Fund What?

I want to raise awareness to the severe need that is facing over a billion people in this world… Extreme Poverty. Imagine your life on less than a $1.25 a day. Now try to raise a family with that.

I am looking for interested people to partake in a grassroots awareness program with me. The only cost to you is your time, a sharpe marker, and a piece of card board. More information will follow… So stay tuned.

its time… change for change

OK. So sitting here at work listening to the new Jack’s Mannequin album when I starting thinking about www.youbethecharity.com the site I started a little while back. Then I starting thinking about numbers and dates. 12 kept coming coming back to me. 12 months in a year…. What can I do with that? I kept asking myself.

My Response: “what if I can set a goal every month to acomplish a charitiable project”

If I can do that… its 12 times a year a difference can be made for those in extreme need. That doesn’t sound too hard. Just 12 times… once a month a new project a new goal.

The power of 12! It can work!

I am loving this idea…. What do you think? Can the power of 12 really make a difference. can I (we) gather enough like minded people in this world to accomplish one goal a month?

I’d like to hope so….

the-backpack-farm_general2008.pdf

Check this out. An interesting look at a cooperative farming project in Kenya.

What do you think?

How can you take an entire rural 3rd world village and lift them out of extreme poverty?

Thats what I’ve been thinking about lately. Feel free to share with me your thoughts. I’m talking complete package… not pieces.

I think it should focus on 4 key things:

1. Education

2. Food

3. Medication

4. Clean drinking water

From what I can see through research, this isn’t currently being done. I say lets join forces. NGO’s providing these particular services should join and start with one village at a time.

Thoughts on how we can change this:

Currently subsistence farming is practiced by most families in rural villages throughout Africa. However, it is not the answer to establishing long term food or economic security. Small scale “kitchen” farming only embeds new cycles of poverty in rural regions of Africa.

Long term programs need to work with communities to implement scalable farming models with reinvestment potential to exponentially increase agricultural production and empower cooperation within local communities. Planning must include a diversity of training and monitoring to ensure concepts of production and quality are institutionalized within agricultural development programs.

Starting a community farm is one such program that offers an answer to both food and job through education, thus helping put an end to subsistence farming. The farm would be owned by the NGO and would offer paid short term farming jobs to the community. While within this job, workers would work all aspects of the farm while learning the essential techniques needed to move past subsistence farming. The crops produced by these workers can then be sold and taken to market. Even to oversea markets such as the Middle East, India, China, and other countries in Africa. When the worker leaves the farm, they are given a kit that will help them farm on their own. Included could be fertilizers, drip irrigation system, and local crop seeds. The money made from the food produced can then be used to reinvest into the farm or in opening a new farm within a new community. Thus having the potential of being self-sustainable.

An example organization that does something somewhat similar is the organization www.oneacrefund.org Another idea shared with me from a women in Kenya is the idea of the Backpack Farm. More information on this can be found at www.suganic.com
My idea of the community farm is a combo of these two different organizations.

Another organization that I have been following for sometime is www.charitywater.org If and when I get the chance to start my NGO, I want it to be marketed much like this one. This particular organization helps build water wells where no safe clean water is available. Its pretty awesome. It takes about $5000 to build a single well and it will provide for over 400 people for 20 years I believe.

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts on my efforts to go back and make a difference in Africa again. I hope this gives you a little indication about my desire to go back. It is my goal and what I am working toward. I would love to hear your feed back into my thoughts. I have done a lot of research regarding this farming idea. I have started building networks that can potentially help make this work.

It has been weeks since my return from Tanzania, yet to this very moment, I think and reflect back on it every day! I have looked at pictures, watched videos, wrote to our youth over there all in an effort to get an ounce of that feeling back that I had while over there. The longing to go back to Africa, is intense. I know I will. I have always felt an unexplainable connection with Africa. I believe it is one of the reasons I felt so at home there. Upon my return to the states I’ve had the pleasure of traveling around the South Florida district explaining to the congregations the greatness of this trip. It’s hard to condense a trip into just a few minutes worth of speech and even harder now to condense it into a few paragraphs.

Its funny how our heavenly father works some times, I originally was selected to go on a different trip and not to Tanzania. I had my reasons for switching trips and it’s equally nice to look back at it now and see how God orchestrated it all to get to the point I am now. What an experience of faith!

The impact and realization that we were in Tanzania really didn’t set in until the second day, when I had the above realization. From that moment on, the trip became so much more for me both naturally and spiritually. It sounds cheesy to say, but I found myself in Tanzania, I mean completely found myself. I was at my highest spiritually and I had more inspiration to do my natural work/business than ever before. Awe, the feeling, it was GREAT.

Our group, became more than a group, we became family. Our hotel became more than just a room, it became home. The congregations weren’t just stops for us to visit; each of them became our home congregation. The Tanzanian youth became our brothers and sisters, our best friends! Where else can you find this? TANZANIA!!!

There were particular moments of interest in this trip that I choose to talk about more and more. Those were the family visits, the orphanage, and the school. Each one of those moments ROCKED my world. Getting the ability to just dance around with the people, children, community, church, members, etc… was equally enjoyable. But for me the highlight was going on the family visit, spending time working at the orphanage, and finding my inner child again at the school. I LOVED IT.

So with my reflection of my trip, I look to the future. I could write pages on the many things we as a group or I personally experienced while in Tanzania. But words do not do it any justice and no matter how hard I try, I can seem to find a way to fully express my feelings for it. It changed my life. It has given me purpose, drive and inspiration. It has strengthened me spiritually. It has even broken my heart and brought tears to my eyes. This was my experience in Tanzania. I pray every day that I can go back; that I can make a difference there. I hope that with God’s blessings my passion, desire, and hearts longing can manifest itself into an ongoing opportunity in Africa.

Lastly, I would just like to express my thankfulness for all involved in this trip. I wouldn’t be who I am or feel what I do if it wasn’t for your countless sacrifice and prayers. With all my heart thank you!

Tanzania and the rest of Africa – I will be back! I can’t wait!