Today, Dec 1 is World AIDS Day.  You really should read this article about hope from Relevant

I left Desalech with an amazing sense of hope, and also urgency. She had seen her life turn around. But I could only imagine how many other women there were like Desalech who desperately needed help: life-saving help.

I had traveled to Ethiopia with a couple of other World Vision staff who worked solely with Team World Vision. They basically recruited people to run marathons in honor of people like Desalech in Africa, raising awareness and asking for financial support in the process. This marathon thing, to me, was an absolutely ridiculous idea.

In seventh grade, I was the girl who faked being sick to avoid running one mile in gym class. Chalk it up to all the classic reasons: self-consciousness, fear of failure, embarrassment. I dreaded that one mile so much that I probably wasn’t actually faking sickness at all. The thought of running for even 10 (OK, maybe 14) minutes, coupled with the resulting humiliation of it all, was enough to make me physically ill. Let’s just say that my aversion to sports did not improve throughout high school. Or college.

Be sure to read the whole article.

Technorati Tags: Relevant, World AIDS Day, World Vision

This video was created by Team World Vision to thank all of the runners and supporters who help make this year’s “event” so successful:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5yA6etuuk4

Through the fundraising efforts of 1,000 runners (like me), we raised enough money to build 170 clean water wells and 2,500 sanitary latrines which will create a 75% reduction of waterborne diseases among children in Southern Zamiba.

Isn’t that exciting? I thought so and wanted to say thank you again for your support of my goals, but also for the children in Zambia.

Technorati Tags: Team World Vision, World Vision, Zambia, Wells

Image via Wikipedia

I can’t say how thankful I am for everyone of you who supported me through the marathon and especially through my fundraising efforts for Team World Vision.  It was a humbling honor to run on behalf of my African friends and to share their stories with you over the last months.

It really has been fun to combine two of my passions into such a powerful event.  Thank you! I am excited to announce that as of writing this post, we have raised $2,086 for Team World Vision!!! This exceeded the $2,000 goal!!  Thank you!!

Below you will find a list of the posts where I shared about my passion for Africa and my experiences there.  You can also read all of the posts by clicking on this link.  In the order they were published:

• Team Cross Meets Team World Vision
• Ryan & Sara Hall Meet Team World Vision
• Africa: Land of Hope & Joy
• Saving Schools A Vital Asset
• Ghana: A Shining Star
• Beauty of Africa
• Mixing Passion with Change
• Money Well Spent
• Running in Africa
• Athletes for Darfur
• Hurricane Relief: World Vision Style
• Cindy McCain, Laura Bush, and World Vision
• The World Vision Experience
• First Impressions and Reactions in Ghana
• Reflections on South Africa

That pretty much sums up Team World Vision.  I’m not sure when/if they actually close down the fundraising page, but you still have the opportunity to give today.  Thank you!!

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags: World Vision, Team World Vision, Africa , Ghana

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In South Africa we spent a lot time in the classrooms at various schools. We split up into small groups and “taught” various classes. We talked about goal setting, child abuse, HIV/AIDS, drugs and other topics before opening the floor for questions they had for us. Many of these related to the USA, 9/11 (we went January of 2002), what we liked about South Africa, and more. This is a picture from one of the classrooms. At a different school a group of kids really wanted me to go to the store with them. Ultimately, I relented and we walked a short distance to a “convenience” store. The big draw for the students was an arcade game. I can’t recall the name of the game, but I remember the shock I felt when I realized that these students were giving up their lunch money to play this stupid game. It was upsetting to me, but ultimately it was the student’s decision to make that choice. But why store owner would you do that to kids?

We did have time to stop and reflect on what we had experienced as well as the opportunity for some “touristy” type activities.  This included a little safari one day where we spent some time driving around in Safari style trucks, equipped with an elephant gun, just in case!  This was on of the giraffes we saw. We also saw some elephants, a lion, lots of warthogs, and some random other animals.

