Stonehenge

Giza Pyramids

Great Wall of China

Taj Mahal of Agra

Easter Island
Mayan Ruins

Cristo Redento Statue

Machu Picchu

1. Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a mysterious circular compilation of upstanding rocks that date back to a
prehistoric era approximately 5,000 years ago. Located in the Wiltshire countryside of England,
these spectacular ruins draw hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Several thousand
attend on the dawn of the summer solstice to witness the near perfect alignment of the stone
formations against the sunrise. This phenomenon prompts many to speculate that Stonehenge
was originally built to be a magnificent place of worship. The site has since become a popular
place of worship for followers of the Celtic paganism faith.

2. Easter Island
Easter Island is located in the South Pacific near the coast of Chile and is generally accepted
to be one of the Polynesian islands. It is considered to be a single massive volcano whose
eruptions eventually formed the hilly terrain of the island as it is today. This site of

archaeological mystery draws tourists to its shores each year to marvel at the nearly 900
enormous stone statues that stand in locations all over the island. These stones, called moai,
reach an average of 13 feet in height with a weight of approximately 13 tons. The statues,
which resemble man, were carved by the original Polynesian settlers using only stone chisels.
How these early inhabitants placed the statues in their current locations remains a mystery.
3. Giza Pyramids
Located just outside the city of Cairo along the west bank of the Nile River are the Egyptian
Pyramids of Giza. The oldest of the ancient world wonders and the last to remain intact, these
pyramids are speculated to have been constructed around 2500 B.C. It is theorized the
pyramids were built to serve as tombs for the Pharaohs as ancient Egyptians believed that
death on Earth was just the beginning of the afterlife. They practiced the careful preservation
of corpses by entombing them with their valuables to ensure the great Pharaohs could
continue their journeys as king of the dead. The pyramids attract visitors every year to admire
the sheer enormity and the excellence of construction these ancient world structures embody.

4. Mayan Ruins
Scholars often debate the exact beginnings of the ancient Mayan civilization, but it is generally
accepted that their abrupt and mysterious disappearance from their cities took place in 850
A.D. The Mayans are historically noted for their extreme intellect and advancement of studies,
their grasp of mathematics, astronomy, writing and literacy thousands of years ahead of its
time. They are generally acknowledged to have formulated the first alphabet and to be the
creators of the modern calendar. The Mayans were also very skilled architecturally, as can be
witnessed by the vast array of ruins that remain standing. Tourists travel to the sites of the
Mayan ruins scattered through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and throughout the entire
Yucatan Peninsula of southeastern Mexico. Although the once thriving cities that now sit as
historical ruins were mysteriously abandoned by the Mayan civilization, the bloodline lives on.
Modern day Mayans live amongst their ancestral lands, speaking the language and embracing
the culture and traditions that began thousands of years before.

5. Great Wall of China

Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China was not constructed as one long continuous
wall with a sole purpose in its design. Different Chinese dynasties over the course of
thousands of years made their mark by building sections of the wall typically to provide a
defensive position against the invasion of the nomadic Mongols to the north. Eventually the
sections were joined together to create one elongated wall running 5,500 miles in total length,
which in addition to the wall includes trenches, watch towers, troop barracks, and other
defensive additives. The preservation of the Great Wall today is mandated by the Chinese
Government, with a focus on the areas of the wall near Beijing that generally receive the most
tourists. This 50-mile span of the wall is carefully maintained and renovated. Other more
obscure parts of the Great Wall have fallen into disrepair. This is partly due to a lack of upkeep
and partly because the materials used to construct these areas, such as compacted earth or
wood, have proven less durable than the sections of the wall that were built with brick or stone
in later years. Despite this, tourists flock to see this ancient relic and revel in its magnificent
views.
6. Cristo Redento Statue
Atop the Corcovado Mountain overlooking the glittering Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro stands
the Christ the Redeemer statue (or Cristo Redento, as it is called in the native Portuguese).
With arms wide open, the monument of Christ stands nearly 125 feet (38 meters) in height and

houses a small chapel at the base where Catholic weddings and baptisms are often held. The
original idea to erect a statue representing Catholicism on top of Corcovado came about in the
1850s, but was inevitably squashed in 1889 by Princess Isabel when Brazil became a republic
and the separation of church and state became law. However, in 1921, the Archdiocese of Rio
de Janeiro revisited the idea and began to fundraise in its support. The statue was inaugurated
on October 12, 1932. Although there are several replicas of the Christ the Redeemer statue
around the world, Rio de Janeiros Cristo Redento remains the tallest.

