Out of the Blue » Uncategorized

End of the Red Cross campaign

Kimina — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:00:17 +0000

It is with sadness that I report the closure of my “everyday hero” page through the Red Cross as they have closed their Pacific Tsunami appeal. I fell a long way short of my fundraising goal. Lessons learned: a. you really have to put HEAPS of time into something like this. It has given me a new respect for people who do raise thousands of dollars in their spare time for their favourite causes. b. Get onto lots of people’s lists. This I didn’t really manage to do, largely because I was a little shy asking people I know who have long lists and also because of a. (I didn’t put enough time in). Still, something is better than nothing and I haven’t given up … I will just be directing the money I raise from now on directly to charities in Samoa, rather than through the Red Cross. I’ll keep you updated. Finally, I want to send out a huge thank you to everyone who did support my goal and who either bought a copy of my book or donated directly. May all your dreams come true.

Back in Bangkok

Kimina — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:38:04 +0000

I’m back in Bangkok for a fellowship on journalism and trauma for journalists across Australia, as part of the Dart Centre for journalism and trauma. It starts tomorrow so I haven’t met the fellows yet but it feels timely what with Samoa, Philippines and Indonesian catastrophes. We’re missing at least one participant because he is now homeless, and many more are flying in direct from these zones. These disasters take years to recover from for those people living right in the thick of it. See this great story by Stephen Fitzpatrick on the PTSD impact of the earthquake in Padang on the people in Banda Aceh. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,26184866-25837,00.html
Another interesting piece is speculation from scientists (after previously denying it) that the recent earthquakes are linked: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26196445-5013404,00.html

Support people hurt by tsunami

Kimina — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:20:55 +0000

As I feared the number of people who were killed by yesterday’s tsunami is much greater than first reported. The scenes of the devastation to me suggest that thousands are likely dead. The survivors need everything from homes to new livelihoods. I will donate 100% of proceeds from the sales of my book to the Red Cross relief effort. Please support these people.

Survival and change

Kimina — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:12:41 +0000

A lot of people tell me my story is amazing because of what I went through and how I came out of it. But I reckon really all that happened to me was I went through massive change and survived it! All of us are doing that all the time, aren’t we, as we negotiate this spinning world?

So what are my top survival tips?

- trust your instincts. If they say climb the rock, climb the rock!

- listen! To your inner voice, and to the external guides (other people) out there.

- finally, remember the change isn’t personal. The universe (or whoever it is inflicting the change on you) isn’t out to get you; it’s just doing its thing, turning, adapting, making underwater mountains or whatever other seismic shift is necessary.

Happy changing!

Do I have all the information?

Kimina — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:44:56 +0000

When I get angry or frustrated about something or someone it is easy to forget that I almost always don’t have all the information … usually when I get the information later, I look back and realise the anger was misplaced.