{"id":1105,"date":"2015-03-31T16:11:30","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T21:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2015-03-31T16:12:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-31T21:12:17","slug":"bulletin-124","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/?p=1105","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin # 124"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>THE HELLENIC LINK, Inc.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"logo\" src=\"http:\/\/helleniclink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/logo1.gif\" alt=\"logo\" width=\"133\" height=\"117\" \/><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"EllinikosSyndesmosBlack\" src=\"http:\/\/helleniclink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/EllinikosSyndesmosBlack1.jpg\" alt=\"EllinikosSyndesmosBlack\" width=\"298\" height=\"21\" \/> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Member Update-<strong> BULLETIN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 43px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"446\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Editorial   Committee<\/span>: Achilleas Adamantiades, Alex Economides, Christos Efthymiopoulos, Dean C. Lomis, Gerasimos Merianos, Panagiotis Siskos <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Contributing Editor<\/span>:  Evangelos Calamitsis  <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Associate Editor<\/span>: Costas Efthymiou<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>No. 124, January, 2015 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 1px;\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"17\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"713\" valign=\"top\">\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the start of this New Year, when the general outlook is far from  bright nationally as well as internationally, when the \u201chomo homini  lupus\u201d is perhaps more applicable than ever before, the <em>Bulletin <\/em>wishes  to bring to the awareness of its readers a hopeful glimpse of reality,  the spirit of humanity\u2019s brotherhood, afforded to us and the world by  the culturally forward-marching Hellenic Christianity, thanks to its  faithful and ever-pioneering missionaries. A vivid picture of this  reality is given by the following report. The focus of the benevolent  developments reported is Eastern Africa and particularly the country of  Kenya, which was visited recently by Dr. Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis, a  member of the Hellenic Link\u2019s Advisory Council on Hellenic Education.<\/p>\n<p>Africa, long neglected, or, even worse, exploited by the \u201ccivilized\u201d  West, is now experiencing a wondrous transformation, highlighted in Dr.  Fotinis \u2019report, obviously cherished by the native Kenyans themselves.  CJE<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Orthodox Kenya:\u00a0 Greek or not Greek? That is the Question<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My 17 year old daughter and I were recently part of the Orthodox  Christian Mission Center (OCMC) 2014 Teaching Mission to Kenya from  October 27 to November 8, 2014. \u00a0Archbishop Makarios of Kenya, who is  under His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and  All Africa, warmly hosted us.\u00a0 From the moment our team was offered  hospitality at Archbishop Makarios\u2019 home to our travels in and around  Nairobi, I felt that I was in Greece about 30+ years ago.\u00a0 The beautiful  flowers, the mountains, the genuine respect of the people for other  humans, the d\u00e9cor of His Eminence\u2019s home, as well as the metal blue  gates of peoples\u2019 homes, the heartfelt hospitality, brought me back to a  time and place that warmly touched my soul so many years ago.<\/p>\n<p>We both had life shifting experiences with our fellow Orthodox  brothers and sisters in Christ in Africa, and continue to be impacted by  the people and our experiences with them. We were given the blessing to  live for just over a week in an oasis or mini paradise, in the middle  of the largest slum in Africa &#8211; Kibera. That mini paradise, filled with  beautiful flowers and plants, is the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical  School: Makarios III Archbishop of Cyprus Seminary.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"124KenyanPriests\" src=\"http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/124KenyanPriests1.png\" alt=\"124KenyanPriests\" width=\"839\" height=\"473\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of   Alexandria and All Africa, His Eminence Makarios Metropolitan of Kenya,   Kenyan clergy, the teaching staff and the students of the Academy. <\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>[This picture was taken two weeks before our arrival, so these are the seminarians that we now know well.] <\/em><\/p>\n<p>The seminary serves students from all of Africa. Also located in this  oasis is the Orthodox College of Africa, the St. Clement of Alexandria  School (300 Pre-K to 8<sup>th<\/sup> grade students), a Medical Clinic, a  field, and an Orthodox Cathedral dedicated to All-Saints. \u00a0We also  visited another school, The Child of God Academy, deeper in the slums.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Kenya was a humbling experience because it made us realize at a deeper level\u00a0what <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">really<\/span> matters in life. God\u2019s love is in the <strong><em>relationships<\/em><\/strong>,  not in the material things. During our stay there, we focused on  teaching, sharing, listening, and learning. We began our time with the  Kenyan children in the Divine Liturgy, where all three hundred students  sang the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">entire<\/span> service by heart in English, Swahili and in <strong>Greek<\/strong>.  There were no chanters or choirs. At the primary school, we focused our  time in lessons about icons, parables, sacraments, and the Holy Cross.  The children were each able to make their own beaded crosses to wear and  protect them from the generous donations given by some of our sponsors.  Even though the school was Orthodox, many children did not have their  own cross, and it was touching to see them wear it throughout the week.  