In the Mood for Movember

Ready to pony up some ’stache cash? Today marks the first day of Movember, the annual worldwide fundraiser for prostate cancer that sees men of all shapes and sizes growing hairy lips of all shapes and sizes. Some of it may be visually unsettling, but it’s all for a good cause.

Last year I had the pleasure of cheering on several Mo’ Bros and their crumb-catcher campaigns for charity. This year I can’t wait to find out which of my male pals, colleagues, neighbours and family members are preparing to sport a ’stache for cancer research. (Tallying the facial growths of total strangers can also be an interesting pastime. Last November my daughter and I spotted a most bushy and disturbing mo’ on a fellow transit rider, and immediately turned to each other with the same unspoken question: Is it for Movember, or is he always this creepy looking?) You go, guys. Way to keep us guessing.

In the spirit of solidarity, I’ve created my own fashionable fuzzy. It’s official… I’m a Mo’ Sista!

Saga for the Stomach

I love food and many pursuits related to it. I love eating food, smelling food, choosing food, admiring food, reading about food and thinking about food. (Ironically, I hate putting away groceries. Pulling them out of the pantry is so much more fun.)

I am also one of the lucky people on this planet who can count on regular, well-balanced meals. A billion other people in the world go through the day hungry.

When you combine kindness with calories, you get this guy: Narayanan Krishnan, who has devoted his life to caring for the starving street people in his community of Madurai, India. And he can make a mean rice and dahl.

Narayanan gave up an overseas job as a star chef more than nine years ago, when he was just 21, and has been feeding hungry people ever since – almost two million meals to date, nourishing over 400 individuals.

His charity, Akshaya Trust, was given a huge boost last year after CNN named Narayanan as one of its top-ten heroes, and he’s now constructing a residence and treatment centre for the community’s homeless. “I want to save my people. That is the purpose of my life,” he writes on the charity’s website.

This seems to be the week for writing about international initiatives. But when these videos are so touching, you can’t help but want to spread the word. Check out Narayanan Krishnan’s online story (and watch him chop vegetables like a maniac) here. Mmm… is it politically incorrect to want to sample some of that simmering stew before he gives it all away to the needy?

Narayanan Krishnan achieves inner happiness by cooking hot meals for the hungry. It’s just like meditation, but tastier.

They’re Finally Seeing the Light

And now from the department of absolute ingenuity: Empty plastic one-litre bottles are literally lighting up households across the Philippines.

Several million families in the Philippines don’t have access to electricity, says the MyShelter Foundation, a group that is spearheading the initiative. Even in the middle of the day their homes are dark, meaning indoor activity is impossible – and the risk of tripping over stuff is significant. The bruised-shin-saving project is called Isang Litrong Liwanag, which in the Tagalog language means A Litre of Light.

One dwelling at a time, Isang Litrong Liwanag is brightening these households with solar bottle bulbs (a prize to anyone who can say that five times fast). It’s a nifty invention: Combine a plastic bottle with water, bleach and a small piece of metal roofing, stick it through a hole in the roof and seal it all together, and you can divert enough sunlight to rival the power of a medium-wattage light bulb. Check out this video as you hum the tune to “You Light Up My Life.”

This is not the first place in the world to use bottles as makeshift light bulbs, but this may be the first initiative to bring light to such a widespread number of homes. Feel like pitching in? You can certainly drop off your empties at a bottle depot set up for this purpose. But for those who don’t happen to live near Quezon City in the Philippines, the organization also accepts money donations by PayPal.

P.S. If you’re passing a newsstand in a Canadian city in the near future, pick up a November issue of Canadian Family magazine. It includes my how-to article on teaching generosity to children. And a little plug for this blog, naturally.

Bad Manners Blow

You might not be able to avoid coughing and sneezing, but you can have some say in where the germs land. We’ve been hearing for a while now how important it is to aim for our sleeves or a tissue, not our hands or – mercy me – the air around us. It’s all about being considerate of other people… or so we thought.

Well, a new survey shows that those who do put a bit of common cold courtesy into place are actually less likely to get sick themselves. Talk about what goes around, comes around. The Hygiene Council found that people who wash their hands frequently, take care where they’re coughing and sneezing, and stay home from work when they’re contagious are actually healthier than those who don’t mind their manners.

And now for a few fun facts about Canadians, gleaned from the same survey: Women are more likely than men to practise regular handwashing (yay for me), and people with neurotic behaviours have better hygiene habits (yay for me). Plus the older and richer you are, the more likely you are to have good personal hygiene (no comment).

Whatever your regime, here’s wishing you a weekend free of illness. Go forth and lather.

You know the drill: "Catch it, bin it, kill it."

Here’s to Cyber Sunshine

There’s really no such thing as too many fuzzy duckling photos, is there? On a fairly regular basis, I open my in-box to find surprise gifts. There are the jokes, the cartoons, the funny captions and bumper stickers. And plenty of baby animal photos.

Each one represents a friend who sincerely meant to send me a lift, improve my morning, make me smile. I think these can all be counted as acts of kindness, don’t you?

Of course I’m also forced to sift through the warnings my colleagues send me about found rat tails in fried-chicken containers. Then there are the chain letters promising a year of misfortune if you don’t forward them instantly to all your acquaintances, not to mention the stories claiming little Katie will be cured of cancer if only she gets enough postcards.

Sometimes my friends send me brief supportive notes in their own words: “How are you?” “Are you hanging in there?” “Just checking in!” “Want to have cocktails?” and so on. But I believe that even when all the email says is “What if the hokey pokey IS what it’s all about?”, or “Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?”, it’s still a moment of connection… of knowing you have allies out there who want to share a few moments of lightness and fun.

Speaking of happy faces and unexpected surprises, look who smiled back while I was making breakfast on Sunday morning…

They must have thought (erroneously so, as it turned out for them) that they were about to have an egg-cellent day.