International Family Magazine launches Special Needs Family Issue and World Tour of African Families for April

International Family Magazine celebrates the special needs of families around the world and their World Tour of Families in Africa for April, 2008. In this issue, there are families of special needs that tell their stories. There is also an international interest story of prenatal screening that is disturbing and revealing for how medical technology is changing the gene pool. April is also International Family magazine's month to tour Africa and its families. The focus of Africa is one of tragedy in Darfur and the beautiful resurrection of Rwanda, and many other parts of this exquisite continent and its peoples and languages.

(PRWEB) April 6, 2008 -- International Family Magazine celebrates the special needs of families around the world. IF mag recognizes every family member from every corner of the world and wants to hear his/her story. There are so many families that are challenged and victorious every day as they live with Autism, Down Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Spina Bifida, Cystic Fibrosis, Parkinson's Disease, PSTD, Alzheimer's et al. IF mag (International Family Magazine) open's its ears and pages, to make sure everyone is heard.

April also continues International Family Magazine's World Tour in Africa. Africa is suffering its genocide in Darfur after a time of similar tragedy in Rwanda. And yet, the people of Africa demand to be heard in beautiful memoirs such as the "The Translator" and "The Lost Boys" and there is an African Literature Renaissance that delivers exquisitely to the world. Africa's peoples, lands, and animals are by far some of the richest in the world and IF mag discovers this in the months of April and May.

World Technology's New Family - We live in a modern day world of medical technology that offers prenatal screening and the truth is, babies with special needs are in decline. Many women now sign up for a CVS screening as early as 13 weeks of pregnancy for information on their unborn babies. Many women are required by their national medical industry's "risk" assessments for 2nd trimester prenatal screening. Invitro eggs are screened for chromosomal deficiencies and rejected. The world sits on the fence of loss and discovery. There are legal, economic, social, ethical ramifications and the world is shifting into a new gene pool. These thoughts are further examined in Michael Wayland's feature article for April, "Prenatal Testing."

"One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each other's stories. -Rebecca Falls

Real Families Tell Their Stories of Special Needs - In this issue, there are families of special needs that tell their stories. Shannon Kernahan, a new writer from IF mag's new partnership with Hot Moms Club (check them out!), says that her son Dalton with Down Syndrome is her little rock! Cheryl Paley and her wonderful Zoe examine the special needs of adopted children. Grandma Ellen tells of elderly special needs found in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. IF Mag's very own Crystal B. has lived with Spina Bifida for 23 years.

Nobody is Perfect - This issue of special needs is one of the topics that inspired Founder and Editor Catherine Wayland to launch International Family Magazine. When she first became a mother, the available family magazines seemed to talk about how to make everything perfect - perfect cupcakes, perfect houses, perfect organization, perfect children. Her familly was way too imperfect and normal to fit into those popular magazines. So, Wayland decided to do something unpopular, collect stories from real families and tell it like it is.

International Family Magazine does not sensationalize families like the reality shows on popular television. It is a quiet, and stable editorial community that hopes to grow slowly an online reality that may become a reality off the web, in print and in person. International Family Magazine's mission statement seeks to find a common denominator to connect all peoples that is the least polarizing. IF mag found that in the sanctity of home life. Everyone wants a safe home for his or her families at the end of the day.

International Family Magazine has writers from seven continents and is published in a minimum of seven languages. "The friendships that have been made since the inception of International Family Magazine is all I ever wanted to accomplish," says Catherine Wayland, IF mag Founder. "IF we could achieve these friendships on the web, maybe one day we could break bread together in person, and then reverse for a moment the popularity of war."

###