Operation Hope Options
What I love about Operation Hope, in addition to the good works they are doing in the Kuwait Community, dreaming big and making it happen – is that they offer a variety of ways for the public to support them.
If you can give hands-on help, they welcome you.
If you cannot – they welcome your donations!
Here is there most recent newsletter – please, if you can help this worthwhile effort, in whichever way you are most comfortable, please, help. You could have a lot of fun helping pack the winter clothes, or delivering the bags. Or you could have a lot of fun throwing some of your money at the problem.
OPERATION HOPE – KUWAIT
A Mission of Mercy
October 28, 2007
Greetings OH Family!
Exciting news ~ 1,200 winter bags were packed Friday afternoon. Thanks to numerous volunteers the colossal task of setting up, packing, and cleaning up was very quickly accomplished (with the bulk of our winter apparel packed in about an hour’s time!). Moms, dads, children of all ages, business exec’s, and even someone’s grandmother helped to make the miracle happen! My daughter says the pile of bags resembles Mount Everest. . . I think I agree with her!
Another 1,200 coats, thermal underclothing, hats, socks and gloves will need to be packed this Friday, November 2nd at 3:30 PM. This packing date will be a very special one because it is the OH – KUWAIT Student Day. All students (pre-k to university) are encouraged to participate. Kindly RSVP your confirmation to Ms. Kathleen on ophopevolunteer@yahoo.com at your earliest convenience. We’ll require a set-up team to help at 1:30 PM as well. The set-up group should be strong and team-oriented.
The cement foundation for our new headquarters was laid yesterday, and the tent ought to be erected by the weekend ~ God willing. Thanks again to Mr. Nasir for his generous donation!
Thanks also to Debbie B. for donating some of her handicrafts for OH to sell at the bazaars this fall/winter. We appreciate your support!
Deliveries to the poor will begin on Wednesday, October 31st. We’ll need six drivers with SUV’s to arrive at my home at 12:45 PM to load & deliver 324 winter bags in Jabriya. (Mubarak Hospital janitors/porters)
Our second group of volunteer drivers should arrive to my home at 5:45 PM on Wed., October 31st to load & deliver 250 winter bags in Khaldiya. We’ll need 4 SUV drivers at that time. (Kuwait University janitors/porters)
Our third group of volunteer drivers should arrive to my home at 9 PM on Wed. October 31st to load and deliver 128 winter bags in Jabriya. We’ll need 2 SUV drivers at that time. (Mubarak Hospital janitors/porters)
Our fourth delivery will take place at 5 AM on Thursday, November 1st. OH Administrator, Jaye Lynn; Student Ambassador, Emily; and I will make that delivery of 73 bags to Mubarak Hospital janitors & porters.
Kindly RSVP your committment to Ms. Kathleen on the address mentioned earlier for the day & time you can help us deliver. We’ll also need one or two OH photographers are on hand at each delivery, please.
Donations have been steadily coming in ~ glory to God! We still need an additional KD 250 to pay for the next 1,200 hats, socks and gloves that students will be packing this Friday. Your support is most appreciated.
Currently the outstanding balance for the 5,000 coats that were shipped in is KD 17,475.000. Please prayerfully consider hosting a fundraising event, or making a donation that we may continue to pay off these coats. For those who have hosted a fundraiser or given a donation I thank you so very much! The number does seem rather large BUT God’s provision is larger! Each update to follow this one will feature the total outstanding balance at the start so that you may be blessed to watch the sum fall!
Proceeds from Kuwait’s largest charity bazaar (December 8th @ the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Farwaniya) will be donated to OH – KUWAIT!! Please support this exciting one-day event by volunteering (and attending). We estimate we’ll need 40 – 50 volunteers. If you are interested in helping please contact Ms. Kathleen as soon as possible. This may be an ideal opportunity for Boy/Girl Scouts and National Honor Society members to fulfill their obligations to community service hours. Also, if you wish to participate as a vendor, please contact Bazaar Coordinator Karla K. at 626-6223.
