RED CROSS

Spanish Red Cross was founded in the XIX century to deal with the consequences of the war. Since then this humanitarian organization helps the most disadvantaged people.

The reason why I have chosen this NGO for my writing is that it is one of the largest and oldest in the world. Wherever it strikes a disaster, we can see in the news the quick reaction of the volunteers.

Moreover, not only do they work in emergencies or do they deal with the aftermath, but they also provide different services for millions of people. For instance, in Spain they are mainly committed to the families affected by the crisis, covering their basic necessities as well as offering to them projects to improve the possibilities of employment, and psychological help.

Apart from that, Red Cross carries on with the actions that it used to accomplish before the crisis, such as assistance to immigrants, women and children suffering hardship and abuse, disabled people, senior citizens, and all people living in difficulties of some kind.

Although I would like to contribute more directly with some charity, due to the lack of free time, I only can help with a little donation every month to Red Cross. Maybe in the future I could be more useful. 

http://www.cruzroja.es/portada/

MANDELA'S WAY

After reading this extraordinary book, I have acquired a better knowledge about Mandela´s strong personality as well as the events that have shaped him. It is not a cronological biography, but a portrait that has been made taking into consideration some important aspect of his life, each of them are developed along its fifteen chapters. The three chapters that I find more interesting are the numbers two, four and seven:

Chapter 2-  Be measured - According to Mandela, control is the measure of all human being. In fact, Mandela's measured responses to grave situations were a large part of the reason that South Africa did not plunge into civil war. Mandela strategy to fight was undermine his opponents through his style of play: he waited before making decisions; he considered all options; he formed an idea as complete as possible of the situation before taking action.So that, I see this point as the key part in Mandela's victory.

Chapter 4- Lead from the back- In the language of basketball we could translate as "pass to others and let them shoot". In other words, leading from the back means empowering others to lead, listening to them, summarising their ideas, achieving consensus, and seeking to mold opinions and steer people toward an action. This strategy shows how powerful Mandela's cleverness was.

Chapter 7- See the good in others - This aspect implies a great generosity. For Mandela "everyone is virtuous until proven otherwise". Seeing the good in other people improve the chances that they will reveal their better selves. Mandela always seeked the positive,  the constructive, "what he could take from him". Prison opened up Mandela's view of human nature rather than constricting it. He concluded that no one is born prejudiced or racist: apartheid made men evil; evil did not create apartheid.

       There are infinity of learnings that we can find in this book. To narrow them down, I will mention some of them that I have taken from the last part :"Mandela's give"

·It is possible after a great tragedy and almost fails then resurrecting and achieve harmony.

· It is through sacrifice and discipline that somebody will  reach important goals.

·Individuals are a part of an infinity complex web of other human beings.

We are the reason and we are the ones

 who made things happen.

SHADOWLANDS

Shadowlands is a touching film that little by little grasps spectators' feelings, in such a soft way that you will barely realize it until the end of the movie. Not only are pain and happiness mixed in an excellent manner, but also social prejudices are shown as they really appear in life.

Anthony Hopkin is superb in the role of C.S.Lewis. I find his character difficult enough to play because of the wide range of personality's features that he develops. First of all we find a self-assured and determined man, even rather arrogant but calm and rational. However, when he met Joy (played in a fantastic form by Debra Winger), he become a little bit insecure as well as timid, in front of this spontaneous and light-hearted woman. As the story turns up with an unexpected twist, the actor should change the register towards sensitivity, tenderness, passion and emotion.

The main idea suggested by the plot is: "how can we face the pain, especially when it is hitting us repeatedly?". The film propose two solutions in order to deal with it:

 In the first place, we can search the safety, for example fleeing from sorrow towards a magic world hidden at the background of a cupboard (as Lewis did in "Narnia books", maybe to heal his wounds after his mother's death).

In the second place, we can choose suffering, we can deal with grief through our best memories; in other words we should be aware of the harsh reality without forgetting that fate gave away us cheerful days, and there will surely be again.

That is the learning that this movie offers to us:

 "The pain now is part of the happiness then, that's the deal".