Blog Action Day: Do this one thing with me

Really different topic today.

Poverty.

Today is Blog Action Day. An annual one-day movement to change the conversation. To focus the power of all our little blogging podiums on one topic that means more than any of the things I post about day-to-day.

This year the topic is poverty. And the big and little things you and I can do to lift people up.

Sometimes these questions seems too big. It can be easier to just say they’re unsolvable, inevitable. But, as the sermon said a few Sundays ago, there is enough for everyone, we’re just not willing to share it.

Here is a big and small way people just like us are creating change:

Big Way: Many of you have heard me talk about my father. A better man than most. He recently returned from a trip to India where - among other things - he cut the big celebratory ribbon on the Vadaketh Development Center - a place he helped raise the money to build. Vadaketh is set to help people - from babies to job seekers - who have developmental disabilities live more fulfilled lives.

While there, Dad met Rev. Timothy.

As a boy, Timothy lived in the Red Light District. His mother was a prostitute. A missionary family walked them out of that hard life and helped them start over.

As an adult, Timothy returned to the Red Light District. There, he has a rudimentary workshop where he teaches sex workers to sew and offers day care for their children. All with the goal of helping them walk out and start over.

His daughter is going to medical school. She’s able to because another caring family is housing her and helping her with expenses so that Timothy can continue to do good work for other families without holding back his own.

(You pick which is the big thing in that story. There are a lot.)

You can see my dad’s notes about Timothy here. If you want to help him out, email me.

Small Way: Our good friend David Griner is a new dad. He and wife Karen have invested a lot of thought in ways to pass on their values to Allison. One of the first things they did was create a Kiva account in her name.

Today, they make loans on her behalf. As she gets older, she’ll take over the account, giving her a very real look into the challenges of poverty and need. And, showing her that one person can absolutely help.

I’m funding my Kiva account today. I hope you’ll open one, too.

Please pass this on.

Comments

[cheritycall]

How are you?, Give something for help the hungry people from Africa or India,
I created this blog about this subject:
on http://tinyurl.com/65dptv

[Gavin Heaton]

Great post! Of course, many of us find it difficult to make the sort of commitment that Timothy does. But that is where Kiva comes in. When pooled with the resources of others you can really change the life of another person.

[danielle]

Kiva is probably the coolest thing I have ever participated in. Donate when you have the money, and keep reinvesting it once they pay you back (that's what I did when I was making uber cash).

[kouji haiku]

i love kiva. :) am currently unable to make a donation though, so i put up its banner on my blog (as well as that of freerice and goodsearch). i'll donate once i start working.

saw this post via the front page of blog action day. it's great that you're participating. :)