One week was spent in the northern part of South Africa, near the Botswana border. For the most part we ended up spending a large chunk of the week playing with kids. We spent time playing soccer with some older kids and visited a drop-in center for street children. These children had no place to go and couldn’t afford school. The drop-in center provided food and structure for them. Staff would teach and counsel them, while helping them overcome their addictions. Most of these kids were addicted to sniffing glue – it helps take the edge off the hunger pangs. We spent a few hours playing and interacting with them, before we were supposed to go to a village. As we were preparing to leave the center director decided that his kids should come with us and had them all get in the back of his pick-up truck. He then offered for a few of us to ride with them. We did and had the opportunity to interact with the kids a little more directly.

This is a group of villagers from the village we visited after the drop-in center. We spent a few hours playing soccer and interacting with some of the village youth. As we were leaving we saw this large group of villagers loading up a wagon with their personal belongings. Through our interpreters we discovered they were preparing to go out to the fields for a month. They were leaving their homes for a month to try to scrape out a living. They were very enamored by us and wanted us to hold the babies, thinking we would be able to magically heal and bless them just by our touch. We struggled to communicate with them but some of the group was able to interact.

This last picture is a random village that we drove by. I put it here to show you some of the conditions that people live in around the world.It was seeing places like this that rocked my world and opened my heart to those who have nothing. Before this trip I knew I wanted to be involved with changing communities, but thought that meant the inner-city or rural American communities. After seeing places like this I realized that there is something bigger that needs to be done around the world so that the poorest of the poor can have even the basic things that we take for granted.

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, South Africa, Africa

Homemade Cargo Bike

Below is a journal entry from my first day in the rural village in Ghana where I spent my eight-week Master’s internship. A quick background on what I was doing – my internship was working with a Multi-purpose Community Telecentre (basically a community center with a technology focus).  I was mostly helping them with program evaluation and did some teaching. A lot of my time ended up being about experiencing the culture and learning about village life.

The below excerpt was my first day in the village but also a major event for the Telecentre.  One of their projects is teaching bicylce repair and selling new and used bicycles.  I’ll try to insert relevant links if I can find them if I can.  Johnny is running the bike program, Osei was my supervisor, Samson was a news reporter from Ghana TV and John represented ITDP.

June 4, 2003

Today is a big day for the center. I didn’t realize how big until later. Today was the big bike show, the chance for the center to showcase the converted bikes as well as the new bikes being sold. A whole bunch of us began by putting together 20 of the new bikes so that they could be ridden. Johnny had done a great job training his students and they made the process go very quickly if not haphazardly because of the lack of tools. Many people were arriving and they bike ride began.

Homemade Tall Bike

I rode, it was funny because almost everyone took off like a bullet! I took it slower and began passing people, especially up the hills! Ghana Information Services (a Land Rover with a microphone) proceeded us down the road so many people were near the road! Many started cheering Obruni [Twi for White Man] when they saw me so I would wave and say hello. Also some of the groups would cheer m on to pass someone while others would cheer for the guy I was passing.  We rode to Konongo which is about 8 miles round trip with some good hills.

I did take my time, letting people pass me until they would look back and smile! When we got back I was very hot and very sweaty! The show began with a prayer in Twi. John, Johnny, and Osei all spoke. Osei was very powerful and inspiring. Also the Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport spoke as well as some other officials from the national government. All praised the program as innovative and an example to the rest of the country. The program was recorded for a segment on Ghana TV next week.

Also during the program a group of girls did some traditional dances which were interesting, they were poetic. Also the chief and his elders were present wearing full traditional garb. A single piece of cloth wrapped toga like around the body and was held together by the left hand. Each was unique but the chief’s was very intricate looking and it had some gold pieces and very colorful. Also there was an umbrella that was held over him.  I learned later that the size of it represented his power. Chiefs have authority over the land and are to be respected in the community. It runs parallel to the state government. Samson wants me to write about about the psyche of development to understand the people working in development and also to understand what development does to the people being affected. After the program

ITDP's Bike by Trek

I did a little dance with some of the girls who laughed hysterically!

