Circle Of Hope

Circle of Hope is the remarkable true story of one family that gathered around a dying child to save her from a medical death sentence. Originally published in 1981, the medical landscape has changed in the intervening years, but this story of hope and perseverance in the face of a medical death sentence endures. Jobi Halper was eight years old when she came home from school one autumn day with an aching knee. Three weeks later, a rare, lethal form of bone cancer was diagnosed, and Jobi’s leg was amputated. The Halpers were told that the chances were 99 to 1 that the cancer would kill the child they called “Sunshine.” They were advised to do nothing and above all to save themselves the agony of running fruitlessly for other advice. But the Halpers did everything the doctors told them not to do. The story Jobi’s mother tells of the year they spent fighting for their daughter’s life is filled with rage and joy. They researched new drugs and treatments, consulted countless doctors, and finally sent Jobi with her mother to an experimental cancer clinic in California where a unique combination of chemotherapy and caring defeated her disease. The Halpers’ agonizing ordeal and ultimate victory over death offers glowing proof that medical miracles do happen to those who seek them.

Young Facile wants to plant a tree in honor of his new baby sister, but he faces many obstacles. The first seed he plants is eaten by a goat, the second seed is washed away in a storm, and another seed is burnt by a scrub fire. Will Facile ever be able to plant a tree that will grow strong for baby Luca? In this story of determination, faith, and love, author Karen Lynn Williams introduces readers to the realities of rural life in the mountains of Haiti. Imbued with brilliant colors, expressive characters, and vivid landscapes, Linda Saport's illustrations capture the indomitable spirit of hope.

This book explores the nature, significance and consequences of the religious activism surrounding AIDS in Africa. While African religion was relatively marginal in inspiring or contributing to AIDS activism during the early days of the epidemic, this situation has changed dramatically. In order to account for these changes, contributors provide answers to pressing questions. How does the entrance of religion into public debates about AIDS affect policymaking and implementation, church-state relations, and religion itself? How do religious actors draw on and reconfigure forms of transnational connectivity? How do resource flows from development and humanitarian aid that religious actors may access then affect relationships of power and authority in African societies? How does religious mobilization on AIDS reflect contestation over identity, cultural membership, theology, political participation, and citizenship? Addressing these questions, the authors draw on social movement theories to explore the role of religious identities, action frames, political opportunity structures, and resource mobilization in African religions’ reaction to the AIDS epidemic. The book’s findings are rooted in fieldwork conducted in Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Mozambique, among a variety of religious organizations. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies.

"Marsha Gullo Frerichs (1954-2008) was a native of State College, Pennsylvania, who believed in living life to the fullest. This passion exhibited itself not only in her love for her family but also through her interactions with others and her love for poetry. She was inspired by Carol Welsh's doctoral dissertation "Writing in Colors" which served as the catalyst for the present book of poems in which she records her feelings as she travels the bumpy road of breast cancer treatments. Never one to feel sorry for herself, Marsha found solace in her writings and a joy in sharing with others The Power of Hope. Her dream, cut short by an aggressive cancer, was to use her writings as a comfort and inspiration to others"--Back cover.