Smith: Kids will send The Box to Nepal

Three groups of globally attuned Sonoma County students have raised $1,000 to ship to earthquake victims in Nepal precisely what it appears they need most.

A Shelter Box, packed in England, contains a durable tent for up to 10 people and essentials of life such as water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, solar lamps, thermal blankets, some basic tools, mosquito nets and a children’s activity pack.

The $1,000 collected by Interact Club members at Cotati/Rohnert Park’s Rancho Cotate High, Technology High and Lawrence Jones Middle School will purchase one Shelter Box.

The kids would like to send another one or two or three to Nepal. Ken McCoy, a member of Rotary Club of Rohnert Park-Cotati and an Interact advisor, invites anyone interested to write a check to the club and send it to him at 5 Loma Linda Dr., Cotati CA 94931.

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IN UKRAINE, Jon Batzdorff is helping to fashion new limbs for war casualties such as young Ukrainian soldier Vasyl Pelysh, who lost an arm to Russian separatists who captured him and took exception to his “Glory to Ukraine” tattoo.

As the story’s told in Ukraine, a separatist used an ax to hack off Pelysh’s tattooed arm.

He’s one of the amputees being fitted with prostheses by Batzdorff, ex-owner of a Santa Rosa orthopedic lab, and a team of U.S. and Ukrainian prosthetists and physical/occupational therapists.

Batzdorff emailed from Kiev, “We are working with three kinds of amputees: military, political, and civilians. They have prosthetics here but very little for the arm amputees.”

Batzdorff tells of a second young man who lost an arm and leg to battle with separatists.

“For the last year since he was injured ... he has been completely dependent on his parents to even cut up his food.

“Now he can walk on his new leg prosthesis and throw a ball or cut up his own food with his new arm prosthesis.

“This is an incredible satisfaction for us.”

What an extraordinary thing to be able, and willing, to do for someone who’s lost part of himself and yearns to once again be self-reliant and whole.

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CARNEGIE HALL was all that Daniele Citti dreamed it would be.

The Cardinal Newman High grad, now 21 and a senior at St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga, took a break from studying for finals to perform with the St. Mary’s choir at the storied hall in Manhattan.

He and the other students were invited by a producer who heard their gold-medal performances at the World Choir Games last summer in Latvia.

Having now triumphed, too, at Carnegie Hall, Daniele will soon graduate from St. Mary’s with a BA in performing arts and launch another dream - to compose music for films, TV or video games.

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MR. MUSIC IS THE NAME Sebastopol’s Jim Corbett has earned one chord, song and for-the-joy-of-it performance at a time.

Saturday evening, our humble and freely giving Mr. Music will endure being the center of attention at the Aged to Perfection Distinguished Citizen celebration of the Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce.

It happens at the Sebastopol Center for Arts. All are invited to come thank Jim for his gift of one of the best things in life.

Chris Smith is at 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @CJSPD.