Navigate the World of One Nurse At A Time

David Fox and Sue Averill just finished working on this little gem for One Nurse At A Time. It is an excellent video and it takes about 4 minutes of your time to watch. The video briefly describes what we do, how to use the website, what is on the website and some great educational tools at your disposal.





I hope you enjoy this little gem of a video! I did! Please pass on to others if you wish!


Navigate the World of One Nurse At A Time - Video




Cheers -

ONAAT

Barco's Nightingale Scholarship Winner

One of our Barco’s Nightingale Scholarship winners Anne Daly is leaving for Kenya to start her mission trip with the organization Prevention International No Cervical Cancer (PINCC.) PINCC is a nonprofit, volunteer medical service organization whose mission is to create sustainable programs that prevent cervical cancer by educating and treating women, training medical personnel and equipping facilities in developing countries. The organization works with local community personnel to provide and inexpensive way to screen for cervical cancer, some of the countries this organization works with are Latin America, Africa and India. 

Today cervical cancer kills around 300,000 women worldwide each year, even though it is completely preventable. The process is relatively easy, it is done by visual inspection of the cervix and the use of vinegar. The vinegar allows the medical personnel to see if any changes are present that should be evaluated further. PINCC was established in 2005, by Dr. Kay Taylor, a gynecologist who during a medical mission in Honduras witnessed more women dying from cervical cancer then in her entire career. From this, Dr. Taylor and her team visited three health clinic sites where there they began to train healthcare workers in screening and treatment.

From Anne:

I am about to go to Africa for the first time - Kenya - with an organization that I really enjoy working with. It is PINCC, or, Prevention International, No Cervical Cancer. This is a NGO based out of Oakland, CA and it works to establish screening for cervical cancer (still a big problem in developing countries) in local communities by using a one-step screening process. This is important because the pap testing that we are often used to requires a lot of infrastructure and coordination - that often is not possible in these countries. 

With these trips I have the privilege of getting to know a small part of the community into which we are welcomed - in a deeper way than I would by just being a tourist. I also get to teach and interact with local health professionals and I learn so much from them. More, I sometimes think, than they might learn from me!! Being of service - wherever it might be, in any agency, community, location anywhere in the world, is profoundly gratifying for me and I am honored and privileged to be able to do this with the help of organizations that support these causes. I also feel a little less "alone" when I know I am going with the support of others - and that is extremely gratifying."

Thanks Anne! We wish you a great trip and hope to hear of your mission trip when you return.

-ONAAT CREW

Are you happy?

Over the holidays, my mother and I were scrolling through Netflix one afternoon when the kids were fast asleep and we came upon a friendly picture.  We paused for a brief minute and then looked at each other and said "Yes, let's watch it!"  

The movie Happy is a 2011 feature documentary film directed, written and co-produced by Roko Belic. Roko is an American film director, producer, cinematographer and actor. He had a directorial debut with the movie Genghis Blues (1999). That movie was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature.  The title Happy pretty much sums up what the movie is about. The movie literally takes you into the lives and countries of about 14 different people. 

Why you ask am I blogging about this? Because it touches exactly what we do with our organization. It was amazing to see it, hear it, and watch how humanitarian volunteering can create happiness. Happiness is not just about volunteering, it's about several different aspects of life, and this documentary has tied up in a neat little bow for your viewing pleasure. The director Roko Belic was originally inspired to create this film after producer/director Tom Shadyac showed him an article in the New York Times entitled "A New Measure of Well Being From a Happy Little Kingdom".  According to this article, the United States is ranked the 23rd happiest country in the world. 

So, what makes a person happy? It was amazing to see and learn that a rickshaw driver in Kolkatta was happy running in the blistering heat, monsoon weather and living in a plastic shack. His happiest moments were coming home and seeing his son waiting for him and his son yelling out "Papa Papa!" Not only was he happy about his job, but he truly enjoyed his house, and his neighbors, they were a large family, caring for each other.  

The movie did break it down into research and statistical data of what and where happiness comes from - basically the happiness is about 50% genetic, our circumstances, such as our job, income, status, money and how healthy we are only makes up about 10%. Here's the interesting part--- 40% of happiness is based on intentional behavior...so the things we do to increase our level of happiness- this is where we have the most control over our OWN happiness!

To drill down further here some of the things you can do to improve your happiness :-)

1. Increase your physical activity - any kind of physical activity, change it up too, just don't go to the gym every day! 

2. Connections - family, friends, community - fascinating fact, a person who makes $150,000 a year isn't necessarily happier than someone who makes $40,000 a year. Interestingly, people who focus on making money or status are often more depressed and anxious. 

3. Appreciate all that you have - a great suggestion was to "Write down 5 things you are grateful for and do this every Sunday". Your happiness levels are bound to improve.

4. Compassion and Service to others - I love this!  People who focus and meditate on compassion have a higher level of happiness. The Dali Lama said "the true aim of cultivation of compassion is to develop the courage to think of others and do something for them". 

I loved this documentary, it touched something in me that I hope to keep my focus on this year. I loved it so much, I watched it twice! I hope you take the opportunity to watch it too. 

Compassion and happiness, 

-ONAAT CREW

http://www.thehappymovie.com/