November 27, 2005 
admin 
The Remarkable Maria takes place in the capital city of Suriname called Paramaribo. Suriname is in the northeast corner of South America and shares borders with Guyana, Brazil, French Guiana – and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Suriname is an amazing and spirited country with a population of about 440,000. It has a richly multicultural population: Hindustani, Creole, Javanese, Maroon, Amerindian, Chinese and European. The food is wonderful! (Especially the roti.)
Suriname is former colony of the Netherlands. Dutch is the official language but other languages are spoken, including English and Sranang Tongo (which is sometimes called Taki Taki).
Suriname is a developing country. Approximately, 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. The poverty line is a complicated measurement of financial well-being. But it can mean that the people under that line do not have the resources to buy all the essential things needed to live a healthy life.
HIV/AIDS
We know HIV/AIDS is a very large problem in the developing world. The number of children impacted by HIV/AIDS is enormous. To date, 14 million children around the world have been orphaned. That is 45% of the population of Canada. Imagine that!
