Leap Years, and a reflective thought.

Leap Years are needed to keep our calenders in alignment with the Earth's revolutions. If we did not have an extra day every four years we would loose 6 hours from our calendar every year, which means that after 100 years our calender would only be 24 days. Leap Years were invented by Julius Caesar over 2000 years ago and were reflected in the Julian Calendar. In 1752 Great Britain changed and adopted The Gregorian Calender

I am sometimes in amazement of the things that just are. As a genealogist I am aware of the Calendar changes and often ponder on the wider implications things such as this, impacted onto the life's of my ancestors.

We live in a modern, technological advancing world. A teacher friend, once told me that in order to teach her subject, which happens to be French, she had to first teach several of the students how to tell the time. I was amazed. When I asked why, she replied that the children had learnt to tell the time using digital displays rather than a traditional clock. That issue had never occurred to me.

We present to the future, a generation of children who regularly use computers, Playstations, iPhone and iPods,and much more. Basics things can become forgotten, and technological advancements are seen as the norm and perhaps taken for granted.

The eldest family member I can remember is my Great Grandmother who was born in 1898. She died in 1973 and left a world that had experienced Wars during her lifetime, The Great War, The Second World War, The Boer War, Korea and Vietnam. She had known poverty, fear, worry and grief. During her lifetime she had buried her husband, three infant children and three of her nine adult children. Times were hard and to us, in this modern age perhaps incomprehensible. What would she has made of the world now?

The issues she felt in the United Kingdom are still in existence now in parts of the world. Parts of Africa and the Middle East torn apart by War, famine, and disaster. In many ways, the fact that these things still plague families is tragic.

I was therefore delighted last year to become part of a group called Genealogists for Families. The group is two fold. It brings together like-minded genealogists, across the globe who share a common interest and passion for their families.

Genealogists for Families supports a team which is part of the Kiva Organisation. Whereby, those who choose to, can loan $25 to a specific individual of your choice. The $25 is a loan not a hand out. It is repaid in monthly instalments and allows those registered at the Kiva site to access to funds when there is not the facility to access traditional banks. Our contributions are not going to stop Wars, famines and alike, but it does enable us to be part of someones future.

I made my first loan before Christmas in memory of my Grandmother and have three more loans that I plan to arrange in the memory of two deceased special family members and to commemorate a special birthday of my Mum's. I plan to continue this process through the course of the year. If you want to take part click HERE

The Genealogists for Families motto is "We care about Families (past, present and future"

Submitted at http://feb29th.net/ - A blogging project across the globe.
(http://feb29th.net/2012/03/02/a-reflective-thought/)