Brothers and sisters there are so many opportunities to help ~ so many means in which to make a profound difference in someone’s life. Let us not allow a busy schedule or even a social stigma dictate to whom and how much compassion we extend. Jesus didn’t just help people. He inspired others to do so and encouraged helping behaviors. My prayer for each of us is that the Lord would prompt us to lend a helping hand to the needy and deepen our compassion amidst suffering.
God bless,
Sheryll Mairza
OPERATION HOPE – KUWAIT
Kuwait Protection
Kuwait is the only country I’ve lived in where people caught taking bribes or embezzling public funds get to keep their jobs. I understand in one ministry, a man is still in a job where he was convicted of embezzlement, and no one knows how much he has to pay back because they are still discovering all that he embezzled. He gets to keep his job?
This is from the Arab Times.
KUWAIT CITY: The Kandari tribe elders are planning to meet the Prime Minister to discuss the ‘sacking’ of the director of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Security Department, reports Al-Watan daily.
The elders considered the ‘discharge from duty’ as exaggerated punishment particularly since the ministry had earlier praised his efforts and promoted him to a higher rank just a few months ago.
Earlier it was reported two directors of security departments in the Mubarak Al-Kabir and Capital governorates were being investigated for their illegal activities. The daily also added some senior police officials, whose identities were not given, were involved in alcohol trafficking and gambling.
The daily went on to say one of the directors from the Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate was getting commission from an Asian man to run a gambling den and other illegal activities.
Interrogations revealed the director dispatched a police officer to a bank to change quarter dinar banknotes for KD 10 notes and a counter clerk at the bank branch said it was not the first time he had changed the quarter dinar notes for the officer. The quarter dinar notes were reportedly given to the officer as commission by the Asian.
In another incident a policeman was caught selling booze using police vehicle and when the uniformed man was arrested and reported to the director, the director is said to have overlooked the incident and refused to take action.
Moreover, it was also reported pressure had been applied on the arresting officer to withdraw his case.
It was also reported an Asian was caught selling alcohol and during interrogation he admitted to working for the director of the Capital governorate.
The man was reportedly deported from the country immediately which aroused suspicion. Sources say the man was deported because he was a key witness in the case.
Now this one is from The Kuwait Times
KUWAIT: MP Dr Faisal Al-Muslem recently urged the First Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense cum Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to order the formation of a special committee to investigate recent press stories concerning a Mangaf house that had been allegedly turned into a ‘night club’ for Americans where they had liquor and various illegal stuff. Informed sources noted that special body guards had been placed in the house’s surroundings to prevent any of the neighbors from approaching it.
This is a social disaster that needs immediate attention,” stressed Al-Muslem noting that such an act was a clear violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty, religious beliefs, and constitutional rights to have a peaceful and secure residence.
In view of the fact that no security forces had been able to interfere and stop such violations, Al-Muslem wondered about the identity of the apparently high-ranking security official who had been protecting the owners of the night club. Al-Muslem also urged the Minister of State for Housing Affairs Abdul Wahed Al-Awadhi to form a specialized team to check on whether the owner of the night club had any right to violate the rules of the Housing Public Authority.
Furthermore, Al-Muslem suggested providing all expatriates (both newcomers and those renewing residency visas) with special brochures clarifying Kuwaiti social and religious concepts and asking them to show full respect and observation to them.
it gave me a smile thinking special brochures are going to change behavior. Somehow, this “nightclub” is getting protection. And people caught delivering alcohol in their cars are receiving protection. As long as these practices, contrary to Kuwaiti social and religious concepts are protected, what is a special brochure going to change? Some of them will drink and (ahem) do other illegal activities because they can! Because someone is providing protection for these activities.
Fighting Men in Dresses
One of those strange items from The Arab Times.
Police have referred seven women who were involved in a fight on Al-Istiqlal Street to a police station, reports Al-Anba daily.
However, when the women were taken to a police station it was discovered four of them were men dressed in women’s clothes.
The daily did not give more details.
“The first rule of the fight club is don’t talk about the fight club.” He he he he he he he.
