Pope Francis: 266th Leader of the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has a new and His name is Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he will be known henceforth as Pope Franci who is also the first Latin American and Jesuit Cardinal to become Pope. It took the 115 cardinal electors locked inside the ornate Sistine Chapel just a day and a half to send a cloud of white smoke up a chimney and into the air over St. Peter's Square, signaling the decisive vote -- at least 77 of them agreed that Bergoglio was the right man to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.

Thousands of the faithful and the curious huddled underneath umbrellas in a rain-drenched St. Peter's Square erupted in applause and cheers upon seeing the white plume drift over the Chapel.

L'Osservatore Romano, via Reuters

Pope Francis began his first full day in office on Thursday with private prayers at a Roman basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary.



The new Pope has revealed how he chose the name Francis as his official title, saying his choice was inspired by St Francis of Assisi and reflected his desire for the Catholic Church to be an institution “of the poor, for the poor.”

He has stunned Vatican officials in his first few days as Pope, declining the papal limousine in favour of minibuses, addressing cardinals as his “brothers” rather than “my lord cardinals” and paying his own bill at the clerical residence he stayed in before the conclave.

Earth Hour 2013 I Will If You Will...

Mark your calendars as the world will again voice out the need to stand against climate change. Earth Hour 2013 is slated for March 23 at 8:30 pm.

 Earth Hour began in 2007 as a single-city event. Today, it has become the largest recurring environmental mass-action, with 152 of the world’s 196 countries joining the global switch-off. Many of the nation’s most iconic landmarks are expected to dim their lights in the largest call for action on climate change. Cities from around the world, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, are expected to join in.

What we can do to help

We can help spread the word. You can drop by Earth Hour site to get the virtual lightswitch and share it in Facebook. We can also help spread the news in the office, neighborhood, and in the classrooms, everyone big or small can work hand in hand to promote this cause.

How Earth Hour is changing the world

WWF-Hong Kong has released the results of its recent Earth Hour 2012 Survey, which found that 2.8 million people in Hong Kong participated in the year’s “lights off” event.

Massive Earth Hour growth in Indonesia driven by social media. WWF Indonesia has embraced social media for this year's Earth Hour campaign, taking advantage of Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and YouTube to mobilize mass grassroots participation for “Ini Aksiku! Mana Aksimu?” - the localized version of the global “I Will If You Will” campaign.

His Excellency the President of Fiji, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, dared all Fijians to make a stand for the environment as he launched Earth Hour 2012 in the island nation.

In Singapore’s tropical climate, where being cool is more about physics than fashion, Earth Hour 2011 inspired some of the nation’s largest corporations to take action for the planet beyond the hour by making an ongoing commitment to cut their over reliance on air-conditioning.

In the city of Campo Grande, state capital of Mato Gross do Sul in Brazil, EarthHour 2011 was a celebration of inspiring environmental action beyond the hour with the city becoming the nation’s first to conduct a comprehensive analysis of its ecological footprint.

Here are some of the unforgettable pictures taken during Earth Hour 2012.

Brasilia, Brazil

Berlin, Germany

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Cancun, Mexico

Cebu Philippines

Shanghai, China

Istanbul, Turkey

London, England

President's House, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Sydney, Australia

Tauranga, New Zealand

Toronto, Canada

There are a lot more inspiring stories on their site, so make sure to pay them a visit! 

http://earthhour.org

Summer Activities For Kids

It’s almost time for Kenn’s most anticipated months March and April because it’s vacation time. There are a whole lot of things in store for him to do this summer and this includes (but is not limited to) a month of activity in Kumon where I have enrolled him for Math activities for a month. I have heard so much about their after-school math and reading program, especially from my cousins who’ve had their kids try out for this type of schooling.

Kumon is a math and reading program intended to supplement rather than replace school lessons. Students do not work together as a class, but progress through the curriculum at their own pace, moving on to the next level when they have achieved mastery of the previous level. You can check out their site for fees and program.

Next in line for Kenn is the Mc Donald’s Kiddie Crew Workshop, last year’s class was a big success and he enjoyed every workshop day that he spent with his new friends. There was so much that he learned and he even got the award “Best in Dining Crew”. This is one week of fun filled games and activities for kids to learn more about how the food business works, pretty short but definitely worth it. You can check out the site for more information. Last year’s fee was 500PHP inclusive of a back pack, ID with lace, shirt, cap and activity tools.

So after the Kiddie Crew Workshop, I will let him choose what’s next for him. I have lined up several activities for him to choose from, like Taekwondo, Swimming and Basketball. We have people at the village offering those activities to kids 7 and up. What’s good about keeping kids up to their feet during summer is that it will train them to value time and not to be trained to slack off. I am not the kind of person who pushes what I want, I give options so that he may decide for himself, that way, he also discovers what he wants apart from what he likes. It is like training him to become a person who can weigh things from the smallest to the biggest.

Summer is a time for fun, and of course having said that, I will never hinder kenn from enjoying it, but this is also a time for him to check on things that he will learn from and things that he will only have time for. There is always a good way fo presenting things to a kid and I would say that these activities that I have lined up for him will enrich him and let him enjoy the rest of his summer.

Happy Summer to All!