81-year-old finds love online

www.chinadaily.com.cn

81-year-old finds love online
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-28 08:06

An 81-year-old Chinese man has proved age need not be a barrier to Internet love, marrying a 58-year-old bride he met online, a local newspaper reported.

Wu Jieqin, a retired Beijing art professor who has spent time in an aged-care home, married Jiang Xiaohui, 23 years younger, in a ceremony on the weekend, the Beijing News reported.

"The Internet doesn't belong to the young alone," he told the paper. He said he had been using the Internet since 1998.

"There are no rules against old people seeking love online."

But to reach the altar, Wu had to overcome the opposition of Jiang's parents, aged 85 and 86, who feared he was too old.

But she won them over.

"His voice is very youthful. Not like an 80-year-old," Jiang told the paper. "He's very romantic."

The couple met after Wu, lonely since his divorce a decade ago, put a lonely hearts notice on a Chinese website last year with the help of a student.

Not that the feisty retiree with thin gray hair was not picky.

"As internet mates of his own age did not suit him, he set his sights on a woman in her forties or fifties," the report said.

Wu said over 50 women responded positively to his ad, including prospects from the United States, Australia and the Ukraine. Wu met several but things clicked only when with Jiang, a retired railway worker from southwest China's Sichuan province.

Wu plans to move to Sichuan to be with his new bride.

He likened their love to two well-meshed gears.

"As long they up to scratch, they can keep turning forever, and you don't have to care whether they're old or new," he said.

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Instructor with heart takes prize

The Aucklander



Instructor with heart takes prize


Improving people's lives is what Shirley McKain has strived for since changing careers more than a dozen years ago.And make a difference she has. Ms McKain decided to leave her job as a production engineer to become a fitness instructor after watching her grandmother's physical condition deteriorate over many years.

Since then, she has set up a movement therapy and heart class for seniors at the YMCA North Shore fitness centre.

The class caters for elderly people who have limited movement or live with chronic conditions.

"I think what makes me a great gym instructor is my ability to sit with someone and have them feel completely comfortable when they tell their story about what brought them into the gym," McKain says.

"The true meaning of changing someone's quality of life is seen on the faces of these people and heard through their heartwarming tales."

The classes are among the gym's most popular and have led to McKain being named the AUT Gym Instructor of the Year.

She is also the first New Zealander to pass the Cardiac Club Leadership Award qualification from the Heart Foundation.

McKain is known among clients as a gentle spirit who has a habit of making people happy. One client who has been with her for more than five years is another Shirley, Shirley Slaven.

"I can't speak highly enough of Shirley, she is what motivates me to keep attending the classes . . ." says Mrs Slaven. "My favourite aspects of the class include meeting new people and Shirley puts on music from our era so I enjoy the sing-along as well.

What makes Shirley different is she connects with you on a personal level and never lets you quit."

Another member of Shirley's class is Cushla Parekowhai, who says she feels safe with with Shirley.

"She keeps it real," says Mrs Parekowhai.

Copyright © 2008, APN Holdings NZ Ltd

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Baby penguin defies all the odds

nzherald.co.nz



National
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Baby penguin defies all the odds
4:00AM Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
By Jarrod Booker

With an old, fat, lazy father and a mother who everyone thought was a male, the odds had to be against this new arrival.

The birth of a 16-day-old, as yet un-named, little blue penguin is causing plenty of excitement at the Penguin Encounter at Christchurch's International Antarctic Centre.The smallest species of penguin does not tend to breed easily in captivity and incubating the eggs in the past had failed.

So this time, staff left it up to nature and were rewarded with the centre's first successful hatching since opening two years ago.

"At the moment it's just an eating machine," said penguin ranger Sally Rogers.

"It's a third the size of its parents already. It's like a giant butt with a head ... and some big feet."

The baby penguin, whose sex is so far unknown, was born to father Fats - described as the centre's "fattest and laziest" penguin, and mother Zane - who keepers thought was a male until she "hooked up with Fats and laid an egg".

Because the reproductive organs of the penguins are all internal, DNA is normally used to identify the gender.

"They are both pretty old as well, so it's quite an unusual combination."

Fats is 16 years old and Zane is 12. Most penguins in the wild live to about 7 or 8.

The pair created a nest out of cabbage tree leaves and took turns sitting on two eggs for 36 days.

The centre has had six more eggs laid, and expects it could have up to four more births in the coming weeks.

It is hoped the new arrival will remain at the centre, but because its parents are originally from the North Island, it will require a permit from the Department of Conservation.

The little blue penguin lives in the wild throughout New Zealand, and thrives in areas that are predator-free.




Copyright ©2008, APN Holdings NZ Limited
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A haven for homeless boys

Skilled: One of the boys cooking lunch.

The Star Online > Central
Tuesday October 14, 2008

A haven for homeless boys

By CHRISTINA LOW

NGO@WORK

GROWING up to be knowledgeable and independent is what Agathians Shelter hopes for its orphans.

It was started in 2003 by a group of young adults who took over an abandoned children’s home after its owners could no longer manage it.

“The home was not taken care of and this prompted the caregivers and donors to find a solution.

“That is how we set up our very own children’s home,” said Agathians Shelter council member M. Sivabalan.

Sivabalan said the home had mostly boys back then and hence the group continued taking in only boys through the years.

He said the boys were mostly picked up from the streets, or from single-parent homes which could no longer provide care to the children. Some of them were victims of abuse.

“It is a pity to see how much these children have to suffer at a very young age and are just left on the streets to fend for themselves,” said Sivabalan.
Helping each other: The boys at the home doing their homework in their bedroom.

The single-storey home in Petaling Jaya may be a dream house for the boys but they have a daily routine to stick to.

The boys begin their day at 6am when they need to wash up before walking to school together with their caretaker.

When school is over a caretaker would be there to walk them back to the home.

“It is the caretaker’s daily duty to ensure the boys do not run about and to make sure all the boys are safe back home,” said Sivabalan.

Watching television is something that the boys do only on weekends as homework and studying remains a top priority at the shelter.

However, one can spot the boys in action at a nearby field playing soccer in the evenings or practising the Bahasa Malaysia or English language with a volunteer.

To date, the home is proud that several of its residents have completed their SPM examinations as well as have obtained jobs or are pursuing vocational courses.

The home currently has about 30 occupants of different races and religions and aged between three to 17 years.

“We don’t practice religion within the home but the boys are encouraged to visit their places of worship during the weekends,” said Sivabalan.

The moderate-sized home has two rooms which the boys share and Sivabalan said each of them has a mattress to sleep on.

Besides being able to help children, the home is also sometimes used to house old folks with no place to call home.

Like most orphanages, Agathians Shelter also has many bills to pay and many fund raising activities are held together with the children yearly.

“We do not have enough funds to hold big and grand dinners in hotels so we make do with food carnivals, raffle draws, family day, car wash programmes and mini musical nites to pay for our hefty RM170,000 annual expenses,” said Sivabalan.

December is nearing and it is the boys’ favourite time of the year as the public take time to visit them as well as take them out on trips.

Agathians Shelter (Pusat Kebajikan Agathians, Malaysia) is at No 17, Jalan Tengas 8/8, Section 8 , 46050, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. For details call 03-7954 1680 or log on to www.agathians.org. All donations to Agathians Shelter are tax exempted.


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