Washington Informer

On Sunday, May 12, mothers will be celebrated for their hard work spent raising their children – and some who are not their own – as well as for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of their families. Motherhood is often considered a thankless job, but on Mother's Day, the cards and flowers, and kisses and hugs will contain heartfelt expressions of appreciation for what mothers have done for the ones they love.

Mother's Day is nearly a 100-year-old tradition in the U.S., and it is also celebrated in other parts of the world.

The concept of Mother's Day in the U.S. is said to have been initiated by the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe, who wanted mothers to come together to protest the killing of their sons who were engaged in the Civil War, and to call for peace.

Over the years, other women adopted Mother's Day-style celebrations, but it wasn't until 1914 when Woodrow Wilson signed into law the national observance, that the second Sunday in May was officially declared Mother's Day.

We want to take time to honor mothers and to express a special word of encouragement to those whose children were lost to senseless violence on our streets, in their schools and in their homes. Bringing a child into the world is most often a joyous occasion, but a mother's job of raising, caring and worrying about her children never ends -- it lasts a lifetime.

Like every U.S. holiday, the economic factors end up making them highly commercialized events. Mother's Day is one of those holidays that reap big bucks for retailers. Gifts are great and many mothers deserve the world if it could be given to them.

But what most mothers' want is quality time and words that simply say "Thank you for being my Mom." That means a whole lot.

Happy Mother's Day.

 

The nine-story Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh that housed nearly 3,000 garment workers collapsed last week making it the worst industrial accident to occur in the South Asian country ever. Over 500 workers are dead and the death toll continues to climb as rescuers work feverishly to aid the hundreds of injured and remove the bodies of others buried beneath the concrete rubbish.

There seems to be enough blame to go around in what has become the country's third garment district tragedy in the last six months. Just five months ago, 112 workers were killed in a garment factory fire. The incident led to more promises that improved safety standards would be followed or licenses would be pulled from factory owners who failed to comply.

Yet, in this most recent tragedy, there seems to be enough blame to go around to those who were clearly more concerned about financial gain over the loss of human capital. Fingers are being pointed at the building's owner and engineers who reportedly were aware of the dangerous structural conditions existing in the factory but failed to act. The mayor, who gave short shrift to the severity of the accident, was suspended while the government seeks to fend off accusations that its failure to enforce stricter safety standards played a part in the recent accident

None of the punitive actions, however, will replace the lives of mothers, fathers and possibly children who worked under these unsafe and onerous conditions just to eke out a living in a country where wages are the lowest in the world. And who's benefitting from their labor? Consumers in Europe and the U.S. who purchase clothing from retailers that produce their products in Bangladesh factories.

An article in The Guardian reported: "About 3.6 million people work in Bangladesh's garment industry, making it the world's second-largest clothing exporter after China. Some earn just $38 a month, conditions Pope Francis on Wednesday likened to slave labour."

This is yet another case that calls for greater action among U.S. workers to demand equitable pay and safety protections for all low-wage workers around the world. And, U.S. companies that manufacture products in Bangladesh, as well as other small countries, must stop giving lip service but push government to apply sanctions to those persons and countries that continue to exploit their workers.

 

BLESSED HEALTH

By Dr. Melody McCloud and Angela Ebron

Blessed Health offers African-American women the medical information and inspirational motivation they need to achieve total health -- a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Many Black women will go to church all day every Sunday but won't take one day out of the year to get a Pap test and mammogram done. Dr. Melody McCloud and Angela Ebron urge women not to wait until a health emergency happens before turning to their faith and their physicians. You can achieve optimal health by arming yourself with medical knowledge and a strong spiritual base. Research has proven that a well-nurtured spiritual self can help to replenish, rejuvenate, and safeguard your physical self.

FAITH, HEALTH, and HEALING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE

Edited by Stephanie Y. Mitchem, Emilie M. Townes

This book offers a better understanding of the varieties of religiously-based approaches to healing and alternative models of healing and health found in Black communities in the United States. Contributors address the communal aspects of faith and health and explore the contexts in which individuals make choices about their health, the roles that institutions play in shaping these decisions, and the practices individuals engage in seeking better health or coping with the health they have. By paying attention to the role of faith, spirit, and health, this book offers a fuller sense of the varieties of ways Black health and health care are perceived and addressed from an inter-religious perspective.

STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK PRAYER

By The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

In this remarkable book, striking photographs and powerful prayers drawn from the unparalleled collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture span the broad spectrum of black religious traditions during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. From the plaintive Yoruba prayer to "Look after us,/Look after our children" and the humble opening prayer of the Qur'ân to "Guide us on the right path" to W. E. B. Du Bois's prideful prayer to "Let [Thy children] grow in the capacity for worthy work...and may they in the end prove worthy of their great heritage," this extraordinary volume reflects the struggle, despair, determination, and triumph of the black experience through the ages. Drawing from faiths as diverse as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Vodou, the book also includes prayers from some of history's most powerful voices, among them Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

GIFTED HANDS

By Ben Carson

Ben Carson, M.D., works medical miracles. Today, he's one of the most celebrated neurosurgeons in the world. In Gifted Hands, he tells of his inspiring odyssey from his childhood in inner-city Detroit to his position as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital at age 33. Ben Carson is a role model for anyone who attempts the seemingly impossible as he takes you into the operating room where he has saved countless lives. Filled with fascinating case histories, this is the dramatic and intimate story of Ben Carson's struggle to beat the odds -- and of the faith and genius that make him one of the greatest life-givers of the century.

 

#1 Cause of Stress among Americans is Job Pressure, which is described as disharmony between co-workers, bosses, or work overload:

 

77 The percentage of people who regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress

50 The percentage of Americans who cited Irritability or anger among the psychological effects experienced as a result of stress

61 The percentage of college students who pray at least weekly; 28 the percent of college students who pray daily.

2 to 3 The number of additional years added to the lives of those who attend regular (at least weekly) religious services.

79 The percent of U.S. adults that believe spiritual faith can help the and others recover from illness, injury, or disease

 

Data provided by the 2012 American Psychological Association, American Institute of Stress Study

Dr. Clive O. Callender on Spiritual Health and Physical Well-Being

To me my whole life has been full of miracles because for example when I was 15 I contracted tuberculosis and I was in the hospital for 18 months. I had surgery and they took out half of my right lung. At that time tuberculosis was like the AIDS of today. There was no treatment for it so it was really not much hope for me living a longer life than maybe 2 to 5 years and so miraculously the consequence with medical developments and the surgery I had and God's blessing, here I am some 60 years later I'm still living and thriving. I did go to Africa as a missionary doctor in 1970 and 1971 so that my impossible dreams have all come true. So I can say that every aspect of my life has been impacted by my spirituality and my belief.

Everything I've done since I was 7 revolved around spirituality and becoming a physician and eventually, I became a medical missionary or surgeon. So there is nothing that I've done in my career -- and this year represents 50 years as a physician -- that was not impacted by my spirituality and my belief that Jesus Christ came to the world to save the world. Everything I do as a consequence with all the patients I see, with all of the surgeries I perform with everything, is impacted by that.

It's God who does the healing and I am his instrument and so I am a physician who assists in the healing process. So now I think one of the interesting experiences I've had along these lines didn't necessarily increase my spirituality, but did validate what I live for as a transplant surgeon. I do and did liver and kidney transplants and we had a patient about 25 or 30 years ago who had end-stage liver disease. This patient had such a severe hepatitis caused by a viral illness that we felt that he was incurable and so we thought about the consequence of a transplant. Unfortunately, the viral disease was so overwhelming and he was a religious person and so the officers of his church came and anointed him and laid hands on him and this is not an uncommon practice at Howard University but we decided that there was nothing else we could do for him.

Now you have to keep in mind this patient was on a respirator and a ventilator and we considered him almost brain dead and we believed that there wasn't anything else we could do. So what we did thereafter was to begin to decrease our treatment as we do with patients to allow them to die. As we withdrew our treatment, he kept getting better. Then within a week to 10 days he walked out of the hospital. It was a very exciting thing for me to run into him on the Metro and share the experience that God had saved him and blessed his life when we could do nothing for him.

One of the important things that I realized in my career is that I should not be proselytizing to my patients and so I have always respected whatever my patient's faith is. Whether or not they choose to have a Bible in the bed with them, I still pray for them. I don't necessarily pray with them unless they ask me to do so, but, it has been something that I have recognized is an important part of the health process. That's what my daily prayer sessions are about, what I should do next, how I should operate, if I'm operating in a difficult spot, I pray that God helps me and shows me the way.

I have always recognized that from Imhotep, the first physician, to all of the African antiquities and Egyptian's religion, spirituality all were a part of healing. It wasn't until the European advent that spirituality was actually taken out of the realm of healing, so it is appropriate, for example, that Howard University and the Hospital for the last 150 years to bring spirituality back through the recognition of holistic medicine. The body, mind, and spirit have to be together in order for you to be well.

There is no health without a union of the body, the mind, and the spirit. When I define health or wellness, I define it as an unobstructed journey to fulfill your life's goal. In order to achieve balance you have to have the body, mind and spirit must function together as one. I recognize that among physicians there are divisions – where medical doctors and physicians are called allopathic physicians, those who work with the natural elements are called naturopathic. In order to have the practice of holistic medicine we have to have all of those elements together.

