WHEN WE THINK OF WELLNESS, we most often think of physical wellness. At Pacific Rim Wellness, we believe there are other kinds of wellness such as financial wellness and community or global wellness. To that end we are including a financial section in each issue along with some very worthwhile causes under the heading of "Global Wellness" that we invite you to consider. Take a look at each one and decide if there is something you could throw your support behind. “The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and behavior affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only emotionally but also physically and spiritually.” Greg Anderson

The Resilience, Compassion & Charity of a Genuine Hero

HERE’S A STORY you may have missed over the holiday season. A 30-year-old former refugee put together a most extraordinary Christmas present — the first high school his community has ever had.

Valentino Achak Deng, 30, is the central figure in the masterful 2006 best seller, “What Is the What,” by Dave Eggers. The book records Valentino’s life after the Sudanese civil war strikes his remote town in South Sudan. His friends were shot around him. He lost contact with his family, and he became one of the “lost boys” of Sudan. Fleeing government soldiers, dodging land mines, eating leaves and animal carcasses, Valentino saw boys around him carried off and devoured by lions.

At one point, Valentino and other refugees were attacked by soldiers beside a crocodile-infested river. He swam to safety through water bloodied as some swimmers were shot and others were snatched by crocodiles.

Valentino learned to read and write at makeshift schools in refugee camps by writing letters in the dust with his finger. Improbably, he turned out to be a brilliant student with a cheerful, upbeat personality. And in 2001, the United States accepted him as a refugee.

Valentino had earned the right to take it easy for the next 600 years; instead, he sets an astonishing example of resilience, compassion and charity. He and Eggers channel every penny made from “What Is the What” to a new foundation dedicated to building a high school in his hometown in Sudan.

That’s what is so inspiring about Valentino. For a quarter-century, world leaders have averted their eyes from horrors in Sudan — first the north-south civil war that killed two million people (more than died in all the wars in America’s history), then the genocide in Darfur and now the growing risk of another civil war. In that vacuum, moral leadership has come instead from university students and refugees like Valentino.

Now Valentino’s school is beginning to operate in the town of Marial Bai — a modern high school serving students from thousands of square miles. It had a soft opening earlier this year with 100 students, and he is hoping to increase to 450 students in the coming months — but that means dizzying challenges.


“I want to enroll more than 50 percent girls,” Valentino said. “But to do that, I have to house them, because families will not allow a girl to go far away to school without a place to stay.

“For now, I’ve enrolled 14 girls,” he added. “But they go home, and then they have to take care of siblings, collect firewood, fetch water. So I’m worried about how much they can learn.” In addition, a high school girl can fetch a huge bride price — about 100 cows — and Valentino thinks the best way to avoid early marriage and give the girls a chance to study is for them to live in a dormitory on the school grounds.

Decades of civil war have left South Sudan one of the poorest places on Earth, where a woman is more likely to die in childbirth than to be literate. In recent years, only about 500 girls have graduated annually from elementary school in South Sudan — out of a total population of eight million.

Valentino’s every step has been Herculean. Building supplies had to be trucked in from Uganda through a jungle where a brutal militia called the Lord’s Resistance Army murders, rapes and loots. There is no electricity or running water in Marial Bai, so the high school’s computers will have to run on solar power. When a microscope arrived the other day, a science teacher was overcome. He had never actually touched one.

The school has a certain American ethos. Valentino is requiring students to engage in service activities, such as building huts for displaced people. “We focus on leadership,” he explained.


Eight high school teachers from the United States, Canada and New Zealand traveled at their own expense to Valentino’s school last summer to train teachers and work with students. They rave about how eager the students are to learn; some students burst into tears when the volunteers had to leave.

“What he’s accomplished in his hometown is astounding,” Eggers said. “A 14-structure educational complex built from scratch in one year. It boggles the mind.

“He’s succeeded where countless NGOs stumble, mainly because he knows the local business climate and can negotiate reasonable local prices for materials,” he added, referring to nongovernmental organizations.

Valentino is still fund-raising and looking for volunteer teachers. He needs $15,000 to finish a dormitory for girls, and much more to dig wells and operate the school for the first three years. (More information about the school is at The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation.) But he’s relentless.

“I’m the lucky one,” Valentino emphatically states. “I must be the one who will make a difference.”

You Gotta Feed
Somebody!

ONLY ONE CLICK A DAY on a button at
the Hunger Site » and you will freely have given someone in need a cup of food each time.

The Hunger Site was founded to focus the power of the Internet on a specific humanitarian need: the eradication of world hunger. Since its launch in June 1999, the site has established itself as a leader in online activism, helping to feed the world's hungry. On average, over 220,000 individuals from around the world visit the site each day to click the yellow "Click Here to Give—it's FREE" button. To date, more than 300 million visitors have given more than 573 million cups of staple food.

You can make a difference. Please give a click: »

March 2010 — A Perfect Storm — A Financial Perspective

 by David Mason, CLU, CFP, RHU

EACH YEAR the Heart and Stroke Foundation publishes a report on the cardiovascular health of the Canadians. For those outside of the health care community, the findings may come as a shocking surprise. They certainly did to me.
“The 2010 report on Canadians’ Health warns of a ‘perfect storm’ of risk factors and demographic changes are converging to create an unprecedented burden on Canada’s fragmented system of cardiovascular care, and no Canadian young or old will be left unaffected.”

The report goes on to say “The signs of this impending crisis are clearly evident. Between 1994 and 2005, rates of high blood pressure among Canadians skyrocketed by 77%, diabetes by 45% and obesity by 18% — affecting both younger and older Canadians. Moreover, even younger age groups are experiencing increases in risk: among those 35 to 49 years of age, for example, the prevalence of high blood pressure increased 127%, diabetes by 64% and obesity by 20% — all major risk factors for heart disease.”

So what will this mean for you financially? Well, from a simple supply and demand perspective, anytime you have more demand for a service than the amount of supply available, prices for that service will increase. These alarming trends will leave many Canadians with few alternatives when it comes to their own care but to take a number and stand in line.

How Can Insurance Help?

Critical Illness insurance is quickly becoming a popular financial planning tool for Canadians concerned about their financial and physical wellbeing. Critical Illness insurance provides a tax-free lump sum benefit in the event that you suffer a life threatening illness such as a Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, or Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. There are also policies which cover as many as 25 of the most common illnesses.

Should you survive your illness for 30 days, your tax-free lump sum benefit would be available to pay for additional health care (perhaps quickly in another country), pay off debts, or maybe even retire early. Most importantly, it will give you the control and options that you will likely want to have if you ever experience health problems.

It Won’t Happen to Me ... Then Buy ROP

Many times I’ve encountered clients who are convinced that they are immune from an illness or injury. While it’s true that diet, exercise and genetics all play their part, we have no reliable way of knowing what lies ahead.

For these clients, I often recommend purchasing the Return of Premium option for their insurance. Return of Premium is an add-on option which provides a refund of your premiums if you do not make a claim. That way if you do not end up needing the insurance coverage, then at least you will get a full refund of what you’ve paid.

The writing is clearly on the wall. Moving forward health care in this country will become increasingly expensive and more difficult to obtain. “Canada is truly at a crossroads,” says Dr. Abramson. “As a society we need to decide if we are going to invest in making our society more heart healthy so we can reduce our future risk, or would we rather continue to pay for a healthcare system overwhelmed by cardiac patients.’

Source Quoted: 2010 Heart And Stroke Foundation Annual Report On Canadians’ Health

For more information on this topic (or any other personal insurance question),
please feel free to contact David at david@donnellyadvisors.com