Wednesday, August 20, 2014

How Do You Say "Hope"?

When I was plunged into the world of cancer, my immediate reaction was to find something to hope for.  My amazing friend Sara, who fought aggressive lymphoma tumors in her brain and suffered cognitive damage, causing a loss of ability to spell, coined the phrase "Heers to Hope!".  No one wanted to tell her the spelling was wrong, and "Heers to Hope!" became the battle cry of many "lymphomaniacs" across the country and around the world.  It's a human instinct to grasp for hope in times of trial.  

I got to thinking about all the different ways there are to say the word "hope".  Here is an incomplete list.  I "HOPE" you will comment here with your addition to the list!

  • English - hope
  • Spanish - esperanza
  • French - espoir
  • German - hollen
  • Italian - speranza
  • Dutch - hopen
  • Portuguese - esperamos
  • Vietnamesehy vọng
  • Ukrainian - сподіваюся
  • Danish - håber
  • Irish - Tá súil
  • Norwegian - håper
  • Chinese - 希望

How do you say "hope"?



Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Esperanza Renovada is a (pending) non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer survivors and their families a restorative escape from the often overlooked emotional side effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Our primary goal is to help those who are recovering from or living with cancer to find renewed hope to move forward in their lives.
We are building a lodge/retreat in the tropical mountain setting of southwest Puerto Rico. The project is designed from the start to work as a self sustaining nonprofit. This hybrid approach allows the business side to generate funds to support the nonprofit portion of the project. The complex will consist of a main lodge building with kitchen facilities, a common gathering area, and an outdoor covered pavillion; and individual private cabins and rustic tent sites. The cabins and the main lodge will be unique round buildings constructed of cement, designed and built by Full Circle Shelters (see www.fullcircleshelters.com for more information).
After the non-profit completes the initial building phase, the cabins and tent sites will be rented as vacation lodging. The proceeds from these rentals will be used to offer free lodging to cancer survivors who are adjusting to the “new normal” of life after cancer, a time when many survivors need a place outside a clinical environment to get away and discover their new life’s focus and reconnect with family members.
To learn more, please go to www.esperanzarenovada.org