Philippines is yet another example of plenty more heartbreaking, life threatening, multi-million losses disasters resulting from mother nature’s bad behaviour.  There is no guarantee that mother nature will stop behaving badly anytime soon!

The Philippines’ aftermath leaves another devastating awakening. Not only for the immediate victims, but also to the rest of the earth’s population. It’s strickenly true that many lives have been taken away ruthlessly by this monstrosity, but let’s not forget the rescued living. These victims need urgent aid.

The Lingua Franca Foundation is sensitive towards human suffering and would like to help ease the pain even for a little while. However, without the support and compassion from others, the Foundation’s fundamentals are not strong enough to stand alone. Therefore, Lingua Franca Foundation (founded Kids4Kids Club) reaches out to those with a heart of gold to help them help those affected by the disaster.

Once again, the Foundation is proud to annouce that AirAsia Cargo is sponsoring this project to help ship the donation directly to the Philippino victims.

The Foundation is also proud to announce that  two local schools – De Drossaert and De Blinker – which are located in Geleen, the Netherlands have agreed to participate and collect all sorts of donation on behalf of the Foundation. The collection of the donation is station-based at both schools.

The Foundation welcomes all types of donation from cash to clothing, kitchen appliances to tables and chairs. As long as they’re still in good condition and usable, the Foundation is honoured to receive such generosity.

For those who prefer to donate money, please feel free to click here. Those who wish to donate things directly, please contact the Foundation via email. The donations should be brought directly to the Foundation which is stationed in Geleen.

Inspiration

`Who am I to be blind… pretending not to see their needs…´

`If you want to make the world a better place… take a look at yourself and then make a change.´

Bless his soul for having such a caring heart! Bless his heart for having such a sensitive spot! It’s not usually common to find a little person such as himself – carrying that sort of personality and charisma at that tender age. My son has something most adults are lacking of in this modern world. My son has empathy.

I have a strong admiration for such charisma and powerfully drawn to his compassion and kindness toward others. Looking through a child’s lense make me realise how they don’t differ much from us adults apart from our mindset. They might be smaller in size but their capability to feel and love are no different from any of us. It’s miraculously flabbergasting to see how a child thinks even beyond our limited boundaries – pass the wall of segregation and hate, pass the painted coloured skins, pass the diversity in languages. I am, in fact, infatuated by his sense of innocence – wanting to ‘fix’ things if he is given the opportunity – even by means of heavy duty work after a few brainstorming.

I want it done

His passion and dedication drive him to want to give and keep on giving. Knowing how the world is not as perfect as most people portray them to be, his mind has a plan of its own. For him, no is simply not the answer, nor maybe. ‘I want it, and I want it done’ is usually his motto whenever determination kicks in. Stubborn as he is impatient, he longs for speedy results – which his lack of sense of the true picture of reality – being the child as he is, tends to frustrates him sometimes. Having to reassure the little one that sometimes good things come to those who wait and hard work does pay off at the end, seems not to be penetrating much through his skull. He doesn’t want to understand that not everybody feels and thinks the way he does. Such petit personage full of perseverance, he urges and urges if I can lean a hand. Not wanting to disappoint the little fellow, I just follow his instinct instead.

Such powerful drive pushes him to start his first collection of donations to the orphans. I have been participating – by carrying all shipment back to Malaysia on my own – twice (once with my husband!) last year. Our partner Hotel Abadi, Melaka has kindly enough volunteered to distribute this handful of collections to the needy.

Keep on going

This year is a different story. Since this is an on-going project, the little one – with the help of his older sister – keeps piling more stuff.. more toys, more clothing, more enthusiasm..! He wants to send more.. and more to the orphans. “I want them to have what I have, mom…” It’s disgraceful to see how an innocent child is able to open his heart endlessly to share to other children whom he has never seen in his life across the globe, whilst grown ups such as ourselves refuse to even share a half piece of bread with a starving neighbour next door…

Accumulating more than 110kg in the garage and up in the attic, I feel I am rather stuck in the gut – how on earth will I ever bring them all to Malaysia? Having the same determination and enthusiasm as my son, I keep on looking for sponsorships. Somehow along the dotted line, my best friend Norashikin Afifuddin (also the owner of Hotel Abadi Melaka) connects me to a circle of people who, at the end, produce an enormous pleasing result!!

A miracle….

With great honour, I am so pleased to announce that AirAsia Cargo has spread its wings and heart to sponsoring the shipment back to Malaysia this year!! However, their generosity goes beyond that. Not only they are sponsoring the shipment to be sent directly to Malaysia, they also arrange transportation for the donations to be picked up personally from our doorsteps to Schiphol airport for screening and re-packing. All this free of charge!