Breaking 90 in Kuwait
As I stood on my balcony this morning, drinking my coffee and relishing the sweet coolness of the morning, watching the string of fishing boats out on the horizon, I had one of those moments when you are happy and you know it (clap your hands!) (oops, there comes the pre-school teacher back to haunt me! My first job as a married lady.)
Checking WeatherUnderground for Kuwait I could see that it was a bare 64°F / 18°C, and that this coming Friday, the high temperature for the day will NOT be above 90°F/ 32°C.
You who don’t live here can’t imagine the difference it makes. Right now, you can spend evenings walking around, freely, it is like being let out of jail to have the crushing heat gone. And daily, it is getting easier to be outside for longer and longer periods of time. All kinds of migrating birds are coming back, it is a lovely time of the year in Kuwait.
The fishermen are making full use of the sweet weather:
More Mubarakiya Art
I think this is a total hoot! Along with the Pacific Coast scenery and fish, we have a Swiss Cow, with a bell, and Alpine scenery.
Here is one I love, a genuine Kuwaiti butcher – I love the glasses! Faces and hands are hard to do, and this artist caught his individuality. I wonder if he is still in one of the smaller meat market shops? Also note the bloodstains on the cutting table!
And here is a treasure, just outside the older section, near the date souk, badly damaged, and someone has strung a power cord across it, but one of the best pieces in the market. Love the colors, and look at the stone entry – the artist truly captured the feeling of stone. Look at the depths in the door and the window, the shadows and highlights. Look at the folds in the men’s thobes. This artist had some training.
Olive Oil Scandal Comment
This is a response to my recent post on The Olive Oil Scandal. I am so delighted when I get a thoughtful and enlightening response like this that I want to give it a separate entry so that it won’t be overlooked by all you bloggers with little time and short attention spans. 😉
It certainly is disgusting. One might note that, though, that none of the above named diluters of olive oil come from Spain, by far the largest producer and exporter of the product.
Currently, in fact, the Andalucian regional government (Andalucía, in which I am an olive grower, produces over 30% of the world’s olive oil) is currently funding a project intended to identify through mass spectometry analysis the molecular ‘signature’ of all the different regional denominations of extra virgin olive oil, enabling bottlers to include this information on barcode-like labels on every bottle marketed and against which the contents could be tested. The systematic adoption of this system, when it is completed, would go along way to protect consumers from the present situation, brought on partly through the fraudulent business practices of various Italian and American producers and sellers.
Also, considering that IOOC olive oil standards have no legal force in the United States, effectively permitting virgin or lampante oil to be sold as EVOO (but not diluted with other oils), the seemingly imminent adoption of international nomenclature by the USDA would be a very positive move. It can’t come soon enough.
Charles Butler’s website, The Olive Oil Gazette, is an absolutely fascinating resource, with all kinds of listings for Olive Oil sites and all kinds of olive oil information, including an article on October 21 about the proposal for the DNA “fingerprinting” of olive oil. Here is what it says about author Charles Butler McKay:
The Olive Oil Gazette is published in Cazorla, Jaén, Spain by Charles Butler Mackay, whose Spanish birth certificate states, correctly, that he was born in Toronto, Canada. Aside from editing this news source, he owns and oversees an olive plantation that has been in his family for a century and a half.
Thank you for your input!
Meanwhile, I don’t want to be sceptical. For a very good price, I found the below olive oil at the Sultan Center, and the lable says all the right things:
Cholesterol Free
Less than 1% acidity
Cold Pressed
It even has an expiration date
And it says it is a product of Syria. Because I am sceptical, I bought it because I thought it had a pretty label:
Fish Market Public Art
There are so many things I like about the Mubarakiya market. I believe it suffered enormous damage during the Iraqi invasion, and was substantially rebuilt. They did it nicely. The ceilings are high and spacious, and there are beautiful decorations in unlikely places. I found some Fish Market paintings I hadn’t photographed before.
One thing is kind of funny – wouldn’t you think in Kuwait you would have dhows or showies, the Arab Gulf fishing boats? To me, this looks like the Oregon Coast, with the big boulders and rocky coastline! I am thinking those look like Pacific Coast fish, and isn’t that a whale with the seagulls? Are there whales in the Gulf?
