When we were were in Uganda, one of the women who was making the items said to me "Thank you for loving us." That simple sentence has stayed with me. It has been such an honour to support these women and share their stories. And to love them from across the globe. I am going to write a letter to have read to the women of Living Hope in Uganda to tell them that they are not forgotten. We love them. We are supporting them from a far. If you would like to add your words of love and support to them - please email us at hello@iamjustone.ca by Friday, Dec. 7 and we'll include it in our letter. ...
We just made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. A day after America pauses to give thanks for all they have been blessed with.... they claw out each other's eyes to get the best deal. This video is from this year's Black Friday. It made me ill to watch it... I am loving the newest holiday though that is happening today. GIVING TUESDAY. A day to celebrate giving. Giving back to your community. Giving to better the world. Giving because you have been blessed with so much. This year - let's make Christmas a season of GIVING and not getting. Let's celebrate ways to give, to make a difference and to bring joy. There are so many ways to...
Soon it is World AIDS Day. A day to draw awareness to a disease that is killing people at an alarming rate. Especially in Africa. I have blogged before how on my first trip to Uganda in June, I was sitting with a group of people chatting. The Africans in our group asked us how many people in our families we had lost to AIDS. They were shocked when we said none. And that we didn't have any close family or friends infected with AIDS. They said "EVERYONE in Africa has lost someone they love to AIDS." As I have spent time in Africa, the face of AIDS has changed from this far away disease, to a recognizable face. Having...
When we were first in the planning stages of "JustOne" we really struggled over our wording. In our research we came across an article about TOMS that was criticizing them. (If you are unfamiliar with TOMS - they offer a pair of shoes, for every shoes purcahsed. We love their shoes!) The author claimed to be well traveled and said they had never seen children without shoes and that this apparent urgent need for shoes was false. I wish that were true. I wish every child had shoes. In Kenya, the words of this article came back to me as we walked the Kibera slums. The ground is mounds of garbage, broken glass, and filth. Animals and birds roam freely....
Yesterday was an emotional day. We had spent the entire day in the Kibera slums. Wow. To see such extreme poverty was so overwhelming. I just felt helpless. Standing there looking out over the slums my heart sank. How could we possibly do anything to make a difference? The need is so great. I felt small and insignificant. But then we entered Seed Academy, a small school run by our guide, Padox, supported by Give International. When we entered the school - we could see the kids hurrying to gather and stand in two rows. When we entered the room they were in they presented us with the most amazing gift they had prepared for us. They started to sing...