I am still overwhelmed by their prompt reply! Amazing how amaranthine determination can bring you a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

The shipment of donation will be in Malaysia in time for Eidul Fitr 2011

THANK YOU kind individuals who participated in this Project. Without you, this project will not be a success!!!

Jan 2010 : The Lingua Franca Foundation is proud to present a special club….

by the children for the children

Founder : Zacharia                             co-Founder: Maryam

“we want to make the world a better place for little people like us.” 

This one’s for the children

During the seminar itself, some participants called the Safety Net Project an Eye-Opener !  We are very honored to be perceived as such !      

But what is it about ? 

Event before we created the Lingua Franca Foundation, we were worried about the fate of some Asian women we saw in dire strait around us, in the Netherland.  Some of them divorced in the most desperate – and more often then not – violent conditions.    We decided to react and to create a specific project to help these women : the Safety Net Project (more details about this project in these pages).      

 This project in multidimensional, we aim to contribute to :      

• prevention
• coaching, training & networking
• aid & empowerment
• information & training of the welcoming countries institutions
• partnership   

We went all the way to Malaysia and organize this seminar in order to reach two of these goals :      

• prevention : by giving the participants information about life in Europe and how to get married, to work or to set up a business there in the best possible conditions
• partnership : we wanted to meet NGO’s, local authorities and companies to agree on common resources and actions 

We coudn’t have done half of it without the patience and invaluable support of our local partner : Hotel Abadi Sdn Bhd (Hotel Abadi Melaka).  So we are deeply thankful to these wonderful people who helped to make this seminar a successful event !      

If you missed this seminar, here are the presentations we made that day :     

First, an introduction to the program of the day.      

Then, Suzi started the real presentation with a Prezi about the Lingua Franca Foundation and the Safety Net Project itself. (Cick on t the presentation).       

Safety Net Project Prezi

I, then, followed with a short (and boring, I warned you, people !) Prezi on Europe and its institutions…      

Europe Prezi

After that, I gave the floor back to Suzi who then presented the first part of this Powerpoint on Moving to Europe : she explained the European rules regarding marriage and relationship.  Everybody needed a pause after such an intense morning work  and we all enjoyed the delicious Malaysian cuisine served in the hotel restaurant before I presented the sequel of this combination of Mind mapping and PowerPoint about working and setting up a business in Europe.      

Frame Game : learning with fun 

After more than a half day of presentations, we all needed to move.   The (in)famous disease ALSS (After Lunch Sleeping Syndrom) was threatening everybody in the seminar room and we started the Frame Game : Let’s Net Together !      

This game is a personal adaptation of a Thiagi’s Frame Game.  We distributed 4 cards to the participants and asked them to write 4 items about the question : What can people expect from a project like Safety Net ?        

The goal was to collect the ideas of the group, to broaden our scope regarding the aims of the project and to validate our assumptions about the needs of people and the actions we started.        

We then collected all the cards.  We mixed them up and gave back two cards to each participant.        

They had to place their cards in order of preference.  If they didn’t like their cards, they could exchange them with the rest of the cards, which laid on a table.      

Then, the participants could exchange their remaining cards with another or several participants.  As much cards they wished, but one for one.        

We then asked them to read other people’s card and to gather with the ones who have the closest statements on their card to form several groups.  Three groups resulted of these exchanges, of very different sizes, between two and ten people !         

We, then, prompted the participants to determine the 3 favorite cards of each group.         

When this has been done, we proposed them to present their choice to the rest of the participants.  But… there were some rules they have to respect :         

• no words, no letters 
• No figures and as few symbols as possible 

• draw
• sing, but without lyrics
• mime
• imitate the noise of object 

After a few minutes of hesitations, all the groups endeavour their work with a great fun and a lot of creativity : we had drawings, mime, song (national anthems) and noise (a plane taking off and landing), etc.         

And we got the answers to our questions : yes, the Safety Net Project is an interesting one, it’s a eye-opener, it can give the right information, it can make life easier for people going abroad.     But it could also help student to move abroad, it could  make more taylored conferences and seminars for targeted audiences, it could give handouts at the end of the day, and so on…

 We

 We ended the day by thanking the participants for their pretty good job and with a warning : you thought you could get rid of us so easily, but actually we could be back at the end of the year, with a new conference…   

  Click to view slideshow.     

it’s time for us to reveal

 The Safety Net Project is a program associated between Lingua  Lingua Franca Foundation and Hotel Abadi Sdn Bhd (Hotel Abadi Melaka) to promote safe and harmonious ‘win-win’ international exchanges as well as diversity between nations. This project aims to deal with domestic violence against women from abroad and to help them to integrate in the welcoming country or to go back safely to their country of origin and to inform local authority, potential partners and contributors of the current situation and what plans for improvement. It is also a discussion platform for future collaboration from both sides to promote and maintain the durability of the project.

