The Definition of Being a Girl…
August 12, 2008 | 6 Comments
Personhood is not a thing to take for granted. There are so many kinds of expectations which are determined to intrude on this elemental right of human existence. And that’s what makes the task of becoming an authentic self so challenging.
One of the most significant gifts my parents gave me was their refusal to pigeon hole my development as a person. I use the word person because while they fully loved the fact that I was a girl, my worth or potential was never based on my gender.
Living in a cultural context which had rigid ideas about what girls did and did not do or become, their actions as they raised me made them pioneers. I was never told that I could not study a certain field, play certain games or aspire to certain goals because I was a girl. Nor was I ever pressured to find a husband or pretend to be dumb so as not to intimidate the guys.
I had to go outside my home to learn that these things were issues that girls face all the time. In fact, all over the world, girls are denied the right to learn to read and write, forced into sexual activity at a young age and told to put their dreams on hold. All for one thing…just because they are girls.
That’s why I love this video that I came across on the Internet a couple of days ago. Girl power is not about one upping boys or burning our bras. It’s much bigger than that. Girl power is about changing the way the world thinks about what works.
It’s about showing that one fully empowered girl who becomes a woman of strong internal fiber has the ability to not only rock the cradle but renew transformational change in our world.
So, here’s to every single girl who knows that her special place on the planet is one worthy of every unique aspect of her body, soul and spirit. And that regardless of the labels her current circumstances might dictate…Girl-power cannot be defined within the limitations of any culture, race, creed or religion.
It’s just too big!
Pure Joy
August 11, 2008 | 8 Comments
I set out this past April for Nairobi, Kenya. A much anticipated trip! I went there pursing a passion and returned with a confirmed calling. I lived and worked along side a wonderful group of people for ten days. I met some of the displaced women and children that had been affected by the post election violence. I talked with them. Danced with them. Smiled with them. One thing that I did not expect to witness was their pure joy. These women had it radiating from their souls. In the most devastating time they found it.
How does that happen?
We need to ask ourselves that. We here, as Mothers, have our share of trials and pain. But we have more resources than one can count. The resources on the continent of Africa are limited. In some areas they are nonexistent. I believe, we will never see the level of “poor” that they will see. That they have seen. My hope is to continue to assist with efforts to help.
The one thing that will always ring true to me, is that though they are poor in a monetary sense. They are far more rich in spirit. They have the biggest hearts and largest smiles that you will ever see. I hope we catch the spirit and help change their circumstance.
Aids, Malawi and over 500,000 orphans
August 11, 2008 | 2 Comments
Sometimes I marvel at life and the amazing way that important and life changing people and events come our way at just the right moment in time.
The other day, one of those “amazing connections” came to me in the form of an email from a doctor I had worked with many years ago on the board of the Pasadena Community Non-Violent Resource Center. Since then I have moved to North Carolina and my personal focus has expanded to helping Mothers Fighting For Others and our dear St Monica’s Orphanage in Kenya.
When I received this email I immediately forwarded it to Rocky, feeling there must be something we could do. She said….write about it on Mothers Fighting for Other!. As I was re-reading the email I realized I could never capture the essence of it and so will share the email with you all as it was written: The Children of Malawi
“As you know, Mary and I have been spending about two months each summer for the past 7 
years in Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest countries. The Malawi people are among the finest, warmest and most loving people we have ever known. Many of them have become family to us.
Poverty, malnutrition, limited medical resources and inadequate clean water dominate the lives of many of them.