I believe that there is a place for the natural and a place for the supernatural, as well as a place for what is garden-variety medicine. But life and death is in the hand of God and so I try to do my very best job. I wasn't always that wise -- my first 10 years I wasn't that smart and sometimes thought that I had the power. I learned that what I needed to do was my very best and that's what I teach all my students. After you've done the very best you can, put it in the hands of the Lord.

RICHMOND, Va. – The Washington Redskins, in partnership with Bon Secours Virginia Health System, the City of Richmond and the Virginia Governor’s Office, announced their 2013 training camp schedule, set to take place at the new world-class Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center from July 25 through Aug. 16 in Richmond, Va. The schedule features a total of 17 days of practice sessions that will be open to the public highlighted by Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, Aug. 3.

Admission is free for all fans. Two practice sessions are tentatively scheduled for each day of training camp. Practice times range between one-to-two hours. Following practice, Redskins players and coaches will be made available to sign autographs and take pictures with fans, schedules permitting.

“Fan interaction is a priority for our team and our new facility is built specifically with our fans in mind. We hope this historic move will set the standard of excellence for training camp experiences in all of professional sports,” Washington Redskins Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen said. “We are proud that Redskins training camp represents the single largest team sports event to take place within the Commonwealth of Virginia and we are excited to bring this unforgettable fan experience to Richmond.”

The new $10 million dollar state-of-the-art training center will feature two full-size natural grass fields, a natural grass drill field, spectator areas, locker rooms and a high-tech training room. The Bon Secours Virginia Health System will also ensure the facility serves as a valuable year-round resource for the community when camp is not in session. They will operate the facility as a full service sports medicine rehabilitation and men’s health center on the property throughout the year, in addition to offering men’s health, fitness and education programs. The facility will also be home to movin’ mania, Bon Secours’ healthy kids initiative.

The City of Richmond is developing field utilization plans to ensure the facility will also be available for a variety of sporting events and other activities throughout the year. The fields will be available for youth programming, tournaments and other uses that generate revenue and positive exposure for the City of Richmond when camp is not in session.

“We are honored to be the Official Training Camp Hospital Partner of the Washington Redskins and take great pride in this project; it will have such a significant impact on our city, both economically and from a health perspective,” said Peter Bernard, CEO of Bon Secours Virginia Health System. “In addition to promoting overall health and wellbeing, this new facility and partnership will allow us to further our long-established Healthy Communities initiative, which focuses on bringing health-care services and educational programs to Richmond’s underserved areas.”

Among the other noteworthy components of Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center will be a new City park with a multi-tier outdoor amphitheater and walking trails to enhance the benefits for residents, as well as camp attendees.

The City of Richmond will offer a variety of parking options for Redskins fans during training camp. With the exception of City Stadium, which will cost $7 and includes a shuttle, all parking facilities provided by the City will be $5. All fees are flat rates for the day (with no in-out service). Available parking lots provided by the City of Richmond will be announced closer to camp.

"As the official training camp home of the Washington Redskins, we are looking forward to an exciting training camp season at our new state-of-the-art facility," said Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "Our optimal location - within a day's drive of over half the United States' population - makes Richmond the destination of choice that will be hard to resist for Redskins fans and for NFL fans looking for a training camp experience nearby."

In addition to the opportunity to watch practice, the Redskins will offer special events, giveaways and other unique fan experience destinations. Fans can also enjoy various interactive tents and purchase their favorite Redskins merchandise at the Redskins Team Store tent. Located behind the Science Museum of Virginia and the Children’s Museum of Richmond, fans can also take advantage of special museum exhibits that will be featured during camp.

Prior to their arrival at training camp, Redskins fans are encouraged to fill out their free Training Camp Fan Invitation, which will be available on www.redskins.com/trainingcamp.

“Last year, fans around the state were thrilled with the announcement that not only would the Redskins expand their headquarters and training facility in Ashburn, Va., but that for the first time they will be holding summer training camp in our capital city. The new Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center will be great for the community and will make for a world-class training camp facility starting this July,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said. “The Redskins’ commitment to the community has been seen already in Richmond through the successful Play 60 Challenge and other service-oriented events led by players and staff. Data shows the team also supports 1,832 jobs in the Commonwealth, directly and indirectly, generating nearly $200 million in annual economic activity.”

Prior to the Redskins’ move to Richmond, the team hosted training camp at Redskins Park for 11 summers (2000, 2003-12). The move to Redskins Park in 2000 marked the first time the franchise opened the complex to visitors in team history. In the 11 years that the Redskins have trained at Redskins Park, the preseason camp has attracted an average of more than 100,000 fans per summer and has annually had Fan Appreciation Day attendance surpass 25,000-plus fans.

“We welcome football fans visiting Richmond to experience the only urban setting with Class IV rapids, the offerings at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, our award-winning Central Virginia craft breweries, shopping and festivals and more than 900 restaurants,” Gov. McDonnell said. “Richmond and the Redskins are a great match, and we welcome everyone this summer for what will be a great training camp and a great time in Virginia's capital city.”

