Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Little things Do mean a lot!

Our friends at Future Leaders UCC in Ghana just posted pictures of these little reading and writing booklets sent in the last shipment. I am glad that the little booklets mean a lot to them and a little thing like seeing a photo of their smiling faces using the books means a lot to me. I am sharing this with everyone who helped me get the donations to Africa and to everyone who might want to help in the future. We can each do a small thing which can have a big!



 
I picked up these handwriting books at the Five Below store in Northern Virginia and here they are helping the kids At Future Leaders UCC Ghana learn to write.
On my first trip to Ghana there were no workbooks and I had to write letter dots on scraps of paper for the kids trace.
These phonics books were rescued from a pile about to go to the recycle bin at a public school in Manasas, Virginia.




Please consider doing a little thing today to help children living in desperate poverty in Ghana and Kenya. Buy a pack of pencils, crayons or writing booklets next time you are at the store. Or, make a donation via Paypal to help us purchase books and pay for shipping. Every little bit helps.

Thank you!




Sunday, February 22, 2015

A Path Appears opens a window to life in a Nairobi slum.

I watch A Path Appears last night and was brought back to Nairobi, Kenya.  Like Mia Farrow and Nicholas Kristoff, I drove down those crowded dirt roads. I walked those muddy paths and heard those beautiful children sing! What an honor it was to meet such brave and determined children. I was humbled by them. What do you say when a child sleeping on the floor of a one room shack, with 8 other people, no running water or electricity asks you what your greatest hardship is in life. I was speechless. How do I dare mention my trivial hardships, my "first world" problems, like: I am searching for more meaning in my life or I am lonely in my big empty house, while my husbands travels with his job and my children are away at University. I can't.

If you want to understand why I am determined to help, please watch Episode 3 of A Path Appears. Mia and Ronan Farrow visit Shining Hope for Communities, an organization working for change in Kibera, one of the worst slums in the country — and the world. Home to hundreds of thousands of people, Kibera is a neighbor slum to Mathare, where I visited Mogra Star Academy. Like Mathare, Kibera has limited power and running water. I am in awe of Kennedy Odede and his wife, Jessica Posner Odede who opened the Kibera School for Girls, which aims to provide the area’s most at-risk young girls with a path out of poverty and abuse. Kennedy reminds me of my friend Billa Mahmud in Teshie Ghana, who also grew up in the most difficult conditions only to dedicate his life to helping children like him live a better life. I have the most respect for people like them who are making a real difference in the world.