We had the precious opportunity to exchange thoughts with the children.\u00a0  They had truly inquisitive questions. They even taught Spyridoula, my  daughter, some of their African dancing games and, in turn, she taught  them the Greek Dance: <em>hasaposeviko<\/em>, which was a lot of fun to watch.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the seminary, we attended classes and I taught two courses, and  offered an after dinner reflection on how Christ and the Church teach by  word and deed. Spyridoula, along with two other team members, helped  lead and answer questions in a symposium that focused greatly on youth  ministry and Orthodoxy in America. From these discussions, we are now  jointly trying to find ways to implement youth programs, even a summer  camp, at the seminary and at their local parishes. We also made the same  beaded crosses with all the seminarians because again many had no  cross, nor a Bible. Each and every seminarian, representing a number of  different African countries, impacted us deeply and they became our  brothers or <em>ndugu<\/em> in Christ. Everything at the seminary was a  blessing, especially attending church every morning and evening with the  beautiful seminary choir, chanting in Swahili, English, Greek and some  other African languages, an adult baptism of a seminarian from Rwanda,  and the sharing of fellowship (cultural singing, dancing, stories) at  dinner and every moment of the day that created such strong and deep  relationships with every single seminarian there.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the Orthodox College of Africa, we met with their education and  business chairs.\u00a0 I offered a presentation on Learning Theories to  current education students.\u00a0 While at the college, we met and enjoyed a  harmonic performance by the Royal Melodious Singers whose members come  from a variety of Christian denominations. \u00a0Together they are committed  to reaching the nations for the Lord through singing.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Wherever there was an Orthodox presence in Africa, we also saw the  outpouring of love from the people, the governments, and the churches of  Greece and Cyprus.\u00a0 Many of the icons, vestments, and Modern Greek  language textbooks fill their churches, libraries and schools.\u00a0 The  Hellenic spirit of philotimo and philoxenia is also found abundantly in  the Kenyans and other Africans we met.\u00a0 The profound respect of one  human toward another, and the intricate role and responsibility toward  the community, were refreshing to experience in today\u2019s narcissistic  society.\u00a0 So then, my question to each one of us is, Orthodox Kenya: Is  it Greek or not Greek? \u2026 in terms of values, personhood, sense of  community, \u2026. !<\/p>\n<p>Since it is not possible to share everything in a simple article, we  continue to post our stories, reflections, and the stories of those we  met, along with the hundreds of pictures and videos taken on our new  BlogSpot (fotinisduo.blogspot.com). We hope that by sharing this  experience in this way, each of you could get a glimpse of the treasure  that we found in Kenya.<\/p>\n<p>Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>May your learning never end and your love for others weave community!<\/p>\n<p><strong> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A Brief History of Orthodoxy in Kenya<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Orthodoxy came to the people of East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania and  Kenya) not through the efforts of a single missionary, but through  charismatic African men searching for truth and <em>\u2018orthodoxia\u2019<\/em> in  the early 1920s. Correspondence began with the Patriarch of Alexandria,  and by 1946 they were received into canonical Orthodoxy through  Patriarch Christophoros.<\/p>\n<p>In 1958, because of the rapid development of the Orthodox faith in  East Africa, a Metropolitan (Nicholas Valeropoulos) was appointed to  care for the Spiritual needs of the three East African countries. The  name which was given by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria  was the Holy Archbishopric of Irinoupolis, which means the\u00a0<em>&#8220;City of Peace&#8221;<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The late Archbishop and President of Cyprus Makarios III, a leading  personality in the fight for the independence of his country, was  closely associated with the President and leader of the independence  movement of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. During the fight for freedom from  colonial British rule, the Orthodox Church of Kenya played a leading  role in the struggle for Independence. The Mau Mau movement had many  leaders from the Orthodox faithful, especially in Kiambu. During the  struggle for freedom, Orthodox Schools and Churches were closed by the  colonial government and many Orthodox priests were imprisoned.<\/p>\n<p>On March 22nd, 1971 Archbishop Makarios laid the foundation stone of  the Orthodox Patriarchal Seminary at Riruta, with the blessings of His  Beatitude Nicholas, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa.  Archbishop Makarios said: \u201cTo help our African brothers in their search  for the ways of God in Christian virtue and brotherhood and with the  blessings of Almighty God we create here a center from which new  Apostles of Christ will spread the word of the Lord in this part of the  world and administer the comforting joy of the Gospel in the hearts of  our beloved African brothers.\u201d He pointed out that it was a symbol and  expression of friendship between the peoples of Kenya and Cyprus. During  this visit, he performed large-scale baptisms in Nairobi and Nyeri.<\/p>\n<p>Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos who was assigned as Acting  Archbishop in 1982, completed the seminary and undertook the training of  indigenous priests, translations, and the building of Churches, clinics  and schools. The Orthodox Patriarchal Seminary is under the  Patriarchate of Alexandria and serves many of the countries of Africa.  In 1998, the Seminary was renamed the Orthodox Patriarchal School. Today  it follows the curriculum of other Orthodox Christian Theological  Schools and functions with students from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,  Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Cameroon who are being trained to meet the  needs of the rapidly growing Orthodox Faith.