I met one of Osei’s students who lives in Konongo. He will be working at the centre as well so that will be a great learning experience. Unfortunately, I forgot his name. I also met Effa, one of Johnny’s good friends who offered to show me around the area and also to help understand the culture better. I am a little concerned that he is more financially motivated than truly wanting to getting know me and show me his culture. Samson and I continue to have great talks. He is very interested in using his TV skills to help his country develop. I gave him some ideas of things to look into such as micro-credit lending and also Mister Rodger’s Neighborhood to interact with the kids. We had a brief talk about the transforming power of Christ and how we can be joyful despite suffering.  Later John, Johnny, and I did some welding. We just messed around with some of the steel tubing but it was an interesting way to spend part of an evening. I’m beginning to feel tired of being the only one not drinking, while I know I can I feel it is a conviction I must hold on to.

Pa ni (sp?) = respected elder

Nsu = water

I also realized that while water inside a satchel [plastic bag like container] is filtered, there are probably plenty of germs on the satchel itself as you squeeze the water into your mouth. There are lots of little lizards running around. Also there were a lot of crows this morning. All black with a little white stripe just behind the neck. Also something I never thought about before today’s bike ride was having to watch out for wandering goats on the road!

Galatians 2:10: Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Thank you for taking the time to read some of my rambling thoughts on one of my first days in Ghana. This is also a good insight into some of the great things that are happening across Africa.

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, Ghana, Telecentre

The World Vision Experience is an interactive exhibit that combines stirring audio and captivating photography, transporting you into the heart of Africa.

You’ll see, hear, and experience stories of tragedy and triumph lived out by real children in AIDS-affected communities.

I’ve not been able to go experience -- The Experience, simply because it hasn’t made it to a city near me yet.  But I have experienced AIDS-affected communities first-hand during my trip to South Africa.

It is not fun to meet children who have no parents. Or children who are dying because of the mistakes of their parents.

The Facts:

About 2.5 million CHILDREN worldwide are infected with HIV.  15 million children are missing one or both parent’s due to AIDS.  Everyday 6,000 children become orphans as a result of AIDS.  Those number sound huge and daunting.  And they kind of are.  But the good news is that World Vision (and other organizations) have been actively working in Africa and around the world to prevent further spreading of HIV/AIDS while at the same time offering compassion and hope to those who are currently affected by the deadly disease.  Remember the Caregiver Kits I talked about last week?  They are one form of World Vision’s work in this area.

You can help! A donation to World Vision on my behalf can assist their efforts in Africa and around the world to care for those who are suffering.  If you want to take a different step and not spend money you can contact your members of Congress using this easy form.

Finally, you can attend The World Vision Experience if it comes to a town near you.  The fall tour schedule is posted and they are criss-crossing the nation.  They will actually be in the Twin Cities at the end of October.

Here is a trailer about the experience:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ufJo6mOqZM

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, AIDS, World Vision Experience

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Laura Bush Speaking

In case you missed it the Republican National Convention was in my new town this week. Before you click away, this isn’t really about the RNC. Only partly. We did our part and let a sister-in-law of a friend spend the night with us – always glad to be gracious hosts! My penchant for politics made me want to be involved someone, but Christy said if I volunteered, she would go protest. Well I’m glad I didn’t because she might have been a little anarchist (not really but did you see the news?).

Cindy McCain Speaking

Ok, now for the main point of this post: World Vision and the ONE Campaign wanted to do something productive with the thousands of people hanging out and taking part in democracy. Sp they took the opportunity to get delegates, friends of the Party, and regular people like us to spend a few hours one afternoon so that we could impact thousands of lives – thousands of miles away.

Enough Hype
What did we actually do? We put together Caregiver Kits

Laura Bush hugging Princess Zulu of Zambia

that included basic medical supplies that a trained Caregiver in a developing country can use to “bring dignity and comfort to those living with AIDS.” Please read more about the kits and what they can do. It was a lot of fun to be involved in something that would make a tangible difference in someone’s life. Christy and I probably made at least 40 kits out of the 2,500 total from the event. Simple items such as latex gloves, antibacterial soap, antifungal cream, washcloths, and more can help a person live a better life.

