Thoughts On My Day

You might have noticed that I have a Pearl S. Buck International Foundation logo badge on this blog. It means that I support and endorse this fine organization without any solicitation from said organization.

Who was Pearl S. Buck and what does this organization do?

Pearl S. Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973), was a prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author. In 1938, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.”
Pearl S. Buck was able to discern the importance of “globalization” long before the rest of the world knew what the word meant. She dedicated much of her life to promoting cross-cultural interchange and support in the pursuit of a more peaceful world.

Many of Buck’s life experiences are described in her novels, short stories, fiction, and children’s stories. Through them she sought to prove to her readers that universality of mankind can exist if man accepts it. She dealt with many topics including women’s rights, emotions (in general), Asian cultures, immigration, adoption, and conflicts that many people go through in life.

Buck was an extremely passionate activist for human rights. In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, Inc., the first international, interracial adoption agency. In the nearly five decades of its work, Welcome House has assisted in the placement of more than five thousand children. The Pearl S. Buck Foundation was started in 1964 to address the issues of poverty and discrimination faced by children in Asian countries. In 1965, the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea was established to serve Amerasian Children. In 1967, a branch office was established in Thailand and in 1968, an office was opened in the Philippines. Children in Vietnam were served before the War, but operations shut down in 1975 and then reopened in 1989.

In Asia, Buck said, “The purpose…is to publicize and eliminate injustices and prejudices suffered by children, who, because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, economic and civil privileges normally accorded to children.”

PSBI supports international programs to alleviate the impact of discrimination, intolerance, and prejudice on the quality and condition of children’s lives. Together with families, communities, and partner institutions, PSBI programs combat the effects of the injustices suffered by certain target groups. These are children who, because of the circumstances of their birth and their lives, do not have the same rights or access to services enjoyed by others. Pearl S. Buck International is committed to facilitating self-reliance, self-help, and sustainable human progress and development so as to avoid dependency. They believe that they can best serve their target groups of children through programs which facilitate capacity building among families, communities, and local institutions.

Pearl S. Buck International is dedicated to preserving the legacy of this incredible woman through the programs for which she dedicated her life.

In closing, I will allow Pearl S. Buck’s own words best describe what I want to say:

“Whatever way you choose to help, let it be now, I beg you. The years between birth and adulthood are swift and few, the earlier a child can be helped, the better his chance for a normal life”.

- Pearl S. Buck

“Okay”, you say,”that is really great to hear but do they really make a difference?”

I have personal experience of their fine work. My wife is an Amerasian child.  If it wasn’t for Pearl S. Buck Foundation, she would have, most likely, ended up an uneducated street child. Early on, her mother applied for help to PSBI for education assistance. My wife attended a private grade school (tuition paid through PSBI) during her growing years and then was sponsored by PSBI for her university schooling. She graduated with a BS Degree in business and is, currently, pursuing an MBA at one of the most prestigious universities in the Philippines. She has held many high-level positions in business and has been successful in 2 start-up businesses.A true success story.

That is all it takes to give a child a bright future. Please click and take a visit to their website. Become an active sponsor and you will feel good knowing that you are making a diffrence in a child’s life.

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