Tag Archives: Clean Water For All Campaign

Day 324

Success is relative – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 8: 34 PM on day 324 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a banana for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – uncle Gopan – a comunity member of ours who I recognize if I meet him in person – made a donation – peel and feed myself naarjies – [plural of naarjie] a n orange like fruit that is unique to South Africa– for lunch, watch TV, feed myself rice and curry for dinner and brushh my teeth once more.

Yesterday while my mom and I were talking I suggested to her that she keep my brother at home from school for one more day just to be cautious – he had just returned home from a four day hospital stint on Monday – and she just came at me saying let him go what will I do if all my children end up like you in that moment it occurred to me that I wasn’t nor would I ever be successful in my mother’s eyes and strangely enough I was fine with that because regardless of what I go through every day I make it a point to put a smile on my face and be of service to others and that in my book makes me a success. Do you consider someone to be unsuccessful because they don’t fit into the box that you’ve created?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

If you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://bit.ly/hC7vOu

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 323

Leave a reply

When I die, I want to be
A child in Heaven.
I want to be
A ten-year-old cherub.
I want to be
A hero in Heaven,
And a peacemaker,
Just like my goal on earth.
I will ask God if I can
Help the people in purgatory.
I will help them think,
About their life,
About their spirits,
About their future.
I will help them
Hear their own Heartsongs again,
So they can finally
See the face of God,
So soon.
When I die,
I want to be,
Just like I want to be
Here on earth.

– When I Die by Mattie Stepanek

It’s 8: 25 PM on day 323 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself banana for breakfast, continue reading Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer, hang out with my brother – he just came back home from a five day stay in the hospital yesterday so he didn’t go to school today – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – Stacey Herbert (@mylifestylemax) made a donation although that was before I tweeted about it so I doubt what I did really made a difference LOL 🙂 – watch TV, feed myself an avocado sandwich for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

Yesterday I was watching the forth-to-last episode of Oprah on which she remembered some of her all-time favourite guests one of whom happened to be then eleven-year-old Mattie Stepanek – Mattie, like his siblings, inherited a rare form of muscular dystrophy, dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy and was the only one of his mother’s children to live past the age of four but despite all of his challenges he wrote five books – all of which ended up at The New York Times bestsellers list – became a peace advocate and motivational speaker, and lobbied on Capitol Hill on behalf of peace, people with disabilities, and children with life-threatening conditions before he died in 2004 at the age of thirteen – what struck me about Mattie’s story was that he lived his life to the very last second and in so doing left a lasting legacy of love and peace on Earth which really made me think about my own legacy.What do you want to be?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 322

6 Replies

My path has not been determined. I shall have more experiences and pass many more milestones. – Agnetha Faltskog

It’s 8: 58 PM on day 322 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to feed myself an oranges for breakfast, brush my teeth, hang out with my brother and cheer him on as he blew up a balloon – he came back home after a five day hospital stay and the physiotherapist suggested he blew up balloons to increase his lung capacity –feed myself rice and curry for lunch, watch TV, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – feed myself an avocado sandwich for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

As you may or may not know today is the official first anniversary of this blog – I say official because I actually started this blog on July 11, 2010 but back I was interviewing women around the world to see what they’re lives which suffice to say didn’t work out – and in honour of that I would like to thank everyone for reading and share with you some of the comments – including those I’ve received via Facebook and Twitter – people have made about this blog over the past 365 days. Take a look:

The things you said that took my
breath away: Best comments of the past year

Laura stanford_84@hotmail.com

202.124.72.208

Submitted on 2010/08/25 at 8:40 pm Nisha, I am touched that I got a mention. I appreciate it more than you would know. Your influence on my life is unmeasurable. You have lifted my spirits today.I want to thankyou for being you, for thinking of others and for helping all those less fortunate through your wonderful Clean Water 4 All CampaignLaura xx

Wayne Mansfield

waynemansfield.com

wayne.mansfield@272mail.com

58.170.183.99

Submitted on 2010/09/14 at 11:26 am Nisha I am so proud of you… and I wish you every success on the journey to reclaim yourself.When the cards are dealt you didn’t get all the usual picture cards… that would be too easy wouldn’t it. You got the “hey world… look at me!! I wont lie down and be walked on.”I would like to add some $$$’s to your water project – please resend me the link so I can do that tonight.