I took a video putting together a kit:

Laura and Princess Zulu making Caregiver Kits

A very simple project that has a lasting and powerful impact. The last item placed in each kit was a handwritten note to the caregiver – offering encouragement and thanks for their hard work. The ONE Campaign has a great write-up and video’s from the event. They did this same event in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, write-up here.

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags: Team World Vision

Following the devestation  known as Hurricane Katrina, World Vision “distributed $10.2 million worth of donated goods and $6.1 million in grants to local churches and organizations,” according to this report. As I am writing this Hurricane Gustav is still wreaking its havoc on the southern coast and World Vision was poised beforehand to be able to provide immediate support.

Straight from their website on Aug 29 and Sept 1:

“We’re in full preparation mode here,” said Audrey Black, manager of World Vision’s Storehouse in Picayune, Mississippi, some 50 miles from New Orleans. “We have been seeing long lines at gas stations and stores as people stock up on necessities—but not everyone can afford to stock up. World Vision’s priority is to make sure we’re ready to help the region’s low-income and forgotten populations.”

World Vision, which serves children and families in need both in the U.S. and in some 100 countries worldwide, responded to Hurricane Katrina by distributing $10.2 million worth of donated goods and $6.1 million in grants to local churches and organizations helping struggling and vulnerable families recover and rebuild.

Based on the storm’s path and the need in affected areas, the agency is ready to ship several truckloads of drinking water, bedding, personal hygiene items, children’s and adults’ clothing and toys from its Storehouses in Dallas and Los Angeles, along with cleaning supplies, face mask filters, vinyl gloves, shovels and tools, and building materials for the clean-up and recovery phase. The supplies, donated by World Vision’s corporate partners, including Unilever and Lagasse, would be distributed through partner organizations to families in need.

“We’re hoping and praying that Gustav spares the Gulf Coast—but we know from experience that we have to be ready for a worst-case scenario,” explained Pettit, whose team has been actively coordinating with regional authorities and other members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) in preparation for the storm’s landfall.

Pettit cautioned that low-income families who evacuate could face additional challenges as the school year starts: “We learned from Katrina; too many impoverished communities simply fall through the cracks,” he said, “For example, children will need school supplies and help in enrolling in a new location if their families evacuate for any significant length of time.”

World Vision has been warning for weeks that its school supply donations are not keeping pace with increased demand this year, as a weak U.S. economy makes back-to-school shopping a luxury for many struggling families.

Your donation today can have an impact on the US as well as for my African friends.

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, Hurricane, Relief, Gustav

The Olympics are officially over now, so this post may be a little outdated. However, the topic is still worth talking about, at least in my opinion.  China had a long list of reasons why it maybe should not have been the host for the Olympics this year, most surrounding human rights issues.  The one issue that I really know about the most is their support for African governments.

You see China has this desperate need for a substance called OIL. Some African countries are rich with oil resources. Unlike the United States, China has a very hands off approach to getting the natural resources it needs to survive.  China doesn’t really care how you get the oil to them as long as you do.  Exploit children in forced labor setting – that’s fine.  Murder thousands of children because they are a little different than you – here’s some extra money – just make sure we get our oil.

Have you heard of the Darfur region of Sudan? It is ok if you haven’t, despite massive media efforts and national and international campaigns a lot of people still have never heard of the genocide occurring in Darfur.  Groups like Save Darfur, Dream for Darfur, Genocide Intervention Network, Investors Against Genocide, and many more have been working for years to end this horrible conflict.  Some people urged the world to boycott the Olympics all together, while others were saying boycott this or boycott that part.

More recently a group of athletes competing in Beijing, formed an organization called Team Darfur.

The mission of Team Darfur is to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur through the voice of professional and Olympic athletes.

The Team Darfur athletes are speaking out on the Olympic stage, showing incredible courage by advocating for the people of Darfur from the heart of China. Driven by the same determination that made them Olympians, these incredible athletes know that it is our resilience and resolve that will end this genocide.

