12 Days of UNICEF: Day 12, Maria Canals-Barrera
Maria Canals-Barrera is an actress, wife and mother of two. Maria is helping to support the U.S. Fund for UNICEF by purchasing Inspired Gifts as well as Holiday Cards and Gifts for loved ones this holiday season.
One of my fondest Christmas memories was being in Texas with my husband’s large Christian family. My In-laws’ home was always full of PEACE and they celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, with unabashed JOY! One of my sisters in law played the guitar and the whole family (my father in law still in his Santa suit) sang Christmas carols & hymns (in both English and Spanish) to the DELIGHT of us all, especially the 16 grandchildren!
This year, I’ve chosen to participate in UNICEF’s annual holiday campaign, which includes a wonderful collection of gift ideas including UNICEF’s cards and gifts. Every UNICEF card or gift you buy helps benefit children around the world. I especially like their 3-Piece Musical Set, which includes kid-sized maracas and a tambourine made of hand-painted wood. It reminds me so much of the way my family celebrates the season.
Celebrate the holidays with your family and loved ones by giving them UNICEF Holiday Cards and UNICEF Inspired Gifts.
I am so sorry for these children. I often wonder why they are born into such conditions. Then I think, because the adults keep bringing them into this hell hole. I would love to donate, but why? So the children can grow up and have more children? What is being done to stop the constant reproduction in these countries? It is sad, but sadder yet that in this day and age children are still being born into these horrid conditions.
Que lindo mensaje,
Maria te admiro mucho, eres una madre, esposa y amiga muy especial,Que Dios te bendiga siempre, y que continues con esa alegria que siempre te adorna, y nos ayuda a todos a ver la vida “color de rosa”
Te felicito por este mensaje de UNICEf al mundo.
I think we should be careful before we condemn others for having children. People have children for all sorts of reasons, and even as a teacher of Health and Nutrition Sciences I do not see it as my job to “preach” to others about the best way to solve their problems. One of the reasons the U.S. has trouble “reaching across the divide” and creating effective health messages and programs in other countries is the feeling of condescension that others pick up when advanced, industrialized countries try to tell them how to run their lives. We can all learn from each other, and furthermore, we are not superior to others because we are lucky enough to have more resources and opportunities. Health and Social Service programs do best when they are written and conceived by local people who understand the subtleties and nuances of the cultures they are writing about.