 “  Somebody you know may need these information badly. The speakers are people with first hand experience on the subject, and have worked with people with similar predicaments. The lesson from their experience is that some problems can be prevented, and it is best if you are prepared before making that big decision! Read the brochure to find out more! “

REGISTER NOW TO SECURE YOUR SEAT

Click here if you wish to pay with the credit card

To enable you to be from where you are  to where you want to be, you have move. Yes! Move. Move from one side to another, and one place to another. Just, literally…move.

Making contact is like building a bridge. It connects you from one end to the other. Once you cross the bridge, there is no turning back. Along the way, you will encounter little stops that either help you build a bigger picture of what you want to construct or just simply destroy what you hope to build. It’s as simple as that. If your journey helps you to build and contruct, then once you implement all the information, you are able to lay down some structure later. These structures will help you re-build your global-view plans so that you can narrow them down to more concrete measures and whence, you manage to see what you can and cannot accomplish.

Using this concept, I decided to extend the Foundation’s bridge to another continent; initiating new projects so that the Foundation can continue to pursue and develop its goals. Knowing I will find new territories, I packed my bags; along with the toys donated by the kids4kids club for the needy children, off I went to the country with the oldest rain forest in the world. The moment I touched down at the international airport, I realised that this country has a lot of potential. Upholding their slogan, Truly Asia; Malaysia is not only enriched with multinationals and culture, but also considered as one of the well-developed countries in the Asian continent.

During my stay in Kuala Lumpur, I have engaged with several types of crowd; from business to politics, and  journalists to hotel management. Between us, I could see that we have one thing in common: to make contact and to expand our bridges. We share the same vision: to expand our horizons and to globalize our mission. We want to reach out beyond our borders and we want (and hope) to do it together.

One of the main cores of the Foundation is education.  The Foundation wishes to establish an international learning network to connect and get the best out of both worlds. The Foundation strongly believes that education plays an enormous role in stripping the veil of ignorance and naivety, thus assist our evolving mind to be more responsible and productive. Connecting two worlds by creating a bridge and a platform would be a big project for the Foundation – such project can only be achievable through constant networking and getting international partners for full-time involvement.

Another project is to introduce one of our activities to the Asian audience – The Safety Net Project. This special project has been under experimental in the Netherlands since the middle of 2009 and we are hoping to launch it officially somewhere in Kuala Lumpur. The Foundation hopes that the meeting with a few relevant and motivated people will be fruitful and the project will be introduced to the public in the up coming months. The project is targeted mostly for women audience and how to exercise prevention and educating women their rights, responsibilities and capacity. The Foundation is promoting safe international exchanges between the West and East; and by trying to connect both worlds, women from all over are able to participate in a programme to learn to grow out of naivety and being motivated at the same time.  

Besides trying to make proper introduction about the Foundation’s activities, I have taken the opportunity to launch our first international exchange project. Kids4kids club (a club formed by the Foundation) has been active in collecting toys for the needy children since January 2010 and my journey to Malaysia has enable me to deliver the hard work the children have poured into to make this charity project a success. I have brought more than 20 kilos worth of toys to be distributed to several needy children from everywhere in West Malaysia.

Doing charity work is part of the Foundation’s establishment. I wish that this charity project will always exist and continue throughout the existance of Lingua Franca Foundation.

Lingua Franca Foundation also launches another workshop in Rotterdam for those who are interested in Mind Mapping on the 21 July 2010

Please read here for more information regarding this workshop

For immediate booking, please click here

ENTER THE WORLD OF CREATiViTY

 MIND MAPPING BASICS WORKSHOP

is now in Amsterdam on 20 July 2010

INTRIGUE ? Please read here for more info !

For immediate booking to secure your place, you can also click here

Yes, Mind Mapping can do that… and much more !

It all began at the end of the sixties, when a young student in psychology searched for more efficient ways to jot down notes and to prepare for the exams.  Later on, he designed educational programs for the BBC and wrote an encyclopedia on the brain, still using and promoting the amazing technique that helped him so much as a student : Mind Mapping !

His name is Tony Buzan.  Now, he is a star, one of the most fashionable speakers and consultants throughout the world.

And his tool, Mind Mapping, is spreading around the world and is used by students as well as doctors, bank moguls, Boeing engineers and many more…

For a very simple reason : IT WORKS !