For detailed information on Richmond sites, attractions, hotels and more, visit www.rvariverfront.com. For logos and photos of the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center, visit http://redsk.in/Zu9cu0. Media interested in attending training camp should apply for credentials online at www.redskins.com/credentials.

For more information on the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center or the Redskins training camp, please visit www.redskins.com/trainingcamp.

-REDSKINS-

2013 BON SECOURS WASHINGTON REDSKINS TRAINING CENTER FAN SCHEDULE

The practices sessions listed below are open to the public free of charge; practice dates are subject to change without notice. Practice times will be released closer to camp. Two practice sessions are tentatively scheduled for each day of training camp. For the latest training camp information, please visit www.redskins.com/trainingcamp.

***DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

PRACTICE SESSIONS CAN BE CANCELED WITHOUT NOTICE***

Thursday, July 25

Friday, July 26

Saturday July 27

Monday, July 29

Tuesday, July 30

Wednesday, July 31

Thursday, Aug. 1

Friday, Aug. 2

Saturday, Aug. 3 (Fan Appreciation Day – Noon)

Monday, Aug. 5

Tuesday, Aug. 6

Saturday, Aug. 10

Monday, Aug. 12

Tuesday, Aug. 13

Wednesday, Aug. 14

Thursday, Aug. 15

Friday, Aug. 16

* Fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on during practice, overlooking the practice fields. No bleachers are available on-site. Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center visitors can walk around designated areas outside the practice fields to watch their favorite players.

* For security purposes, all visitors and bags entering the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center grounds are subject to search by team security.

Philadelphia, PA. — AmeriHealth District of Columbia, a member of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies (ACFC), is now providing Medicaid managed care and services to Medicaid beneficiaries living in the District of Columbia. As of May 1, approximately 100,000 Medicaid beneficiaries living in the District have access to AmeriHealth District of Columbia's comprehensive suite of services, including covered physical health, behavioral health through the company's PerformCare business, pharmacy services through the company's PerformRx subsidiary, and dental and vision services designed to improve quality outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries.

"AmeriHealth District of Columbia is staffed by a local, deeply experienced team led by Karen Dale, who is a talented, proven executive.," said Michael A. Rashid, ACFC president and chief executive officer. "We are excited about the opportunity to combine their District-focused experience with our national expertise in Medicaid managed care, as we work with providers, community partners and the District to improve access to effective and compassionate care for underserved populations living in this vibrant community." "I'm thrilled that such a successful, well-managed and nationally known company will be managing health care for the city's most vulnerable residents," said William P. White, commissioner of the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. "It's been a long road to get here, and it's great to know it turned out so well and that our Medicaid recipients will be under such excellent care."

Art Feeds the Soul!

The Washington Informer Newspaper is truly a treasurer in our community, but when the paper publishes articles such as "Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor," by Michelle Phipps-Evans, April 25, 2013 edition, your paper lifts us to ever greater heights. I've seen the exhibit and it's marvelous.

Everyone should see it, especially our young people. Under the leadership of Dr. Johnnetta Cole, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art continues to bring us exciting, educational and cutting-edge exhibits from the continent of Africa. Somewhere, someone once said, "Art is nothing unless it's viewed." Continue to cover the arts because we need it – art makes a difference in our lives and certainly matters to us.

Malik M. Powell

Washington, D.C.

A Different Opinion

Your April 25, 2013 edition is full of very informative articles. But, I would have preferred to see as the front-page story either one of Gale Horton Gay's stories from the Prince George's County section, "Men Making a Difference in Prince George's County," or "Hyattsville School Choir Headed to South Africa."

To me those stories are much more important to the community than the D.C. Council election results. Don't get me wrong, I do understand your position as a city paper and your obligation to report the news. Unfortunately, I don't see the city council as being relevant anymore. The other two stories are positive and uplifting. Those articles provide a fine example of what hard work and a commitment to others can accomplish.

Reuben Jamerison

Washington, D.C.

Cecile Kyenge's appointment as Italy's first Black Cabinet minister has exposed the nation's ugly race problem, with one politician deriding what he called Italy's new "bonga bonga government," according to a report on Newsone.com.

The report goes on to state that on Wednesday, May 1, amid increasing revulsion over the reaction, the government authorized an investigation into neo-fascist websites whose members called Kyenge "Congolese monkey" and other epithets.

Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children. She was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections.

In addition to his "bonga bonga" slur, Mario Borghezio, a European parliamentarian for the League, warned in an interview with Radio 24 that Kyenge would try to "impose tribal traditions" from her native Congo on Italy.

Kyenge recently responded to the insults, thanking those who had come to her defense and taking a veiled jab at the vulgarity of her critics. "I believe even criticism can inform if it's done with respect," she tweeted.