Articles written by Eryn Austin-Bergen
Articles written by
Eryn Austin-Bergen
Heroes of Transformation: Meet Mao Kreng
Mao Kreng is a survivor. He was just 21 years old when the Khmer Rouge—a homegrown political movement—seized control of Cambodia. Over the next four years, he watched as a quarter of his countrymen—his friends, neighbours, and family members—died from disease, starvation, exhaustion, or execution. It is estimated that between 1.7 and 3 million people lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge between 1975-1979.
Will Space Unicorns Make Your Child Happy?
Canadians spend over 400 million dollars at Christmas time every year, but is it making us or our children any happier? It might be time to rethink the gifts we give and consider the correlation between rising debt and rising anxiety.
A Dinnertime Prayer
We pray before we eat a meal together. Often, my three-and-a-half-year-old volunteers to “say grace”. She’s perfected the art of a two second prayer to get us to eating as quickly as possible. “Dear Jesus, thank you for this food, you bless it to our bodies, in Jesus name, amen.” And while I always want to encourage her to pray, it can be somewhat lacking in sincerity. So, sometimes I insist on me or my husband praying.
Sugar Pond
It’s easy to jump to conclusions. We do it all the time. About the driver who doesn’t use their turn signal, the mom who lets her kids eat cookies for snack, the woman standing barefoot by the side of the road holding a cardboard sign.
Does Poverty Provoke Extremism?
Is the next terror attack just around the corner?
Sending Rain to a World on Fire
In 2011, Syria burst into flames as a civil war ripped through the country tearing apart families, communities, and cities. The war has continued raging for the last six years with no end in sight. Over 220,000 people have been killed, most are civilian casualties—men, women, children—this war does not discriminate. More than 50 percent of the population has been internally displaced, with 4.8 million people fleeing as refugees. Two and a half million of those refugees are under the age of 18; this unbridled violence has put Syria’s children at extreme risk.
Confused about the Syrian refugee crisis? Here's a quick summary
Over the past week, we have been overwhelmed with images and news stories about hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrian refugees pressing into Europe, overflowing borders and causing a major upheaval. Our hearts were broken as the devastating image of a Syrian child face down on the beach circulated through our social media feeds. And it's got us asking a lot of questions.
9 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Global Refugees
"Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. If this were the population of a country, it would be the world's 24th biggest." This shocking statistic is just one thing I learned in the process of researching the state of our global refugees. Here are nine facts you probably didn't know about global refugees (fact 9 has some times for how you and I can help!).
A War-Torn Community In Burundi Begins To Rise
The people of Kabarore, Burundi are very much like you and me. They want to live peaceable lives and care for their neighbours. They want to send their children to school, earn a fair wage, eat healthy food, live in secure homes, and have hope for the future.