| Aids leaves Africa's grannies to raise children
Skinny and gap-toothed, her nose smudged with black dust, grandmother Kanotu Mumo sorts charcoal into small pots for sale on the stoop of her slum hut. Mumo is an "Aids granny" in Kibera, Nairobi, one of Africa's biggest slums. Like grandmothers all over Africa, they have been left to fend for orphans after their own children and husbands died. Her hut, stacked with sacks of charcoal, measures 3m by 2,5m and it is too dark inside to see more than a few centimetres, even in the middle of the day. Somehow she shelters four grandchildren, two great grandchildren and the child of a dead relative, who sleep on mattresses and two beds. There is no toilet or running water. According to United Nations figures, at least 12-million children in Africa have lost one or both parents because of Aids. This accounts for 80% of all Aids orphans in the developing world.
Getting inspiration in dreamland
A recurring dream is not uncommon. But Donald Meyer's is a bit of a doozy. The St. Cloud, Minn., resident is a number cruncher by day and game inventor by night. And not just by night, but in his dreams. Talk about taking sleeping on the job to a new level. "After a few hours of sleep, my mind is rested, my body's rested and that's when the games want to come," Meyer said. "I'll wake up at 2 o'clock and have this game in my mind. Then I refine it over and over in my sleep over however many nights and catch most of the bugs. At some point, boom, the whole thing is there. I don't talk about it too much because it sounds crazy." Ya think? Still, creativity works in mysterious ways, and it's hard to argue with Meyer's results. His first game, Keesdrow, has garnered honors ranging from a Children's Choice Award in Canada to a "Top 5 Games Award" from Mensa and sold 25,000 units in less than three years.
Wellness campaigns often muddied by commercialism
If you've been too busy with the holidays to have paid attention to those worthy causes, however, worry not. January marks Healthy Weight Week and National Glaucoma Month, and February's the month to beef up your knowledge of Marfan syndrome, children's dental health and congenital heart defects. So many months, so much to be aware of. All that awareness is likely to cause insomnia, so it's fortunate that National Sleep Awareness Week falls in March. You'll need some coffee after tossing and turning all night, so grab a cappuccino and mull over the irony that March also marks Caffeine Awareness Month. With so many commemorative health events ranging from the well-established (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) to the ridiculous (Genital Cleanliness Month), it's certainly easy to mock their proliferation.
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