted to take some to Cambodia. In late July, after returning home from Malawi, I caught up with David in Centralia, Washington, while he was enroute from Mexico back to Cambodia. At that time I handed over 7 balls to take back with him, along with a whole bunch of kazoos.

I am the man who introduced Kazoos to Vietnam (or at least, Hanoi) and Malawi (or at least, its capital city, Lilongwe!), and now maybe I'm responsible for them reaching Cambodia. It's been fun watching people blow into them fruitlessly, until I showed them how to get sound out of a kazoo!

Our meeting in July was an opportunity for me to learn a little bit more about this impressive retiree. David attended Fordham, a private research university in New York City, and the oldest Catholic university in the Northeast. His career took him along a circuitous path that included being a juvenile justice consultant and an instructor in sexual harassment and diversity  for the U.S. Energy Department and Hanford Environmental Health employees at Hanford Nuclear Reservation. He also taught diversity and sexual harassment avoidance for Washington State University employees. At age 62, he served in the Peace Corps on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.

David will remain in Cambodia until the holidays. He has promised to send photos and anecdotes as he distributes the balls. I look forward to sharing the news from the newest member of team Wilson.

Futbol supply nearly exhausted

Oh, by the way, this transfer virtually exhausts my supply of One World Futbols. As many of you know, I never ask for donations. But if you have a hankerin' to donate, the process is explained  in the upper right corner of this page, and I just had my 73rd birthday.

Next blog: Another profile of someone I've met along the way.

Love,
Robert

and Shu