I haven’t mentioned that I have signed up for Blog Action Day which will be on October 15th, 2008. The theme for this year’s conversation is “poverty”. Currently, some 4,309 sites have registered to participate, reaching out to some 8,986,766 readers worldwide.

Check out the promo video for this year’s Blog Action Day (it’s a must-see!):

As usual, the organizers have put together a list of general resources and some ideas to get you started and some badges, banners and graphics that you can put on your blog/site.

I have initially planned to organize a month-long blogging campaign on poverty leading to up Blog Action Day, but I was caught up with other commitments on Sept 15th. Plus, I forgot to make an announcement calling for bloggers to join me.

Anyway, I am still going ahead and doing it here, on Giving Hands. I will be writing 2 to 3 posts per week on poverty and if you are also doing it on your blog (you are most welcome to do it here if you wish), do drop me a link and I will publish a list that contains all your posts on October 15th :D

Together, we can make a difference.

Marcus Ho. Photo credit: The Star.

Four-year-old Marcus Ho was diagnosed with thalassaemia major when he was only five months old.

According to Wikipedia, thalassaemia is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disease. In thalassaemia, the genetic defect results in reduced rate of synthesis of one of the globin chains that make up hemoglobin. Reduced synthesis of one of the globin chains can cause the formation of abnormal haemoglobin molecules, and this in turn causes the anemia which is the characteristic presenting symptom of the thalassaemias.

Unfortunately, his sister, Angela, who was conceived with the hope of saving Marcus, was diagnosed with leukaemia – a blood disorder.

Blood disorder boy needs help

PETALING JAYA: Deteriorating eyesight and hearing, rashes and fatigue have failed to take away the smile from four-year-old Marcus Ho Yi Nian.

Diagnosed with thalassaemia major, a blood disorder, when he was five-months-old, Marcus has also been suffering from the effects of monthly blood transfusion and medication for the past two years.

While Marcus may be able to endure the pain of being pricked by a needle every day – part of a process to remove the excess iron from his body, time is certainly not on his side.

The excess iron in his body, a result of the frequent blood transfusion, has also started to take its toll on his heart, liver and endocrine glands, said Patricia Ong, a family friend and spokesman for the Ho family.

As such, his hope for a cure is a matching stem cell or bone marrow transplant.

Hopes for a matching stem cell transplant were dashed when the cord blood of his two-year-old sister Angela was found to be not a match.

Ironically, Angela, who was conceived with the hope of saving Marcus, was diagnosed with leukaemia – a blood disorder.

Ong said the devastated parents – father Ho Wan Ching and mother, Teng Mei Ling – sent Marcus to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan for a bone marrow transplant recently despite financial constraints.

The transplant on July 17 costs RM235,483. Marcus is to remain in Taiwan for another six months to recover if there is no rejection of the transplant.

The Ho family, from Masai, Johor, have raised RM54,300 from various organisations and individual donors so far, Ong said.

She said Ho earned RM2,000 a month from his small Chinese medicine business while Teng was a housewife.

Ong said those who wished to help Marcus could contact his grandaunt Agatha Soh at 012-7605986.

Meanwhile, Multicultural Ladies Association president Patricia Lum said she would appeal on behalf of the Ho family for financial help during the Fusion Excel International Sdn Bhd’s Achievers Recognition Dinner at SJK (C) Chee Wen, Persiaran Subang Mewah, USJ1, Subang, today.

Lum said an anonymous donor had pledged RM10,000 to kick-start the donation drive for Marcus at the dinner to be attended by about 2,000 people.

- Source: The Star, 2nd August 2008

So if you could spare some time to contact Agatha and then send her a cheque or something, that would be extremely nice :D

Trapped in desperate poverty as a result of the ongoing conflict that has rendered them homeless, the refugees in Darfur must depend completely on aid workers to assist with access to food, water, healthcare, education and employment.

And almost five years into the Darfur crisis, humanitarian aid workers face increasing challenges in carrying out their mission due to rebel raids on convoys and camps, and the fact that the people they serve are spread out over many miles.

Photo credit: Mercy Corps/Sudan.

Did you know that:

• more than 3 million people in Darfur rely on life-saving food aid every month?
• at least 2 million of those affected by the conflict are children?
• women and girls often must travel outside the camps up to five hours each day, often through violent territory, to collect water?

Since 2004, 12,000 humanitarian workers have been on the ground in Darfur. Global Impact member charities, including Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, American Jewish World Service, Mercy Corps and American Refugee Committee, continue to work to meet immediate needs, providing food, water, medicines and family shelters.

They also foster long-term independence and economic sustainability building latrines, clinics, schools, wells and other vital infrastructure.

Your gift of $100 can can provide 50 collapsible water containers for transporting and storing water, saving women and girls dangerous trips outside the refugee camps.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.