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FIFA World Cup Qualifiers / Éliminatoires de la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA
Craig Forrest
Frank Yallop
Mark Watson
Randy Samuel
Mike Sweeney
Colin Miller
Dale Mitchell
Lyndon Hooper
Carl Valentine
John Catliff
Alex Bunbury
Chinese Destroyer PLAN "Xi An" prepares leaving Kiel Canal at Brunsbuettel after attending the annual Russian "Navy Days" at St. Petersburg.
*A Joyful Visit with the Grannies*
*and Children in Xi'an*
by Rita Taddonio, Director of Spence-Chapin's Adoption Resource Center
For the past five years, Spence-Chapin has been sponsoring a granny program
at the Child Welfare Institute in Xi'an, China. I have visited four times to
offer trainings to the grannies that would enable them to help with the
children's development. This summer I returned with Susan Campbell, an
occupational therapist and Joan Radigan, a special educator. I was extremely
excited because one of our goals was to support an additional granny program
for children between the ages of three and five.
It was a joy to return to Xi'an and see the children sitting on their
grannies laps to hear a story read or grabbing their grannies' hand to pull
them to see the new toys we brought. The obvious signs of attachment the
children have with the grannies and the sense of comfort they derive from
their presence makes me aware of the meaning and power of this program. It
is particularly moving because I am conscious that most of these children
will remain at the orphanage and so having an adult who lights up when they
come into the room or is completely interested in their painting is most
important.
The success of the first granny program for infants to age three is the
reason we were determined to extend the granny program to cover children who
are between the ages of three to five. Continuity in care and attention is
so important that it was clearly the right thing to do. We found children we
recognized as having been in our Birth to Three Program now happily playing
with grannies hired for the new program.
Our visit in July 2006 lasted two weeks. The first week we spent training
the grannies and staff in the Birth to Three Program. Eleven out of fifteen
grannies were new to the program so we reviewed basic developmental stages,
how to encourage age appropriate skills and basics about how attachment
forms
The second week we focused on training the grannies and staff who work with
the three to five year olds. Again, we reviewed basic child development, how
to encourage creative play, interaction between the children, language and
other age appropriate skills. Every time we passed the children's room, they
started clapping and waving because the activities we did with them were so
much fun.
When we asked the grannies to evaluate the training, their responses were
very positive. One granny said, "I am so happy that I know how to help my
baby. Before all I could do was hold her because I thought she could not
move on her own but now I am able to get her to crawl to me." The grannies
were particularly interested in how to stimulate infants and how to help
special needs children.
I had the opportunity to meet with government officials, notably the head of
Child Welfare for Shaanxi Province. He was very impressed with our program
and asked that Spence-Chapin consider opening more granny programs in his
province. When I asked how many he thought were needed he said he thought
every orphanage in his province should have a program such as ours. That was
quite a compliment and offer of support especially since it came from a
government official. He suggested that I visit a more remote orphanage to
see the kind of need he was describing. So I took myself to AnKam— a days
train ride followed by a long car ride—to see the orphanage.
I found AnKam to be a fairly typical rural orphanage, situated in a new
building which provides light and space for the children. However, there
were only two caretakers for 38 children and no developmental toys or
activities in their daily routine. A perfect place for us to consider
establishing a granny program..
Returning every year to China to support and train and grow the Granny
Program has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. A
personal thank you to everyone who has enabled Spence Chapin to make such a
profound difference in the lives of children.
*A Joyful Visit with the Grannies*
*and Children in Xi'an*
by Rita Taddonio, Director of Spence-Chapin's Adoption Resource Center
For the past five years, Spence-Chapin has been sponsoring a granny program
at the Child Welfare Institute in Xi'an, China. I have visited four times to
offer trainings to the grannies that would enable them to help with the
children's development. This summer I returned with Susan Campbell, an
occupational therapist and Joan Radigan, a special educator. I was extremely
excited because one of our goals was to support an additional granny program
for children between the ages of three and five.
It was a joy to return to Xi'an and see the children sitting on their
grannies laps to hear a story read or grabbing their grannies' hand to pull
them to see the new toys we brought. The obvious signs of attachment the
children have with the grannies and the sense of comfort they derive from
their presence makes me aware of the meaning and power of this program. It
is particularly moving because I am conscious that most of these children
will remain at the orphanage and so having an adult who lights up when they
come into the room or is completely interested in their painting is most
important.
The success of the first granny program for infants to age three is the
reason we were determined to extend the granny program to cover children who
are between the ages of three to five. Continuity in care and attention is
so important that it was clearly the right thing to do. We found children we
recognized as having been in our Birth to Three Program now happily playing
with grannies hired for the new program.
Our visit in July 2006 lasted two weeks. The first week we spent training
the grannies and staff in the Birth to Three Program. Eleven out of fifteen
grannies were new to the program so we reviewed basic developmental stages,
how to encourage age appropriate skills and basics about how attachment
forms
The second week we focused on training the grannies and staff who work with
the three to five year olds. Again, we reviewed basic child development, how
to encourage creative play, interaction between the children, language and
other age appropriate skills. Every time we passed the children's room, they
started clapping and waving because the activities we did with them were so
much fun.
When we asked the grannies to evaluate the training, their responses were
very positive. One granny said, "I am so happy that I know how to help my
baby. Before all I could do was hold her because I thought she could not
move on her own but now I am able to get her to crawl to me." The grannies
were particularly interested in how to stimulate infants and how to help
special needs children.
I had the opportunity to meet with government officials, notably the head of
Child Welfare for Shaanxi Province. He was very impressed with our program
and asked that Spence-Chapin consider opening more granny programs in his
province. When I asked how many he thought were needed he said he thought
every orphanage in his province should have a program such as ours. That was
quite a compliment and offer of support especially since it came from a
government official. He suggested that I visit a more remote orphanage to
see the kind of need he was describing. So I took myself to AnKam— a days
train ride followed by a long car ride—to see the orphanage.
I found AnKam to be a fairly typical rural orphanage, situated in a new
building which provides light and space for the children. However, there
were only two caretakers for 38 children and no developmental toys or
activities in their daily routine. A perfect place for us to consider
establishing a granny program..
Returning every year to China to support and train and grow the Granny
Program has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. A
personal thank you to everyone who has enabled Spence Chapin to make such a
profound difference in the lives of children.
Xi Jinping has been serving as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2012, and President of the People's Republic of China since 2013.
This caricature of Xi Jinping was adapted from a Creative Commons licensed photo from Wikimedia.
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Dale Farm Milk Cup
Canada M20 v Mexico
28 July 2014, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland
©CanadaSoccer
Canada's Men's U-20 team starting XI
Sebastian Cabrera, Louis Béland-Goyette, Hanson Boakai, Kianz Froese, Cedric Saint-Cyr
Dylan Carreiro, Alex Comsia, Calum Ferguson, Luca Gasparotto, Quinton Duncan, Nolan Wirth
Xi Jinping has been serving as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2012, and President of the People's Republic of China since 2013.
This caricature of Xi Jinping was adapted from a Creative Commons licensed photo from the President of Russia via Wikimedia.
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