As most of you already know, I am a volunteer with Save The Children Organization. We the volunteers, organize activities for the kids. We also get to decide when to join these activities since we all have other things going on. About three weeks ago, I had my first activity with some of the kids, and I must say we had a great time! 

I managed to try almost everything, being that I had to keep an eye on a kid. For someone like me who never goes to the gym, it was a nice workout haha.  

It is required to buy these socks to jump in if you don't already have a pair. I think they are cool. 

Seeing those kids happy and having fun, was the highlight of my day. 

Thanks for stopping by xoxo. 

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It baffles me that us women still have to fight and prove our worth to some men, society and other women. It is exhausting to think that in 2019, people cannot differentiate sexual assault from rape yet they find pleasure in shaming victims who survived these crimes.

Before we go any further let me explain what the terms, 'Sexual Assault' and 'Rape,' mean.

The term 'sexual assault' refers to any sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the victim. Some forms of sexual assault include, but are not limited to:

• Attempted rape
• Fondling or unwanted sexual touching
• Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex, touching, etc.

The term “rape” is often used as a legal definition to a form of sexual assault which includes sexual penetration of a victim without his/her consent. Rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape.

How are we still fighting for gender and sexual equality in a very modern world? Mehn, saying ‘I am here and I matter’ all the time, is exhausting. It Is shocking that there are people who still do not believe Rape Culture exists. People still claim this is a phrase made up by feminists to make men look bad, or to make it seem like rape is something that happens far more often than it actually does. In a society as such, how can women like me feel comfortable to bring a girl child into this world where us women cannot even protect ourselves from rape, sexual assault or domestic abuse?  

The misogynistic men who call themselves our protectors are the very ones abusing us EVERYDAY. (20 people are a victim of intimate partner violence abuse per minute). The men who are supposed to help us reach our full potential, are damaging us before we even get the chance to start making our own choices. The men who are supposed to be our fathers, brothers, favorite uncles, religious leader, etc. see us as sexual objects. With all of that, they still blame us for their disgusting attitude and for defying us on a daily basis.

Every day there is news of a woman being raped, and many questions always center around what the victim was wearing or doing that might have 'provoked' the attack, the victim's alcohol intake, what time of the day it was, if the victim was alone or why they did not take extra measures to protect themselves from the crime.

There are whole lots of ‘safety tips’ out there for women to follow in order to ‘avoid’ being raped and assaulted but people forget the MEN! Society needs to start holding men accountable for their actions instead of asking us (women) to change our way of dressing, act a certain way when around men, and asking us to also stop doing some of the things we love to do.

Let’s not forget girls and babies as well! Do they need ‘safety tips’ to stop these crimes from happening to them? Do we blame them for being raped or sexually assaulted, even though they have zero knowledge as to why their dad is paying them a visit every night? Do we blame them for being mothers at the age of 8?

When a woman finally gathers the courage to speak up and tell her story of abuse/domestic violence; our sisters, mothers, aunties, and society join these men to shame her for trying to find peace with what 2 in every 3 women has gone through.

Victim shaming is the MAIN reason why it usually takes most victims months, maybe years to speak up!

People need to STOP victim shaming! The media need to start having headlines like; ‘Men stop attacking women.’ You don’t have to walk in the shoes of a victim to know that they are NEVER to be blamed.

Thank you for stopping by. 

Pictures of me by: John Arvid Johnsen

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One of the requirements you must meet as a volunteer with ‘’Save The Children’’ is taking a First Aid Training at least yearly. Being that I haven’t had the training before, this was an opportunity for me.

Last week Sunday, I attended my first 'First Aid' training! It was educational and fun. We also got a certificate at the end of the training/course, which I am certain would come in handy one of these days. The First Aid training lasted for 5 hours. The instructor was super helpful and patient with us and for some reason, I was laughing when others were doing the practical. When it was my turn to do a CPR on the baby mannequin, I got nervous. 

In the picture: A Mask to perform a CPR, a guideline for First Aid and notebook. 

There three main points we covered;

- The basics of First Aid

First aid refers to the emergency or immediate care you should provide when a person is injured or ill until full medical treatment is available. For minor conditions, first aid care may be enough. For serious problems, first aid care should be continued until more advanced care becomes available. 

- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including a heart attack or near drowning, in which someone's breathing or heartbeat has stopped. 

- First Aid for illness and accident.

The instructor showed us how to use bandages and how to stop a wound from bleeding, in the case of an accident.

Photos from google 

Before this training, the question often crossed my mind; 'what would I do if someone needs first aid and I am the only person around?' The thought of me not being able to help a person in need scares me, however, I hope that I won't find myself in a situation where I have to apply my first aid training. A person's life is placed in your hands, that is a bit scary. But all in all, at least now I know what to do if I am in the said situation. 

