The Early College Program at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to complete college credits at a fifty percent tuition adjustment and earn scholarships. A virtual information session will be offered on Thursday, April 30 at 6:00 p.m. for interested students and families.

CARO RAMSAY, AUTHOR

Matchbook allowed cheap Kindle editions to be offered with a print book purchase.

Global Programs has announced the 2020 recipients of annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.

A faculty member at Penn State Wilkes-Barre will be part of a collaborative fellowship program.

Virtual visits provide opportunities to learn about what Penn State York has to offer. Programming scheduled through May.

The city used the federal Safe Routes to School program to improve the safety of children's trips to school.

Get the inside line on the tournament and the 16 teams involved with the free digital programme.

Get the inside line on the tournament and the eight teams involved with the free digital programme.

Nairobi, Kenya, May 3, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- At a one-room house outside Nairobi, a 23-year-old girl with disabilities claps her hands and throws herself at Sr. Rose Catherine Wakibiru, who has been visiting girls with disability at their homes since the Kenyan government closed schools last month over coronavirus.

The girl, referred to as Faith, “is deaf and dumb,” Sr. Rose Catherine of the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi, told ACI Africa April 27. “She is autistic and has cerebral palsy and so she doesn’t know anything about social distancing. She has pure love in her heart and she can’t stop embracing people to show how happy she is.”

Faith lived at Limuru Cheshire Home along with 60 other girls who have physical or intellectual disabilities, before the pandemic.

Sr. Rose Catherine, administrator of the home, called the girls’ parents and guardians to retrieve their children when schools were closed. 

“Most parents we called were not ready to pick their girls,” Sr. Rose Catherine said, adding that many girls at Cheshire home are drawn from poor backgrounds and that most come from informal settlements around Nairobi.

The nun explained that Faith initially lived with her mother and three siblings in a Nairobi slum, but they moved to another settlement “three weeks ago when their house was washed away in floods.”

When their house was washed away, Faith’s mother gave out her children to different well-wishers and looked for a place to stay herself. Later, friends helped her to get a single-roomed house where she stays with her three children and goes out to look for menial jobs to sustain her family.

Such jobs are hard to come by amid the restrictions due to coronavirus, and the family may be thrown out of their home as the mother is unable to pay for it.

Sr. Rose Catherine said five residents of the Cheshire home were taken in by other families, as they had nowhere to go.

“I know all [the] families that have their daughters here and I have an idea of those that can accommodate a girl [who] isn’t their own. So when I made those calls, I would ask a parent if they were willing to take care of an extra girl. That’s how I got all the five girls a place to stay,” said Sr. Rose Catherine.

To ease the burden of the foster parents, Limuru Cheshire Home supplies the girls with basic necessities such as food, soap, and sanitary materials in their new homes.

Some families were reluctant to have their daughters back home, and Sr. Rose Catherine said the biggest challenge for girls with disabilities and their families during coronavirus is poverty.

Most of the families “live on daily wages, and with their girls around they can’t go out and work as they used to. All the girls at the facility are special needs cases and they need someone to look after them” at all times, the nun said.

The girls also come last in families that grapple with lack of basic needs, such as food. When there is little food to share, children with disabilities do not get any of it, Sr. Rose Catherine reported.

“I have been to a home where I found my girl watching her siblings eat. When I asked her brother why her sister wasn’t eating anything, he said there was very little food in the house,” Sr. Rose Catherine recounted. “Children with disabilities are treated as second-rate individuals. People only think about them when everybody else has had their fill.”

Many of the girls’ families have asked the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi for help since having the girls returned to their care, and Sr. Rose Catherine has made at least eight home visits in recent weeks.

On each home visit, families are supplied with food, masks, and sanitizer.

“What we have at the moment is only enough to keep the families going for one more week, yet we have outreach plans for next week. We can only plan and hope that well-wishers will come on board to touch the lives of these vulnerable girls and their families,” Sr. Rose Catherine said.

 

A version of this story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's African news partner. It has been adapted by CNA.

Seven universities are making major changes to how they train future principals, as part of $48.5 million Wallace Foundation initiative to redesign university-based principal-preparation programs, according to a new report from RAND.

The official programme of the 2018 UEFA Youth League finals weekend is filled with interviews, statistics, team profiles and much more. Get your free copy now.

Holders Barcelona, fellow two-time winners Chelsea, Porto and debutants Hoffenheim won their quarter-finals to reach Nyon.

Young players from the four teams taking part in the UEFA Youth League finals in Nyon have been given important insights into financial planning and the video assistant referee (VAR) system at an education session.