<\/p>\n<p>On February 22nd, 2001 the (late) Patriarch of Alexandria, PETROS and  the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate met to assign Archbishop  MAKARIOS (of Zimbabwe) as Metropolitan of Kenya. The Metropolitan has  studied at Sorbonne and Oxford and holds a doctorate of Philosophy from  Oxford. He taught at St. Barbabas seminary in Nicosia and the Orthodox  Patriarchal Seminary in Nairobi for more than 15 years before 1998, when  the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria assigned elected him  Metropolitan of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. His\u00a0Eminence continues to  teach Church History, Missiology, Homiletics, Hagiology, Teleturgics,  Patristics and Greek.<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 402px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"276\" align=\"left\" bgcolor=\"white\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"124KenyaPriest\" src=\"http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/124KenyaPriest.png\" alt=\"124KenyaPriest\" width=\"259\" height=\"382\" \/><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Archbishop   Makarios<\/span> <\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The Orthodox Church in Kenya is making a great contribution to the  social, economic and educational development of the country. Many  secondary schools, clinics and nursery schools throughout the country  have been created to meet people\u2019s spiritual and physical needs, making a  visible witness of love and concern throughout the country. There are  many ongoing programs concerning Youth and Women. Translations of the  Divine Services of Orthodoxy are being made in many of the languages of  Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Today, there are four Metropolitans in East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania  (2) and Kenya) &#8211; two of which are African. The World Council of Churches  website currently puts the number of Orthodox Kenyans at over 600,000.  \u00a0The OCMC has been involved in assisting in the establishment and  nurturing of the Church in Kenya through sending missionaries, Teams and  clergy (Support A Mission Priest &#8211; SAMP) support in addition to  assisting with building projects and Agape grants throughout the years,  beginning in 1985. Currently there are 250+ priests and deacons in  Kenya, the majority of them receive some type of assistance through the  OCMC, Support A Mission Priest program. Additionally, the OCMC has  offered assistance in training of the indigenous clergy of Kenya through  grants.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Election Time!-Reminder to Members<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" bgcolor=\"white\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>We wish to remind all members of   the Hellenic Link, Inc. of  their right and duty to vote in the on-going   election of Board of  Directors. We urge those who have not yet done so to   follow the  instructions sent to them earlier and rush to mail their votes    immediately. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A New Function of the Incoming Board<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The purposes of the Hellenic Link, Inc., as specified in its  Certificate of Incorporation and further detailed in the Article 2 of  its By-Laws, are pursued and their implementation managed by the Board  of Directors directly or by mandatory and discretional committees  generated by its executive authority. One significant committee  established in the past (2005) was the Advisory Council on Hellenic  Education. For ten years, this Committee has steered a number of  educational projects which laid the foundations for a previously  nonexistent infrastructure of\u00a0 Hellenic Paideia in the USA. Beyond the  study of basic educational needs, the Council undertook the initiative  for the development of Standards for the Teaching\/Learning of Modern  Greek, as a first step to introduce the teaching of the language in the  primary\/secondary educational system of the country. Another area of  learning which has been lagging behind is the lack of awareness of the  values and accomplishments of the Byzantine Civilization, being the  missing link between the Classical Hellenic and the Modern Western  Civilization; studies on this theme have been sponsored by the Committee  and they are currently in progress. Yet, another aspect of the progress  sought in learning the Greek language has been the effort to make  available in Greek universities relevant studies directly accessible to  American Students and satisfying the academic requirements of their home  academic institutions.<\/p>\n<p>In 2004, the BOD after careful consideration decided that the  Advisory Council should be merged with the Board for the following  reasons: Hellenic education is and will remain a primary concern of the  HL, therefore, it makes sense for the Advisory Council with its leading  educator-members to be an integral part of the Board. The enrichment of  the HL leadership with outstanding educators would be highly desirable.  Moreover, the merger of the two bodies would facilitate overall  coordination and make administration more efficient.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, the new Board to be installed soon will include elected  members who will serve the educational objectives of our Association as a  distinctive Committee\/Council.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">An Update on Issues and Projects of the Hellenic Link<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The new Board that will emerge from the election will have a full  agenda that will require their careful attention and productive  management. We highlight here a few pending matters, which need further  examination and action.