Your Aussie friend

Wayne

Drew

andrewjbynum21@hotmail.com

74.242.187.94

Submitted on 2010/12/04 at 1:28 pm Nisha – you totally inspire even a handicapped guy like myself; know that you are loved for what you do, as well as your attitude – <3 -db

Miss Sara

randomlyspeakingpoeticallythinking.com/

misssld2u@gmail.com

68.58.72.13

Submitted on 2011/01/11 at 3:46 am Just WOW… Congrats on taking something that must have been so hurtful & turning it into a positive. I never struggled w/ allowing ppl to define me, it was always my past… the family that I came from, the abuse, chaos, traumas, etc.,etc., etc., I became ashamed and I learned last year (in therapy) that shame
was keeping me sick… so I have been stepping out in who I am TODAY &
being thankful, too. *Big Hugs* to you!!!

joyislife

joyislife.com

leticia@joyislife.com

98.19.88.73

Submitted on 2011/02/24 at 6:54 pm You have a very good question. Many of us are considered “normal”, yet what is normal… Though we may not have an outward or physical disability, we are all disabled in some way, for me it is “financial disability”. Yet, the experiences I have(past and present), motivate and inspire me to share with others faith and hope… You are an inspiration to me and many will benefit from your incredible perseverance , you have chosen wisely. Keep up the good works. Warmth & Joy, Leticia

Dawn twitter.com/morsemusings

sagepublishing@mac.com

173.29.230.53

Submitted on 2011/03/14 at 1:17 pm Truly a wonderful post Nisha.When we are surrounded by those who are anything less than caring it may very well cause us to feel uncared for, unwanted, and maybe even unloved at times. We have all experienced this at a time in our lives. Having esteem in ourselves can carry us through, so true.Given the same experience, I may ask to be taken home and not left in a car and hope that my needs, wants and desires will be respected

Patricia – Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker

patriciasingleton.blogspot.com

patricia-singleton@sbcglobal.net

64.149.19.220

Submitted on 2011/04/07 at 7:26 pm Nisha, you are a true inspiration. You show others what is possible. Often our attitude toward God and our own lives is the only thing that we can change. I have been to southern India 3 times and know how important clean water is. Thank you for the work that you do

A tweet sent to me by Tana Lopez (@woveneye3) on 2011/05/04 Reading this changed my whole day, my whole week, and perhaps even more. Wow, talk about inspirational!! nisha360.wordpress.com @Nisha360

Ellen – Love That Max

lovethatmax.com

lovethatmax@gmail.com

66.250.5.18

Submitted on 2011/05/11 at 5:55 pm SO glad to know you. You’ve already inspired me. I am so psyched you’re making good headway
with contributions to the water project.
Did I mention you rock?

An excerpt from a message that Galen Gregory sent me on 2011/05/12 via Facebook

Hi, Nisha, thanks for accepting my friend request. I am really enjoying your blog. When I first read your introduction, I have to say my heart soared. I’ve met so many young people who lead very self-centered lives and sometimes I get very pessimistic about the future because of that. So when I read your story, it really lifted my spirits to know that there are young people who want to help others and make a the world a better place.When you are stuck at home, perhaps you can think how you are making a difference in people’s lives in distant places…not only the people you will help with clean water, but the people who are inspired or given hope by your work. In that way, you’ve already made your mark in St.Louis, Missouri, USA. :>)

Yours truly,

Galen

Stan Faryna

stan.faryna@gmail.com

109.166.138.103

Submitted on 2011/05/28 at 7:27 pm Nisha Varghese,Your voice walks the earth. Your work touches the hearts of people in far away lands. You inspire others and in so doing, you heal broken people and a broken world. From a wheelchair.Those who pity you are in need of more healing than you. For they are blind.

Stan Faryna

28 May 2011

Bucharest, Romania

P.S. Print this comment and tape it to your bedroom door. So all who may come to look with pity upon you, have a chance to be healed themselves.

Shivya

theshootingstar.wordpress.com

shivyanath@gmail.com

59.94.128.27

Submitted on 2011/06/05 at 8:34 pm You’re my new hero, Nisha. Thanks for inspiring me and being the change you are.

An excerpt from a message that Bonnie Squi sent me on 2011/06/06 via Facebook

Hi Nisha

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but when i read your blogs they make me smile and laugh. Reason being is because of my rite arm being fracture twice and the bone thinning plus arthritis in it and it shakes all the time

.I have trouble opening things and our kids want to do it open what ever i’m trying to open. I look at them and say i’m not helpless. Just knowing i’m not the only one going threw things like this makes it so much easier to cope. Because others don’t understand what your going threw.

