Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

4 weeks ago

Rowe Morrow on Vaccination:

During my life, now approaching 80 years, and lived in so many poor and traditional communities, I have come in contact with plagues, and pandemics.

The first I remember in Australia, as a child in Perth WA. It was Christmas and Father Christmas came to the house to visit us and give us presents. I didn’t understand why we couldn't go to the department store, Foys, and see the big Xmas tree and Santa there. I remember being about five years old standing on the piano stool and seriously singing all the Christmas carols I knew because I thought that was the right thing to do.

A short time later I was in Ward 13 in Princess Margaret Children’s hospital with about 30 other children. I had osteomylitis and was probably going to have my leg amputated at the knee. The other children were mainly all in plaster casts from under their armpits to their knees, with a hole for urinating. They smelt awful. But I loved that ward and had my sixth birthday there as they treated me with the antibiotics which had been introduced in the war.

I remember my parents in great anxiety interrogating the doctors about this medicine which had only been used on soldiers. They trusted the doctors and science and my leg was saved.
The other children who had poliomyelitis never walked. Their legs shrivelled away. Many went to the Spastic Centre. The young girl in the bed next to me died.

AND THEN…. the polio vaccine.

Suddenly children were whole again. Parents didn’t live in the shadow of their children catching it. Later in India, Pakistan and countries where children were not vaccinated I saw little ones in the streets being used to garner sympathy and money - flat on boards with wheels, in chairs, on sticks, wizened legs and begging. The polio vaccine would have given them full lives.

I understood what a blessing modern medicine was.

Before I went overseas I had the mandatory smallpox vaccine. And then in Kashmir, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan I saw them … the young healthy men who were the main victims of this terrible disease - their skin warty, pockmarked, and forever stamped. Millions had died of this. Again the poor.

Let’s move on a few decades … Malawi. We are in a permaculture course in town. I’m aware every two hours or so, a group of people pass the window singing. I ask “what’s happening?” I’m told it’s funerals. The women and men have died of HIV AIDS. Then over the next few years I see how the number of orphanages grow. The main craft in towns is making coffins. It is a pandemic of long lasting proportions. In Lesotho, so many adults have died that the average age in the country is 32 and Ethiopia it’s 46. Children bring themselves up. They yearn for their dead parents.

And now covid - Delta strain. I’m not going to write about the Rohingya in Bangladesh, or, Lebanon and the refugees there. it is too sad.

In Pandemics the poor suffer disproportionately. Generations feel their impacts. The rich get vaccinated, and even the non-vaccinated get first class hospital treatment.

Vaccines are most wonderful and save unnecessary and untold suffering. Let’s get the government to give and give and give…vaccines to the global south. Let those who don’t want to take them, be quiet and not promote information that increases the suffering of others.

Let’s be very very grateful and practice … Care of People …

Rowe Morrow September 28, 2021 ... See MoreSee Less

Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

4 months ago

It was an exciting planning day today at the Blue Mountains Pluriversity, where we reviewed our Digital Badges and upcoming program!

We're working with young people to co-design their learning pathways to expand their future options. They'll be earning digital badges (or micro-credentials) for the real life skills and experience that they'll gain in our programs, and, through the process, discover what they want to do with their life.

Coming up:
Friday 25 June: Hands on experience building the Permaculture micro-farm at the PCYC in Lithgow

Monday 28 June: Seed Saving workshop and launch of our Design Den where we'll be getting hands on experience in prototyping ideas and designing social enterprises.

Thursday and Friday 1 & 2 July: Youth Mental Health First Aid Workshop to learn how to support young people with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, psychosis, substance use problems, non-suicidal self-injury, traumatic events, severe psychotic states, severe effects from alcohol or other drug use, aggressive behaviours, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours ... and who to turn to for help.

If you're a young person who'd like to join us for any or all of the above, contact Lis on 0407 437 553

Our programs are free thanks to funding and support from Mental Health First Aid Australia, Family First Credit Union and Wentworth Healthcare. ... See MoreSee Less

Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

5 months ago

Our young writer Annabel Pettit interviewed another young Blackheathen, Vaughan Jones, about his role in co-designing the Headspace Katoomba Permaculture Garden and how he coped with Lockdown: bit.ly/3gfrazX ... See MoreSee Less

Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

5 months ago

Rowe Morrow will be speaking for the UN Environment Programme's Official launch for Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day, June 5th at 10 am UTC, or 3pm UTC in a groundbreaking discussion on how implementing ecosystem restoration inside refugees camps would benefit the health, wealth, and wellbeing of forcibly displaced people.

Featured Speakers include:
John Dennis Liu and Pieter Van Der Gaag from Ecosystem Restoration Camps
Rosemary Morrowfrom Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute and Permaculture for RefugeesTomorrow is the BIG DAY! Join us, for the UN Environment Programme's Official launch for Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day, June 5th at 10 am UTC, or 3pm UTC for a groundbreaking discussion on how implementing ecosystem restoration inside refugees camps would benefit the health, wealth, and wellbeing of forcibly displaced people.

Featured Speakers include:
John Dennis Liu and Pieter Van Der Gaag from Ecosystem Restoration Camps
Rosemary Morrowfrom Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute and Permaculture for Refugees
Jennie Spears from Lemon Tree Trust
Maya Hennerkesfrom European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Nathalie Meier from Movement On The Ground
Noah Ssempijja from Yice Uganda
Juliet Millican from Re-Alliance
Ruth Andrade from Regenerosity and LUSH UK
Photene Kalpakiotis for Greek Forum of Refugees
Elhalm AlAbbadi from Bayoudha Village, Jordan
Tina Teucher-Restoration & Refugees, event host
And special guests.

Click here for more information and registration:

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#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #refugees #GenerationRestoration #ecosystemrestoration #symposium #WorldEnvironmentDay ... See MoreSee Less