You may have heard about Team Darfur, becasue China revoked the entry visa for the organization’s co-founder and 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist Joey Cheek. While this was very frustrating and disappointing for Cheek, it brought a lot of media attention to the organization and their efforts. You can visit their site and send a note of encouragement to the almost 100 athletes who stepped up and said something must be done to end the senseless killing of innocent women and children.  Here is the most recent news story about Darfur.

Two great stories out of Sudan and this year’s Olympics are the story of Lopez Lamong carrying the US Flag during the opening ceremony and Ismail Ahmed Ismail winning the silver medal in the 800m.  Ismail is a Darfuri who ran for Sudan, winning the country’s first ever Olympic medal.

How does all of this relate to World Vision and my goal of raising $2,000 in honor of my friends in Africa? Well Darfur is located in central Africa and World Vision is doing work with Darfuri refugees in the region.  But more importantly, it is through World Vision that I first learned about the genocide in 2004.

If you have some free time I would encourage you to check out some of the various links listed above.  But if your time is short I would recommend these two actions:

1. Visit Save Darfur and take action.

2. Make a donation to World Vision in support of my goal to raise $2,000 for Africa.

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, Africa, Darfur, Team Darfur

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My experiences with running in Africa are quite different than those that I have every day here in Minneapolis.  First, the temperature was hot -- but there was no air-conditioned room to retreat to post run.  Not a lot of people were running for recreation in the areas of Ghana and South Africa were I was at, especially Americans!! Running in an area always provides a little different perspective than driving around in a car.

South Africa

Since I was part of a team there were a couple of us who went out on several occasions for short jogs.  Here we were fed fairly nutrious meals and were shielded for the most part from some of the nastier aspects of water borne illnesses, etc.  It was also not oppressively hot during the days.  The recollections I have of running there are few, but I know we ran in a group and not for very long or far.  I only recall running during the last week of our stay when we were at a compound that was down the street from another compound of the same ministry. So we ran between the two sites and took a dip in the swimming pool afterwards.

Ghana

This was a much different all-around experience as I was the only American and was living more at a similar level as the regular villager up the street.  Our meals were mostly carbs (a lot of empty carbs) and I often left the table hungry for more.  Water was also an issue as it was harder to get pure “nsu” in large quantities.  I had brought some power bars with me for the trip and ate them on occasion. It was quite hot during the day and the only reprieve was sleeping under the fan at night. I think I ran 2x’s during my 8 week visit.  It was hard to time the nutrition, weather, and quality of sleep for optimum running. The times that I did run were on the dirt roads away from the village and I got some weird looks as I waved at the “neighbors.”

Needless to say running is a sport that everyone takes part in around the world with the same fervor.  I felt while I was running that it was crazy to be “wasting” so many calories when some of the people I was running by were calorie deficient.  Little children are able to run around because for the most part they are little bundles of energy -- but what happens after not eating for a week? or two?  Not to mention hydration. I mentioned pure drinking water -- it is available most everywhere but costs a little extra then ground water.  I sipped a little ground water once and was quite blessed not to get full-blown diarrhea.  I did get some intestinal discomfort because of my mistake. It was my first week there and I was sweating and exhausted.  We were meeting with the headmaster of a school and he offered water. So I took it. Ooops!

Water that causes diarrhea and calorie deficiency causes thousands of people to die each day.

3,800 children die every day from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Source: UN World Water Development Report 2, 2006

There is an easy solution to that. World Vision and many other organizations are providing the resources for villages to get safe drinking water.  World Vision is digging wells, educating the community about maintaining the well and the water quality, and providing safe storage containers. Digging a traditional well costs World Vision $5,390 which gets safe drinking water from 60ft underground. In some parts of the world, wells must be dug much deeper or through bad ground conditions.  These deep-water wells can cost $18,000 to dig.  Either of those figures may sound daunting, but your gift to Team World Vision will be joined with other gifts to help tackle problems like safe drinking water.

Please take a second to support my efforts in my first marathon by making a tax-deductible and secure donation to Team World Vision.

Thank You!

Follow-up Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Mv8pauMKc

Team World Vision

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can’t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.

Technorati Tags:   World Vision, Team World Vision, Africa