#128
While Titi Marley was growing up in Jakarta in the 90s, her parents were preachers, and they lived near a scavenger compound. Not one to sit still, her mother would gather the girls, who weren’t in school, and teach them to read. Titi was fascinated by the recycling process she saw there. “All the papers or plastic containers, glass and more was collected, immediately sorted and cleaned. A few times a week, a truck would come to the compound to buy the items. Things were weighed or counted, and the families were paid, based on how much they had collected,” she said. After living abroad and now raising her own girls, Titi wanted to recycle and be effective upon her return to Indonesia. Continue reading “Recycling Materials and Lives for a Brighter Future”
December 2014
As the cold creeps in, it’s time for winter warmers. Soup is a top pick for nutrition, variety and comfort reasons. Dietary standards urge us to eat eight servings of veg daily, and blending them into a soup helps us to reach that goal. And when pureed, it also fools the finicky eater. Tossing leftovers and the odd vegetables into the slow cooker clears out the fridge and creates one-of-a-kind meals. Then, add lean protein and beans for extra fiber and cook them in the pot to retain the ingredients’ full potential.
Winter 2014
Sen Sen’s mother, Atashi Das, was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in early 2008, it was a shock to the family. Not only was her loving mother’s health threatened, but there was no family history of cancer. Sen’s mother’s yearlong fight was fierce.
Winter 2014
Rachel McNeill wasn’t born in Texas—in fact, it was Jamaica. Her family moved to the U.S. when she was four years old. The local gal spent many of her early years preparing for her career in broadcasting: playing talk show host and asking hardball questions on the playground at Moore Elementary; researching a ninth- grade study skills assignment on schools, skills, and salary at Cypress Creek High School; and earning an inevitable broadcast journalism degree from University of Texas at Austin. The KPRC Channel 2 anchor pushed forward the old-school way, working markets from Midland to Raleigh, North Carolina and New Orleans before coming home to Houston in 2001. 
Birkes Elementary is now celebrating 12 years in Cy-Fair ISD, essentially a graduating senior. So how far have the Bulldogs come? “We’re a really big school, and we do big really well,” says principal Carla Brosnahan, who opened the school in 2003. “Rezoning has come up several times, but nobody wants to go.” The school has resorted to eight portable buildings, adding 16 classrooms, which has mollified their growth so far. Brosnahan credits her dedicated, professional staff, coupled with good support from the parents and community, for this devotion. It’s a winning combination at any size school.