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The status of the \u201cStandards for Teaching Modern Greek\u201d project. As  is known, the document drafted by the Task Force on assignment by the  Advisory Council in cooperation with the American Council for the  Teaching of Foreign Languages, has been under editorial review in the  hands of ACTFL. While we are awaiting the publication of the final  document, it is appropriate to point out that the Council is ready to  assist to the extent needed in the completion of the project as well as  for its implementation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In didactic practice. There is no doubt, that the approval of Modern  Greek as one of the foreign languages to be taught in U.S. schools of  primary and secondary education, will necessitate a serious commitment  and effort on the part of the Greek American community. We note that  preparations for this essential and unavoidable eventuality are not yet  in the making. It is incumbent, therefore, for the Hellenic Link, Inc.,  in the context of its own cultural mission and history, to make plans  and to undertake initiatives to achieve broader social cooperation  within the <em>Omogeneia,<\/em> focused on the realization of Greek language learning in American schools.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As our readers know by now, the Hellenic Link, seeking to create new  opportunities for dissemination of Greek learning in America, had  informally recommended the institution of summer courses of Modern Greek  for the benefit of American university students. We are in the pleasant  position to let everyone interested know that our recommendations were  heeded: the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has established a  specially designed two-summer Program that offers to American, including  Greek American, students an advanced level of proficiency in Modern  Greek that fully satisfies the requirements for language course learning  of their home institutions of higher learning in the USA. This Program  is to be launched this summer (June 15, 2015) The University of Patras  is currently developing a similar program which will be ready soon to  serve students from North America. In support of the above programs, the  Hellenic Link has been advertising them within the Greek American  community. Relevant announcements already have been presented in the  Greek American Press; such efforts should be intensified. Moreover, the  Board community through its Council on Hellenic Education ma make good  use of televised presentations to enlighten the community\u00a0 on the value  of the new language-learning opportunities and thus try to effect  thriving enrollments in the mentioned summer programs.<\/li>\n<li>In view of the continued financial problems experienced in Greece  and the inability of the educational authorities of the country to  assign teachers of Greek to schools in the United States, it becomes  more urgent for the Hellenic Link to act as a think tank once again,  this time to ascertain the feasibility of establishing a training  program for certified teachers of Greek, who could be hired in US  educational districts that can support viable programs of  teaching\/learning Modern Greek. The new Board can review earlier efforts  to delineate the establishment of such an educational resource.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Environmental Concerns Put to Action at the U. of Maryland<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The \u201cTerps\u201d(for Terrapins, the undergraduate students of the  University of Maryland-College Park) began in Spring 2011 to push for  the university to\u00a0 reduce bottled water consumption on campus. Their  proposal to provide stations where people could fill their reusable  bottles with tap water was awarded a $62,000 grant which was immediately  applied. In their publication <strong><em>Sustainable UMD<\/em><\/strong> (Fall\u201914),  they have presented the accrued benefits of their action versus the  current detrimental use of bottled water: \u00a0  \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Buying  Buying disposable bottled water costs 2,000 times more than tap water \u2013  making it more expensive than gasoline. Producing disposable water  bottles uses 17 million barrels of oil each year. The application of the  student proposal on the College Park campus during the 2013-2014 school  year diverted 623,000 bottles from landfills and over 12,300 pounds of  plastic waste by filling bottles with tap water (see photo).<\/p>\n<p>We applaud this limited but eloquent utilitarian practice in favor of  environment-preservation of the students in Maryland and we warmly wish  that it finds imitators in many analogous situations around the country  and the world. Moreover, we deeply wish that the same proactive wisdom  prevail in matters Hellenic, in meeting challenges of the present and in  planning for the future.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><strong>THE HELLENIC LINK, Inc.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>A NON PROFIT CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong> OF HELLENES AND PHILHELLENES<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong> INCORPORATED IN DELAWARE<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong> Suite No. 278, 38-11 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, New York 11105 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong> Web Site: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org\/\">http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org<\/a> Email: <a href=\"mailto:info@helleniclink.org\">info@helleniclink.org<\/a> <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Contact Telephone: (718) 217- 0430 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.helleniclink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Untitled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Untitled-1\" width=\"199\" height=\"216\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE HELLENIC LINK, Inc. Member Update- BULLETIN Editorial Committee: Achilleas Adamantiades, Alex Economides, Christos Efthymiopoulos, Dean C. Lomis, Gerasimos Merianos, Panagiotis Siskos Contributing Editor: Evangelos Calamitsis Associate Editor: Costas Efthymiou No. 124, January, 2015 At the start of this New Year, when the general outlook is far from bright nationally as well as internationally, when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-articles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1105"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1107,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions\/1107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helleniclink.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}