Helping Others to Grow Where They Are Planted
I came across this YouTube video and it got me to thinking about how we help the poor and about all the immigration discussions taking place currently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE
Before you continue reading, I hope you will take a moment to watch the video and then come back to my thoughts on this subject.
Over the last few years I’ve began making micro-loans on Kiva and have focused on loaning to women who are creating various crafts to sell or improving their farms so they can sell the produce.
http://www.kiva.org/
So far I have made 19 loans and haven’t lost a penny of my money as it has all been paid back as agreed. I have a little over $100.00 in the program that I continue to loan as it is repaid. A minimum loan is $25.00. I deliberately loan to women because they seem to focus on helping the family and spending their money on growing their business and family needs. This is one of the ways that I help others to ‘grow where they are planted’.
Another program that I have found fascinating is Heartline Ministries and their work in Haiti. http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx Now I have to admit that Haiti wasn’t really on my personal radar until the earthquake last January but I have been reading and following various groups there ever since and I’ve been impressed with Heartline’s efforts to educate women to keep their children and raise them in a loving and healthy manner. I know that adoption is wonderful but it is so sad to see pictures of mothers handing over their babies because they can’t care for them or don’t know how to keep them well. Heartline is focusing on helping people improve their living situation where they are. In addition to helping mothers keep their children healthy, Heartline has also started a women’s program where they teach women how to use sewing machines, make some basic items to sell and then help the women manage the monies they receive from their sewing. This program is focused on making these women not only better mothers but giving them a method of supporting themselves.
The following family work in Haiti for Heartline but have been in the USA to finalize the adoption of some of their Haitian children. While in the USA, their teenage daughter, Paige, ran a half-marathon to gather pledges for houses for Haitians. Her family had found a Haitian builder who would match her efforts house for house. The effort paid off in a huge way because it provided houses for about 40 people plus the builder was able to provide jobs to build those houses. Here is a link to the Livesay blog which is funny, thought-provoking and informative. http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/
Personally I try to give my talents to projects because I don’t have a lot of extra cash to donate so my donations have been with knitting and crocheting. Most of the projects I work on have been projects that I’ve discovered on Ravelry.com. Here is a link to my project page on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/projects/kae1crafts Now I realize that many of these projects don’t really help people ‘bloom where they are planted’ as some of the projects are for our troops but I feel that I want to support them while they are working to protect us. Other projects have been selected to assist students in full-filling their community service commitment at school (a wonderful thing that schools are promoting). I feel if I can help with their projects then they are learning to give to others and at the same time I am helping keep someone warm that might otherwise be without a hat, scarf or mittens.
There are many projects around the world that assist children and those are the ones I try to focus on because if children grow strong and feel loved they are more apt to achieve success where they are. One of the programs that I love to work for is a Ravelry group For the Children of Pine Ridge http://www.ravelry.com/groups/for-the-children-of-pine-ridge
Ravelry is a free knit, crochet, spinning and weaving site. To participate you just need to sign up with your name, address and phone number. You DO NOT receive any spam from signing up and are not asked to purchase anything.
I’ve written all of this to help myself and hopefully others to focus on what we can do to assist others to become successful where they are. What do they need to improve their lives? What can we personally do to help them achieve a better life? Anyone who is able to read this is better off than many people because - first, you can read; second, because you have access to a computer. So how can all of us make a small difference in someone else’s life? Not all of us can travel to a third-world country but we all have a talent that we can put to work to help another person. Let’s find that talent and make it work!
ETA: I just came across this innovative solution for helping people lift themselves out of poverty and thought it deserves being posted here. Hope you will take a moment and read about solar lanterns.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/01/wadongo.interview/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Here are a couple more creative uses of Solar to help people bloom.
http://www.solar-aid.org/