When we are in Malawi we volunteer in rural clinics and hospitals. We work with rural community based projects organized by the Malawi people as they deal with the disease and hunger and death that are part of their everyday existence. Many of these efforts are supported by the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) which introduced us to the needs of Malawi’s people. We also organize travel for friends from the U.S. who come to learn from and to be in solidarity with the people of Malawi. Through careful listening and respectful observation, our U.S. travelers discern how they can best serve in order to bring hope to Malawi’s orphans, to their guardians and to the sick and dying. The good news in all that is not in the unbelievably poor conditions that our Malawi friends face every day, but— that they are rising to the occasion, helping one another in the most remarkable ways. And, with the help of caring people in the U.S., resources are made available to help them tackle their problems. Individuals and congregations and non-governmental organizations are all helping in these efforts. I know of many great organizations, but I know of none that makes every dollar given accomplish as much as GAIA does, nor of any that works any more closely with the Malawi people, utilizing their leadership skills and vision and commitment to invest in lasting and sustainable changes in their communities. When I am so fresh from seeing how effectively your gifts are helping the children and their women caretakers and in helping reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi, I cannot let the opportunity go.I must ask you once again to consider helping these people with your prayers and with your dollars. Please go to the GAIA website right now and see if you are not moved by what your gift can do: The GAIA You can give immediately on line or put a check in the mail —or even make an ongoing commitment, as some of my friends do, by having a set monthly donation authorized through using their credit card.Now—here is some other good news. And now I am not asking you for money. I am asking for your voice.
Senators Tom Daschle and Bill Frist are about to meet with the committees that write the governing agendas for the Democratic and Republican party. They are going to ask the political leaders who make up these committees to add anti-poverty planks to their platforms, making ending global poverty official party policy.
And they need our help. I just took action with the ONE Campaign and signed their petition to the platform committees. Senators Frist and Daschle will deliver our signatures and send the message that Americans want a strong commitment to ending the suffering caused by extreme poverty and global disease.You can take action too, here: http://www.one.org/platforms/?rc=platformstaf Our nation and other nations need to keep the promise we have made to the world’s poor. Let your voice be heard. Shift the use of our tax dollars away from waging war to waging peace by ending the suffering of the world’s poorest people.This is a time of hope! Join me as an active ONE member and let our voices be heard by our leaders.”Wow, we have a lot to do! I hope my sharing this letter with you will energize you to take action…whether for St. Monica’s or Malawi or helping the global effort to help the world’s poor. We CAN make a difference!
Getting The Word Out
August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
One of my goals for MFFO is to get the word out about the organization. I belong to a social network called Minti and I am required to place HeadMutha.minti.com in a blog post so MFFO posts can be fed into my blog there.
So, thanks for your patience.
Foreclosures, Homeless Pets and One Remarkable Little Girl
July 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There are so many innocent victims of the US housing crisis. Celia’s story about a woman committing suicide (below) is one tragic example.
As a Realtor I not only read about it in the news everyday but I experience it first hand: the text in the listings: “Pre-foreclosure, bring all offers”, the anxious sellers waiting for me to show up with my potential buyers, the empty homes in complete disarray as if someone just walked out one day not wanting to turn around and see what they were leaving behind. These are truly hard times in our country.
Once-in-a-while, during such tragedy emerges some brilliant examples of the best of humanity. But, one rarely thinks of a 10-year-old girl as one capable of making such a difference to so many innocent victims…the pets of foreclosure. There are a growing number of pets of all kinds becoming homeless due to the loss of a home to foreclosure. I Googled “Homeless Animals Due to Foreclosure” and came up with pages upon pages of links and articles about the number of homeless animals as a direct result of foreclosures and the efforts throughout our country to take care of these treasured pets and family members necessarily left behind.
But one particular story touched me. A ten-year-old girl from Oregon named Mimi came up with the idea all by herself of creating a website: FreeKibble.com where people can play a game she created called the Bow Wow Trivia Game. Each question answered results in the donation of 20 pieces of kibble. The more people play Bow Wow, the more kibble will be donated. On May 14th, 2008 Mimi delivered her first round of free kibble, 240lbs, to the Humane Society of Central Oregon. Her next delivery was for 500lbs, enough to feed 1,000 dogs for one day! Sponsors such as Zootoo.com pay for the kibble. Mimi has even added a second game for cats: Free KibbleKats.com.
Several months ago I wrote two articles: Raising Children to Make a Difference in the World and Children can help too. There is something about the selflessness of a young child that blows me away. If Mimi can make such a difference, imagine what we can do if we set our mind to it!
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