Have a wonderful day my friend

Bonnie

Shasta Kearns Mooreo utrageousfortune.net

skearns812@gmail.com 24.21.211.4

Submitted on 2011/06/23 at 7:39 pm Hey thanks forthe mention and thanks for allowing me to find your blog. I love it! Very nicely written. It gives me hope for how well-written my own son might be one day.Being a parent is immensely hard. You don’t ever get to “win” because what is a “successful” person? Defining success is very different now that I am faced with a son with a disability. Cut your mom some slack! Then remind her that love is the most important thing.Good luck with our campaign, too. I retweeted about it!

Betsy Cross
silentleaves.wordpress.com
ekcross10@yahoo.com
75.69.185.53

Submitted on 2011/07/31 at 7:15 pm

What fun! That you’re documenting your journey through the things most (if not all) of us take for granted.I can’t remember the person who posted this (Stan Frayna?), but the name of the blog cracks me up! “If God Is Watching I Plan on Being Entertaining”. That’s THE best! Good luck on your journey. I hope it has turned into a little bit of fun. Pain is the worst. Chronic pain worse than that! You made me smile. You have a fun spirit.

Betsy

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 321

3 Replies

The only way to know if you’re on the right track is to check your inventory once in a while – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 7: 54 PM on day 321 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to feed myself an oranges for breakfast, prepare and publish my Kid of the Week feature, brush my teeth, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – feed myself avocado and oranges for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

This morning I was in the bathroom doing what people usually do in the bathroom and suddenly it occurred to me that I wasn’t making progress with regards to becoming more independent so I decided to grade my own report card. Take a look:

Reflections of the past 321 days: Self-assessment

To push myself around on my wheelchair – needs more practise most of the time I’m too lazy so I ask my family to wheel me around

To get in and out of bed by myself – not yet attempted because my parents are always around and even if they weren’t I would be too afraid to try because I fall and break my bones

To go to the bathroom by myself– again not yet attempted because my parents are always around and even if they weren’t I would be too afraid to try because I fall and break my bones

To bathe myself – attempted/needs more practice – I tried two days ago when my mother was in the hospital with my brother but since I can’t bend my back because there’s a metal rod in it – I had Scoliosis – that proved to be difficult

To undress and redress myself – attempted/needs more practice – sometimes I can only get one hand out a sleeve other times it’s both and on a really good I can take my whole shirt off

To brush my teeth – partially achieved – I can brush my teeth just fine but I need someone to help me lean over the sick so that the toothpaste ends up in the sink and not all over my shirt

To sign my name on a document (I never write anything out I always use a computer/laptop) – achieved sort of/needs more practice – I signed for my debit card and it was accepted bt when I signed to renew my passport it was denied

To type with both hands – needs more practice – I have been typing with only my left hand so long that it’s hard to break

To eat and drink by myself – partially achieved/needs more practice – I can feed myself with a spoon and drink from a mug but feeding myself with a fork and knife and drinking from a glass (because it has no handle) is still difficult

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 320

Leave a reply

Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s 8: 07 PM on day 320 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself an egg sandwich for breakfast, go visit my brother in hospital – we spent a few hours there feeding him and keeping him comppany while my mother came home to rest during that time church folk came with toys and sang Jesus Loves Me which I thought scared rather than comforted him I think it really made him feel like there was something wrong with him – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck today but AquaTerra Fund – a focused carve out of the existing Agriculture, Water andNatural Resources portfolios originated from the the multi strategy Earth Wind & Fire Fund – made a donation yesterday – thanks Annic – one of the heads of the funds – feed myself rice and curry for dinner and watch TV.

As you may or may not know my brother has been in hospital since Thursday and although this has been the worst thing that has ever happened to me – including my back surgery – I have learned that charity begins at home – I cannot tell you how many times I have told my brother that I was too busy to play with him because I was trying to change the world only now I understand that I could have changed the world just by making him feel special which is why I will drop everything I’m doing – regardless of how important it is – when my brother comes home and asks to play with me. Do you waste bad times wallowing in self-pity or use them to become a better human being?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 319

Leave a reply

We are not human beings we are human becomings – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 8: 24 PM on day 319 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, clean myself – my mother wasn’t here so I had to do it myself which is a good thing I suppose 🙂 – feed myself Chapati for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck today but my cousin and her husband made a second combined dination of $200 yesterday although I wasn’t able to appreciate the gift fully at the time because I couldn’t stop thinking about my brother I miss the little guy hopefully God will take my good deeds into account and make him feel better soon 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch hang out with my mom– she came back home to change – feed myself oranges for dinner, brush my teeth once more, go with my father to drop my mother back off at the hospital and watch TV.