Taking a first aid course will teach you some life-saving skills, it will also give you the confidence you need to act, if (or when!) an accident occurs. Understanding when you should phone for an ambulance is key, as it is vitally important to deal with any life-threatening injuries before reaching for the phone. It is also extremely important to know both when and how to move someone, following an accident – and when they should be kept still. It is better to know first aid and not need it than to need first aid and not know it.

Thank you for stopping by :)

First picture: Jorgen Kvam 

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With love,

Winnie Tenne Cooper 

All around the world beauty pageants of all calibers are held for women, and sometimes men, to compete in looks, clothing, and talent competitions. It is an entire industry in itself. However, everyone has a different opinion in regards to how pageantry works and what it promotes.

Many believe that it’s unfair to oversimplify the competition as an event that prioritizes beauty and overlooks the intelligence, accomplishments, and competence of its candidates. While others believe that beauty pageants promote unhealthy body image and degrading women. As a result of this, beauty pageants have been the center of heated debates among women—feminists and non-feminists alike—for just as long.

That brings us to why I think “beauty operations should be prohibited in beauty competitions.”

Beauty pageants have a huge impact on many young women/girls throughout the world. Cognizant of the fact that contestants are mostly seen as role models by girls and women alike. These contestants inspire girls and women to love themselves and be confidently beautiful.  

“How then can a contestant who have done some modifications to his/her body teach young girls/women how to love themselves for who they are, when the said contestant didn’t even fully love herself until she did beauty operations?.

Don’t get me wrong, whatever changes a person decides to make with his/her body in order to fully love themselves is their choice to make. However, it bothers me that managers and some pageant organizations talk contestants into getting a beauty surgery of some kind during the competition. Pageantry is supposed to help boost women and young girls confidence, instead of promoting beauty surgeries. For instance in Venezuela, contestants as young as 12 years old, are encouraged to get beauty surgery(s) in order to succeed in the competition, according to research.

Pressuring contestants to go under the knife to fit the narrow standards of beauty should be prohibited. It is just a few nights of showing themselves on a stage, but a lifetime to live with those changes and the side effects beauty surgery brings, I honestly think it is not worth it.

I think that the less beauty surgeries are promoted in pageantry, the more the chances are for contestants and aspiring contestants and young girls to stop thinking their natural beauty is not enough to win a crown. Women should feel confident with their bodies, no matter how they look.

Photos: Jørgen Kvam

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Love always,

Winnie Tenne Cooper

As you all know by now, I am not from Norway, and I was not born here either. Ever so often, people mistake my speaking English as a way of saying ''I don't speak Norwegian,'' considering I replied in English or I lapsed into English during a conversation. They immediately start to speak English, and regularly, I reply in Norwegian leaving them confused. Not good? Yeah..., I know. It just happens. 

I do speak, read, and write Norwegian. However, I feel like I get my point across better in English than I would in Norwegian. That is one of the reasons why I choose to blog in English during this competition. 

Furthermore, I have families and friends from different parts of the world who are following my journey. I believe it is best that I choose a neutral language that they and almost everyone understands, that way I am certain that my message is reaching everyone. 

In addition, I feel like words and messages lose their meaning through translation as well. Besides I am familiar with writing in English. It is also the language I have known all my life. I hope everyone understands my decision. 

Until next time, thank you for stopping by. 

Photos: Jørgen Kvam

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Love always,

Winnie Tenne Cooper

I am privileged to be a volunteer of an organization that fights for children's right to education, healthcare, food, and to live in peace and with hope for the future. This organization is called Save The Children (Redd Barna).

Save the Children Norway (SCN), is a non-governmental organization, with no party to political or religious ties, whose values are built on the UNCRC and the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Save the Children Norway has offices in Oslo, Kristiansand, Trondheim, Bergen, and Tromsø, covering all regions in Norway. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was established on November 20, 1989, and has been signed by 120 of the 192 countries under the UN, making it the most widely accepted document recognizing and protecting the rights of children across the globe.

The convention has 54 articles in total. Articles 1 – 42 are about the rights of a child, while Articles 43 – 54 are about how governments and organizations will work to support children’s rights.

Save The Children Trondheim coordinate different groups for volunteers, giving everyone a chance to contribute to a cause they care about. I am a part of a group called 'Besøksgruppe.' We visit children's shelter and crisis center and arrange activities for the kids. Our goal is to create a better everyday life for these children. These activities vary from bowling, movies, trips and etc.

During 2009, 1734 children had one or more overnight nights in shelters together with their mother. Half of the children were aged 0-5 years. There are 51 crisis centers in Norway according to Redd Barna.

Shelters and organizations like Save The Children need volunteers. Therefore I urge everyone reading this article to give volunteering a try at least once, if you aren't volunteering already. For people living in Norway, this website can be of great help if you don’t know where to start.

Find something that you're passionate about or something that inspires you, and then find a need in your community. There are dozens of reasons why volunteering is important -one just needs to find the one that feels right. You will be surprised by how much joy you create, just by talking to a child or meeting a need.

Photos: Jørgen Kvam

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