7. Taj Mahal of Agra

In Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India sits the Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum with an origin that
surrounds a legend of eternal love. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his
third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess who died in childbirth in 1630 A.D. He built the
mausoleum in her memory, constructing at the center a tomb for which his beloved wife was
laid to rest. During a time when most buildings were made from red sandstone, Shah Jahan
built the Taj Mahal using white marble inlaid with 28 different kinds of semi-precious and
precious stones. Tourists travel from all over the globe to see this Crown Palace, the Taj
Mahal, considered to be the most well-preserved tomb in the world. Some come to admire its
architectural beauty while others wish to lose themselves in the poetic romance that led an
emperor to build such a glorious tribute to his dearly departed love.
8. Machu Picchu
Isolated on top of a small mountain ridge within the Andes Mountains, sits a collection of ruins
from Perus Incan civilization. The city of Machu Picchu was built around 1450 during the apex
of the Incan Empire and subsequently abandoned just over 100 years later with the arrival of
Spanish conquistadors. It is believed by many to have been a site of worship for the Incans
due to its majestic location above the Sacred Valley and the flowing Urabamba River below.
Machu Picchu has earned its nickname, The Lost Cities, because its existence was known
only to locals prior to 1911 when an American historian discovered them. Since then, the Incan
ruins have become the most visited tourist attraction in Peru. Concerns regarding the effects
that massive tourism will have on the preservation of such a delicate site have been voiced by
Peruvians and historians alike, but to no avail. The Peruvian Government has taken every
precaution possible to ensure the cultural history of Machu Picchu remain intact.

Family engagement is the foundation of good casework practice that promotes the safety,
permanency, and well-being of children and families in the child welfare system.
Family engagement is a family-centered and. strengths-based approach to partnering with families
in making decisions, setting goals, and achieving desired outcomes.

The Benefits of Family Engagement:

Enhancing the helping relationship.

A familys belief that all its members are respected and that their feelings and concerns are
heard strengthens their relationship with their caseworker. This positive relationship, in turn,
can increase the chances for successful intervention.
Promoting family buy-in.
When families are part of the decision-making process and have a say in developing plans
that affect them and their children, they are more likely to be invested in the plans and more
likely to commit to achieving objectives and complying with treatment that meets their
individual needs.
Expanding options.
Inclusion of family membersincluding fathers and extended familyearly in a case provides
a greater opportunity to explore the use of relatives as a placement/permanency option for
children.
Improving the quality and focus of visits.
The partnership developed between the family and social worker through family engagement
strategies strengthens the assessment process and leads to more appropriate service
provision.
Increasing placement stability.
The CFSRs found that States with high ratings for developing case plans jointly with parents
and youth also had high percentages of children with permanency and stability in their living
situations (HHS, 2004). Research on family group decision-making (FGDM) also points to
improvements in creating stability and maintaining family continuity (Merkel-Holguin, Nixon, &
Burford, 2003).
Improving timeliness of permanency decisions.
Research also suggests that parental involvement is linked to quicker reunification and other
forms of permanency (Tam & Ho, 1996; MerkelHolguin, et al., 2003).
Building family decision-making skills.
By being involved in strength-based decision-making processes and having appropriate
problem-solving approaches modeled, families are more comfortable communicating their own
problem-solving strategies and exploring new strategies that may benefit themselves and their
children.
Enhancing the fit between family needs and services.
Working collaboratively, caseworkers and families are better able to identify a familys unique
needs and develop relevant and culturally appropriate service plans that address underlying
needs, build on family strengths, and draw from community supports. A better fit in services
often leads to a more effective use of limited resources (Doolan, 2005).

8 Wonders
of the world