Today because my mother was in the hospital with my brother I had to do everything virtually by myself and I was struggling to put on my t-shirt I realized that it was okay that I could only get one sleeve of my shirt off because maybe tomorrow I could take them both off and eventually undress and redress myself and that I guess is my message to all of you accept yourself where you are and be grateful for all you can do. Are you stuck in the mud or constantly becoming more of who you are?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 318

Leave a reply

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. – Romans 12: 9

It’s 8: 04 PM on day 318 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, hang out with my mother – she didn’t go to work today because my brother was sick – feed myself Chapati and chicken curry for lunch, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – go visit my brother in hospital – he’d been wheezing the whole week and we finally took him to the hospital where the doctor decided to keep him until he’s chest clears truth-be-told I think he’s having a ball watching all this favorite TV shows with my mother to keep him company – watch TV and feed myself rice and curry for dinner.

A couple of days ago I read Slams against people with special needs…and one bit of awesome on Love That Max and I like Ellen – blogger at Love That Max – was furious with a commenter on News Aggregator who posted a picture of a little girl who has Down Syndrome with a caption underneath it that read I can count to potato although I didn’t know quite what to say to the media about how they portrayed “disabled” people until today HOW DARE YOU those of us have “disabilities” have to work twice as hard and twice as long to accomplish the simplest of tasks and quite frankly we don’t need to open magazines to find that everybody’s laughing at us and not with us furthermore if you are an editor of a magazine that allows tasteless comments to be published in your magazine I will come after you I maybe a small fish in a big pound but you will hear me when I roar. Do you hate what is evil but fail to do anything about it when you see it around you?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 317

Leave a reply

You’ve got to turn your passion into a business – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 9: 03 PM on day 317 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a hotdog for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – read Lessons in overcoming adversity from the poorest parts of the world on Love That Max – it was an honest look at the lives of women on this continant – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, watch TV, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck 🙁 –feed myself whole-grain bread and oranges for dinner, brush my teeth once more and compiled a post for Youth Voices – a group/website started by friends of mine that aims to connect youth who make a difference with youth who want to make a difference.

This morning I was thinking about all the stuff I thought about last night paying for my own medical aid, half the utilities and buying groceries all of which are things my parents can more than afford but as we’ve established in one of my previous post I am NOT the mooching type with that said I am going to buy my own domain name from WordPress and get some advertisers onboard defying everybody who thought that I would never amount to anything in my life although I know that what I’m doing is not really about them. Are you under the illusion that to be an armature is to love the game?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 316

Leave a reply

What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks; right in there somewhere. – Cobb (played by Leonardo Dicaprio in the movie Inception).

It’s 8: 09 PM on day 316 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, do research on YouTube Direct – a platform that allows bloggers to have user-generated content directly onto their blogs (see why below) – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, brush my teeth once more and watch TV – I feel somewhat under the weather I think I’m going to call it an early night.

Last night I was watching the evening news when Make every day a Mandela Day – the slogan of the Mandela Day initiative – appeared on the screen and in that moment a light bulb came on in my head and I decided that I would create a page on this blog called Every Day Hero where ordinary people like you can upload a video of yourself or someone else doing something that gives back to your town, your country or even the world with the intention of inspiring others to do the same. Do you believe that a single idea can give rise to a new world?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 315

Leave a reply

Children are the brightest treasures we bring forth into this world, but too large a percentage of the population continues to treat them as inconveniences and nuisances, when they’re not treating them as possessions or toys. –Charles De Lint, The Onion Girl

It’s 7: 29 PM on day 315 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself hotdog for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more–still no luck 🙁 – read Sablog: a “blog” by Sabrina, age 6 on Love That Max – a charming post about life through the eyes of a six-year-old –watch TV, feed myself sweet potato and plain yoghurt for dinner, brush my teeth once more and watch some more TV.

Yesterday my mom was talking to my brother about something and she said you must try to be perfect to which he responded we’re not made to be perfect otherwise what’s the point and in that moment I felt the truth of his statement because I had always believed that perfection was an illusion and that we should measure our worth not by the things we have but rather by the things we do. Has a child in your life ever said something that made you see God in them if only for a moment?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!