Why Mind Mapping ?

Today, we want to share this fantastic technique with you and that’s why we are organizing a workshop called “Mind Mapping Basics” in two cities in the Netherlands : Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

But before, let me tell you a couple of things about mind mapping…

Firstly, it is a powerful technique because it calls on the two sides of our brain.  Most of the time we use the left side of the brain, the rational one, the one that loves figure and logic and straight lines so much.  That is also the side that schools are favoring.  And we forget that we also have a right brain, the one involved in creativity, colours, sounds, sensations, organic lines…

With its strong hierarchic structures, mind mapping appeals more to our left brain.  But its images, its spatial disposition and its colours are more appealing to our right brain.  That is the reconciliation of both that makes it so efficient.

Mind Mapping Workshop

How does it work ?

As Tony Buzan puts it, Mind Mapping is a radiant thought : it starts from the center of the page – and not from the superior left corner – and radiates towards the edges of the blank sheet.  At the center of the page, firstly put your central idea, but do it with a picture rather than with words : that will help you to be more creative !

It uses no sentences, but keywords written on organic branches and associated with images.  This association of images and keywords is a wonderful guide to understand and to remember everything…

The place of each item on the page also provides a spatial marker which helps to memorize concepts.

Each branch constitutes a secondary idea, related to the central one.  Each branch is organic, is a flux, going thinner as the flow goes on…

This gives mind mapping its powerful structure : you can see everything in one glance at the page.  Or you can examine every minute detail on each branch.  It is a unique way to get the analysis and the synthesis of any project at the same time on the same device !

Try to do this with something else !

A mind map of Marion Chéreaux

Our Workshops in the Netherlands

The Lingua Franca Foundation is a member of the Hub in Brussels and collaborates with the other Hubs throughout Europe and beyond.  That’s why we decided to organize several workshops in Belgium (in French) and in the Netherlands (in English).

Mind Mapping Basics ? What will we do in these workshops ?

This workshop is aimed to teach you the basic principles of mind mapping.  So, we’ll learn how to draw our first mind map.  We’ll see how to associate words and pictures, how to reconnect with our own creativity, to feel the pleasure to draw and to write on the same page, to find out what are our deepest feelings and our unconscious thoughts.

We’ll also practice efficient notes taking with mind mapping : the grey linear notes are over, up with the full colour mind maps !  You’ll find out a very powerful way to jot down short but precise and useful notes, using only keywords, branches and small sketches of your own…

You’ll summarize a short text, written or spoken and you’ll see that it is much simpler and accurate that way.  You’ll discover that each participant has his/her own way to read or listen, his/her own way to understand, to remember and to summarize.   This is also part of our human richness…

You’ll structure some documents too : generally we are not too good at planning documents’ structures.  We tend to jump on the writing without paying too much attention to the general frame of our papers…  and, of course, our texts lack  any structure…  Forget about this and start giving a sturdy and impressive backbone to your future papers !

And, last but not least, you’ll design yourself some time management tools.  You’ll see, once again with mind mapping, it is simple, easy and strikingly efficient !

Taking notes during a workshop in Paris

Practical information

Our workshops will take place at the Hub’s Summerschool :

• In Amsterdam : on the 20th of July from 9 am to 5 pm.
• In Rotterdam : on the 21th of July from 9 am to 5 pm.

Address Amsterdam :

The Hub Amsterdam Westerstraat 187 1015 MA Amsterdam

Address Rotterdam :

The Hub Rotterdam Heemraadsingel 219,3023 CD Rotterdam

Prices :

For Hub Members : 190 euros including VAT

For non Members : 232.50 euros including VAT

All the material are provided by the trainer

Booking :

For Amsterdam : just click here !

For Rotterdam : just click here !

Because of this great interest, the Foundation has created a club for kids – which one of the objectives is – to also initiate such project among children.  It is also another approach to reach out to all types of children despite their nationality, race and religion. What more of a better way than children reaching out to other children? They can learn to encourage and support each other – giving hand to-hand guidance – while having fun together and getting to know one another more thoroughly and put aside their differences to find a common ground between them so that they can live in a more harmonious way.

So, there it is! It’s now OFFICIAL ! The Stichting Lingua Franca Foundation is now a member and supporter of the Piccolingo Campaign. For your information, the Piccolingo Campaign is an initiative from the  European Union under Education and Culture DG.

Marco Bertolini, the co-Founder of Lingua Franca Foundation, has been appointed as a supporter  for the Piccolingo Campaign for Belgium from PICCOLINGO.