I’ve seen most of the photos numerous times. I imagine that I am a lot like most of you who follow what is happening with MFFO. I look at the photos trying to get a feel for a place that I have never visited. I look at the photos trying to get to know, on some level, girls I have never met, but who I’ve come to love. Last night, I was simply missing my wife.

But the photo below stopped me in my tracks. It helped me focus and helped me go to sleep. It captures a simple moment in time. Two girls are reading a book. As a result, it clearly illustrates our mission: helping orphaned girls become powerful women.

What can you see in this photo? Call me pollyanna, but I see hope. I see the cycle of poverty being broken. “Educated girls grow into educated women, who – research shows – have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children.” It’s the girl effect.  Writing this now has me on the verge of tears.

This photo is what MFFO is about.

This is why we’re taking action in Kenya by creating a new home for 34 girls. We believe that part of the education process is teaching girls that they DESERVE to be treated with respect. Combine an education with a healthy sense of self-worth, and you’ve powerfully changed a life. And changing the life of a girl is important. Here are some facts provided by The Girl Effect.

1. When a girl in a developing country receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later, and has 2.2 fewer children.
2. Educated girls grow into educated women, who – research shows – have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children.
3. When girls and women earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.
4. An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ future wages by 10 to 20 percent.
5. An extra year of secondary school boosts girls’ future wages by 15 to 25 percent.

At Mothers Fighting For Others, our mission is to help orphaned girls become powerful women. And there’s a lot of work to be done. If you’d like to help, please let us know.

 

 

 

One trip to Malawi Africa and a visit to an orphanage in 2003 by a young woman has resulted in over 100 TONS of  “unwanted” goods being delivered to over 1000 schools and 120 community based organizations. 

When I hear stories like this I am always in awe.  It never ceases to amaze me how one woman with passion can make such an incredible difference in so many lives.

In 2003, Melissa Kushner, visited Malawi while working for the United Nations.  One of her first stops was “a remarkable but under-funded orphanage and community center that serves almost 1,000 children.” 

Like many countries in Africa, Malawi’s orphans are desperately in need of such basic resources as clothing and educational resources including paper and pencils.  Melissa returned from her trip and started calling her friends who worked at children’s toy stores to see if they had excess merchandise.  Her first shipment to the orphanage was almost 2 tons of clothing and toys.

And so began an effort that has grown into the non-profit organization:  Goods For Good,   “Making progress out of excess“.  According to Melissa, ” Our slogan is straightforward because our mission is straightforward.  We collect surplus goods for targeted distribution to vulnerable children in Africa.”  Goods for Good relies on donations from companies who have excess items, many  of which were just “gathering dust in warehouses or were slated to be destroyed”.

What a brilliant yet simple idea.  Another one of those “why didn’t I think of that?”  kind of stories.  Companies have excess and unwanted goods that can make a huge difference in the lives of so many in such places like Kenya, where Mothers Fighting For Others is helping orphans and refugees or Malawi.

Next week our founder, Rocky, is heading back to Kenya with school supplies and hugs for our precious girls.  And, that makes me wonder, if Rocky and Melissa both made one trip to an orphanage in Africa and came back with a vision, a passion and ultimately created non-profit efforts to help, what would happen if you, I and our friends visited these orphanages and met the children? 

My favorite quote from Margaret Mead sums it up perfectly:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

 

A recorded Skype conversation with my husband, Jeff Turner. I’m currently in Kenya with Juli, Ashley  and Tonja. The first thing we did when we got off of the plane was visit several Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.  In this audio, Jeff asks me about the reactions of the children to receiving something we take for granted… pencils.

More photos from the IDP Camps:

If you look around you right now, do you see a bottle of water or canned soda on your desk? If so, you can save a child’s life.

But what child you ask?  If I respond that it is one of nearly 10 million children that die under the age of 5 each year from causes related to poverty, you will most likely acknowledge this tragedy, take a sip of the natural spring water and let your mind move on to a more interesting blog post.

But, what if I were to introduce you to a little girl named Mira who is dying of starvation. You hold her on your lap, feel the poor little skinny body grasping for every breath. Then I tell you that you can save her life by giving up one bottle of water would you do it? My guess is you would say yes in a heart beat.

This is my own crude way of trying to explain the premise behind the newly released book:  The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer, a Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University.

One of the most common reactions I get when I tell people I am working to raise money for a girls orphanage in Africa is:  Why Africa when there are so many needy folks right here in our community?  As Singer writes ” It would simply not be true to say: ‘I can’t give a thousand dollars to help strangers in Africa, because I am human and humans are  less concerned about distant anonymous strangers than they are about people they know.’”

I happened to hear Peter Singer interviewed a few days ago on NPR and was so struck by his words that as soon as I got home I ordered the book.  This is the first time I had heard such an insightful argument for the need for all people to give, particularly to the poverty stricken in Third World Countries.  He proposes a “new public standard for a minimum that we should expect people to give to an organization helping helping people living in extreme poverty.”

One of his most powerful points is that if you can afford to buy bottled water when you have perfectly good tap water, then you are not giving enough and, in fact, you may be “leaving a child to die, a child you could have saved”.

Finally, thanks to Peter Singer, I have an answer not just for those who ask me this question but for why others should help efforts like my beloved Mothers Fighting For Others’ “Inspire the Child“.

International Women’s Day is a chance to stand with the women of southern Sudan, Rwanda, Afghanistan or any other country where we work and proclaim that women have rights and value. They are worthy of celebration and honor.  They are worthy of the economic and social change.

Racquel, hundreds of supporters have added their name to the list joining our call on March 5 or hosting an event of their own. They are standing with the women for grassroots solutions to end the food crisis and empower socially excluded women everywhere.

Join us for our celebration of the women we serve and supporters like you who are causing social change.

With food prices skyrocketing, women are wondering where they’ll find the next meal for their children and themselves. Women in the field are seeking the tools and skills that will allow them to end the food crisis forever. Thanks to your support, our commercial farming initiatives in Rwanda and Sudan go beyond traditional means of aid and actually teach the women the techniques and sustainable practices of organic farming.

Add your name to the list of supporters that are celebrating women on International Women’s Day.

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