I couldn’t take this one without the two guys taking a break, so I just included them – they ARE part of the Mubarikiya scenery:
Mubarakiya Evening
The weather has definitely cooled. We grab out friends and head for one of our very favorite places, the Mubarakiya market downtown, one of the few places still in existence with a flavor of old Kuwait.
We’ve visited in recent months, but the heat defeated us. Last night, our closest 4,000 friends were down there with us, shopping in the markets, having a bite to eat in the outdoor restaurant area (you can only tell which restaurants are which by the different colors of the chairs and tables) relaxing, visiting, just enjoying a beautiful mild weekend evening.
And it was beautful. We have eaten there in the heat, with cooling fans to keep things bearable, we have eaten there in the cold of winter, with little stoves on the table to keep the tea hot and to warm our hands (a little) but this night was utterly perfect. Warm enough, cool enough, and fresh, well prepared local food – it was a perfect evening.
Some new Mubarakiya photos:
Accident Aftermath
This time the crunch was different. This time, the initial BLAM crunch was followed by a heart-sickening series of crunches. I was on the phone dialing 777 even before I got to the window.
They have lovely women working for emergency services now, women who can stay calm and switch languages easily. Just hearing her voice calms me down as I report the accident, tell them to send an ambulance. The upside down car door is flipping open, and people are running to help the victim out. It’s a woman, and she is beautiful. She is also bleeding, and once they get her out, she is very still, too still.
The traffic police call me back and I tell them where the accident is, but thank God the woman is still on the phone and when he doesn’t understand, she fills in efficiently and accurately.
It takes them 21 minutes to arrive. The traffic police send one car, and on a busy street, they all gather around the woman and stare. The MOI also send a car. Not one of these police set up any kind of traffic control, cars on both sides of the road are stopping, people come running, just to look.
The ambulances take 22 minutes. When they leave, there are no sirens. I don’t think she survived. The medics appeared knowledgeable and efficient.
It’s the aftermath that bothers me now. On the ground, they left all the medical waste.
The last thing the medic did as he got into the ambulance was to throw his bloodied gloves on the ground:
And then . . .the traffic cops left! There are two wrecks on one of the busiest thoroughfares in town, and no protection from the next speeding car! The wrecks are in the fast lane!
Don’t get me wrong. You know how I feel – police, ambulance medics, firemen – they are all heroes in my book. They risk their lives every day for the common good. The save lives, and they take pride in what they do.
They need a little training in accident management. When there is an accident, there needs to be a priority on getting there fast, and controlling the crowd, and routing traffic by efficiently. The medics need to pick up their waste.
There needs to be after-accident care, ensuring that someone stays until the wreckage is removed.
I had a house guest once who sat in my window and said “Oh my God. Oh my God! Oh! Oh! Oh!”
There are three separate u-turns we can see. Each one is another accident just waiting to happen. When the turn lanes back up, sometimes some people start honking, putting pressure on the lead person to make an unsafe turn. Please – resist the pressure. Take your time. Wait for a safe, truly safe interval.
Please, my friends, do one thing for me. Please, buckle your seat belts. And please, buckle up your children, put them in car-seats made to protect them, teach them from an early age to buckle-up, help it become so automatic they don’t even think about it.
Fintas Observatory
You know me, I’m a newspaper addict. Maybe even a news addict. I read many of the articles to the very end; I read some of the filler articles. Life is a mystery to me, in some of the exotic countries I live in (No, not exotic to YOU, but exotic to a little Alaska girl who finds herself in the fairy-tale lands of Arabia!).
So here is the real question. Every now and then, I find a reference to the Fintas Observatory.
I’ve looked on maps – no Observatory.
I’ve GoogleEarthed Fintas – some parts are still pretty vague, but I see nothing that looks like an Observatory.
The Kuwait sky is often murky with haze – the clear nights we are currently having are a fabulous rarity – but maybe they were more common in the past?
Do you know where the Fintas Observatory is? Do they allow visitors, or is it invitational only?
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