To view more press releases, please visit http://ir.wintrust.com/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

To view more press releases, please visit http://ir.wintrust.com/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

With Ramaphosa sworn in as president, the SA public will be watching closely to see if, and when, he reshuffles Jacob Zuma's last Cabinet.

By Bishop Arthur Serratelli

A few years ago, Paul Croituru and his young son went out treasure hunting near their native village in Romania. To their surprise, they discovered ancient Greek currency dating back 2,350 years to the time of King Philip II. The 300 silver coins turned out to be counterfeit. The father and son now hold the distinction of having discovered the oldest counterfeit money known thus far.

Counterfeit money has been around as long as money has been around. In fact, some have named the production of counterfeit money “the world's second oldest profession.” During war time, nations often resort to counterfeit money to inflict harm on their enemies. During the Revolutionary War, Great Britain attempted to devalue the continental dollar by flooding the market with shovers (fake dollars). During World War II, the Nazis made prisoners in their camps forge British pounds and American dollars to destabilize their enemies’ economies and destroy them.

Satan constantly attempts to entice individuals into counterfeit religion where the forged currency is believing in God while denying sin. The devil would have everyone forget that sin is a reality. In this way, he can render ineffective in us the work of Christ who came to take away our sins. Failure. Weakness. Mistakes. Psychological pressures. Social customs. All these labels the devil uses to disguise sin. But, sin itself remains a fact.

Science always prides itself on beginning every research project with a fact. True religion, likewise, begins with the fact of sin in the world, original sin and personal sin. “The ancient masters of religion…began with the fact of sin. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders…have begun…to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy). And so can the personal sins of hatred, envy, lust, pride, gluttony and greed likewise be proven.

Even a casual glance at Sacred Scriptures shows that sin taints even God’s greatest heroes and heroines. Adam and Eve lead the procession of sinners. Drunken Noah, untruthful Abraham, adulterous David and Bathsheba, disloyal Peter, and murderous Paul follow. Sin really is not that original. It is the monotonous repetition of the tragedy of Eden: choosing self over God. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).

In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church offers us the gift of a personal encounter with our merciful Lord who forgives our sins. However, many people, and sometimes even faithful Catholics, say that they do not need to go to a priest for confession to have their sins forgiven. Why confess to a priest who is a sinner himself? God will forgive sins without the ministry of priests. Certainly, God can forgive sins when we turn to him and repent. But, he has chosen to offer us his forgiveness through the ministry of the Church. And, for a reason.

Sin is not just between the individual and God. Every sin that we commit offends God and affects others. Every sin harms Christ’s Body, the Church. The act of confession before a priest recognizes the true nature of sin as an offense against God and others. And so, it is through the Church’s priests that God chooses not simply to forgive our sins but to reconcile us to the Church. (cf. Pope Francis, General Audience, November 20, 2013).

So important is confession that some of the holiest priests of the Church have spent hours in the confessional as missionaries of God’s mercy. St. Philip Neri, a busy parish priest in Rome, spent every morning hearing confessions before continuing his work with youth in the afternoon. So famous was St. Jean Vianney in hearing confessions that a new train station had to be built in his town of Ars so that people from all of France could go there to confess to this holy priest. Most recently, St. Padre Pio heard confessions for not less than 18 hours a day. There were always long lines awaiting him.  

During his public ministry, Jesus forgave sins (cf. Mk 2:5; Lk 7:48; Jn 8:1-11). And, then after the Resurrection, he entrusted this ministry of forgiveness to his priests. On Easter Sunday night, “Jesus said to them ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (Jn 20:21-23). In confession, the priest, weak and sinful himself, acts in the name of Jesus and with his authority.  

In going to confession, we approach the priest, one by one, not as group, not as family. We humbly place before him all our own sins. To receive absolution and be forgiven, it is necessary not simply to confess all mortal sins, but also to have a firm purpose of amendment of sinning no more. As difficult as this might be at times, how great the grace! For, when the priest absolves us, we have, as Jesus promised, the certainty that our sins are forgiven. 

A community-based organization's partnership with researchers creates a 'knowledge neighborhood' supporting after-school programs.

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The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) has announced an important change to its homebuyer program that will allow qualified non first-time homebuyers to purchase a home in Delaware using a low, 30-year fixed-rate home loan.

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) announced last month that it will be taking the lead in a new outreach project designed to expand the relief options available to homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages. The Making Home Affordable Outreach and Intake Project aims to help homeowners avoid mortgage default by seeking resolutions through the Making Home Affordable (MHA) Program, the cornerstone of President Obama’s plan to offer lasting relief to homeowners in financial distress.

Delaware’s State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) received national attention last week when it was honored with an Award for Program Excellence during the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) 2013 Annual Conference & Showplace in New Orleans, LA. This year’s conference was attended by more than 900 affordable housing industry professionals.

Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) and the Delaware Council of Faith-Based Partnerships will be hosting a free Lunch & Learn on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 in the Carvel State Office Building, 3rd Floor Conference Room, at 820 N. French Street, Wilmington, Delaware.

Governor Jack Markell joined Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Director Anas Ben Addi to announce two new homeownership programs that will help make homeownership more affordable. DSHA-Paid Mortgage Insurance (MI) will give buyers a lower monthly housing payment by removing the requirement that they purchase mortgage insurance if they do not have a 20% downpayment at the time of settlement. The Home Purchase Rehab program will allow buyers to purchase a home at a low interest rate and make repairs and/or energy improvements in one simple loan.

New services available for potential homeowners WILMINGTON, DE — Building on efforts to promote responsible homeownership, the Delaware State Housing Authority is partnering with $tand By Me to offer new financial coaching services to Delawareans interested in purchasing their first home. Services are now available for Delawareans who need extra financial coaching assistance to reduce […]

Governor Jack Markell on Wednesday announced a statewide expansion of Delaware's Downtown Development Districts program, significantly building on the state's efforts to redevelop Delaware’s commercial business districts and drive private investment in towns and cities. Five new Downtown Development Districts were officially designated in Smyrna, Harrington, Milford, Georgetown and Laurel. Investors who make qualified improvements to residential, commercial, or industrial properties in those districts now may qualify for state and local development incentives, including 20 percent state grant rebates.

DOVER — A new state program is designed to help families and individuals who have experienced foreclosures, job loss, or other financial difficulties stemming from the financial crisis that began in 2008, Governor John Carney and other officials announced today. Fresh Start, a partnership between the Delaware State Housing Authority and the state’s financial empowerment […]

DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney hosted 30 guests Wednesday evening at a Ramadan Iftar dinner at Woodburn, including members of Delaware’s Muslim community and statewide elected officials. The Iftar is the evening meal after sunset that concludes the daily fasting during the month of Ramadan, which ends the evening of June 24 this year. […]

DOVER — Delaware’s new home repair assistance initiative, the Statewide Emergency Repair Program, has received national recognition from the National Council of State Housing Agencies with a 2017 Annual Award for Program Excellence. “We are honored to receive this award on behalf of our partners and the many Delawareans that this home repair work has […]

Two of Delaware’s programs benefitting potential homebuyers received national recognition October 15 when they were honored with a 2018 Annual Award for Program Excellence during the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) annual conference.

Program would provide state-guaranteed, low-interest loans for workers going unpaid during shutdown DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday announced a state-guaranteed, low-interest loan program to assist federal workers who are going unpaid during the federal government shutdown. Loans funded through the program announced Thursday would be made by a financial institution and with […]

DOVER – Governor John Carney and Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Director Anas Ben Addi announced the launch of a new homeownership program for recent college graduates at an event recognizing Homeownership Month. The new program, Homes for Grads, will offer discounted rates on DSHA’s down payment assistance loans for homebuyers who have graduated college […]

A record number of student startups from across Penn State campuses are getting ready for the 2020 Summer Founders program, a 13-week entrepreneurial bootcamp offering mentoring, networking, resources and $15,000 in funding to teams of Penn State student entrepreneurs from all campus locations and the World Campus.

A few design improvements to the LG Gram 17 make the world's lightest 17-inch laptop an excellent choice for frequent travelers who need all the screen real estate they can get.

Eight senior Penn State Scranton accounting and finance students participated in the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties’ annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, preparing about 2,250 free tax returns for low-income families and individuals throughout the region.

Get the lowdown on the last four and all you need to know about the event in Zaragoza in the official programme.

The terminology of our main ratio and performance measurements.

Defender Sergio Ramos reckons Bilbao will be party central at UEFA EURO 2020.

OM Chile celebrates Christmas with the boys and girls of two children's homes in Santiago.

Sept. 2, 2017 event moved from outdoors on the Dover Green to indoors at The Old State House.

Wilmington, DE – Global Delaware is expanding its Strategic Export Program to Colombia, Ireland, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, and has hired new international trade representatives in each country to help support export efforts by Delaware companies. The new reps will be on hand to present an overview of export opportunities in their respective countries and […]

“William Penn Day” plus readings and historical theater to be featured.

“Who Did In the Delaware Ducks?” and “Mysteries of History” to be featured

18th Century Market Fair, candle making and music of World War I among the events to be presented.

Applications are being accepted from community organizations for $1.3 million in funds to support crime reduction, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development programs statewide, with special emphasis on programs in and around downtown areas and neighborhoods, Attorney General Matt Denn and Delaware Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism Director Cerron Cade announced Tuesday. Applications are […]