finally.

NaBloPoMo Post #29: Shopping with a Purpose

If you have someone on your holiday gift list but you have no idea what they want or need consider buying something in their name, like water or a goat or a flock of chickens or a micro-loan. Here’s a list of places to get you started.

charity:water Give clean water.
Oxfam America Give animals, training for mid-wives, soap, blankets, seeds and much more.
Heifer International Give goats, sheep, water buffalo, ducks, knitting baskets, rabbits, milk cows, etc.
Samaritan’s Purse Help buy a plane ticket for a child needing surgery. Buy hot meals. Provide clothing and shoes. Help build schools and hospitals.
PlumpyNut A peanutbutter type paste that is being used to save children from malnurishment.
Doctors Without Borders Doctors and Nurses who volunteer their time in areas of the world where medical care is difficult to come by.
AHOPE Sponsor an orphan in Ethiopia who is HIV+

Or, if you don’t want to just give someone a card stating you donated money in their name, consider purchasing gifts from a store that gives back.

Ten Thousand Villages Great gifts from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is part of the fair trade organization so you know that what you buy is hand made and the artist is getting a fair price for their work.

Fistula Foundation Beautiful jewelry and scarves. Supports hospitals treating women with fistula – a complication from childbirth that can leave a woman incontinent, which usually means she is shunned from her family/support system. (P.S. check out the movie Walk to Beautiful for more information on this).
Amharic Kids Jewelry made in Ethiopia by women who are HIV+. The money made from the sales helps support these women.
Water4Christmas T-shirts, waterbottles, etc. 100% of the money goes to charity:water. You can also check out the Water4Christmas etsy shop for handmade items. Again, 100% of the money goes to charity:water.
Orphans No More You’ll have to e-mail the Matts to see if there are any left. The bracelets and ornaments were all made by the nannies in Uganda who are currently caring for their son while they wait to bring him home. The money will go towards their adoption costs and back to the orphanage he is currently staying in.
Beads For Life Handmade paper beads by bead makers in Uganda. I ordered a bag of loose beads for myself and they are amazing.
Kazuri Handmade beads from Kenya.

I’ll add more to the list as I find them. If you have any organizations, feel free to add them.

NaBloPoMo Post #13: Clean Water for Everyone

It’s almost here.

The day to spend $10 to change a person’s life forever.

$10 on Friday, November 13.

That’s it.

Water4Christmas

If you are looking for great Christmas/Holiday presents and you want 100% of the proceeds to go to charity:water then you need to check out Water4Christmas’s etsy shop.

They have ornaments, t-shirts, headbands, jewelry, blankets, and more. It’s all handmade and it’s for a great cause.

Walk for Water

Carrying 5 gallons of water 2 miles from the Mississippi River back home.

Pay It Forward

Remember that movie? I loved that movie. Anyway…May 27th was Give Away Day over at Sew, Mama Sew! and so I’ve been checking out a pile of blogs (hundreds actually). And in a few places I’ve seen people doing this pay it forward thing so I thought I would join in.

Here’s the rules

(I found my idea here: Bec Clarke)

I am entering into the following contract with the first 5 people who comment and then commit to do the same on their blog.
Just read below and if you feel up to the task copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment. I can’t post overseas, so it’s for US residents only.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. You get what you get and you don’t have a fit.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? (okay, I probably won’t bake anything because shipping that is a huge pain.)
5. I reserve the right to do something strange (but probably won’t)
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7. Send your mailing address – after I contact you.

Welcome to everyone. I will however, make an effort to do something that you like based on what I see on your blog, BUT there are no guarantees.

How Often Do I Use Water?

Since Kevin has started this whole Bald Birthday Benefit we’ve been very aware of how much water we use around here. And it’s amazing how much is used. I tried keeping track this weekend.

1. Woke up, went to the bathroom, flushed the toilet.
2. Washed my hands.
3. Got a drink of water.
4. Brushed my teeth.
5. Changed Milo, washed hands again.
6. Made Milo a bottle.
7. Got Lexi up, changed her, washed hands.
8. Lexi used the bathroom, flushed the toilet.
9. Lexi washed her hands.
10. Then she played with the water for a while.
11. Milo got a bath.
12. Lexi got a bath.
13. I got a shower.
14. Kevin got a shower.
15. Breakfast – made OJ (with water)
16. Washed Milo’s face after feeding him.
17. Did laundry.
18. Fed dogs, gave them fresh water.
19. Planted flowers, watered them.
20. Ran the dishwasher.
21. Put ice in my soda.
22. Drank  several glasses of water.
23. Washed hands many more times.
24. Flushed toilet many more times.
25. Made cereal for Milo.
26. Made more bottles.
27. Washed more bottles.
28. The dogs got fresh water at lunch.
29. And dinner.
30. We drank water with dinner.

And this is just from a day. I can’t imagine having to do all of these things with the small amount of water I could haul on my back. And I can’t imagine do all of these things knowing that nothing was safe to eat or drink, everything I was washing or cleaning wasn’t actually getting washed or cleaned. But there are people everyday who do.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. You can help. You can give clean water.

Bald Birthday Benefit

Kevin is turning 30 in June and has not cut his hair since his last birthday. Last year he shaved his head on his birthday to raise money for our adoption. This year he’s shaving his head to raise money for charity:water. The goal is $600. $600 will give 30 people clean water and give 30 people life.

I’ve talked a lot about water on my blog. And know that I’ve seen first hand what it means to not have clean water it’s that much more important to do something about it.

1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water or sanitation. (That’s 1 out of every 6 people.)

Unclean water and lack of sanitation causes 80% of sickness. And it’s killed more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

5400 children die every day from lack of clean water.

And more personal

Milo came home with giardia, probably from drinking the water. Giardia can kill babies in Ethiopia. That nasty little parasite doesn’t let them keep food in their stomachs.

Kevin got sick in Ethiopia and was down for about 2 days from the water. Probably from getting a little in his mouth in the shower or using a bowl that had been rinsed in the tap water.

We watched men and women haul 5 gallon jerry cans to the river to bring water home. Have you ever tried to lift and carry 5 gallons of water? Try it and let me know how far you make it. I bet it’s not 3 miles.

Many families make the heart-breaking decision to relinquish their kids for adoption because they know that the water can kill them.

Water is life.

$600 to give 30 people water to give 30 people life.

I Think I May Need To Start A Coin Collection

Our school raised money to help build a clean water well for a school in Africa through charity:water. i’m pretty proud of our kids. They collected $180.84 (and it’s probably closer to $200 because I haven’t gotten the money from two classes). It doesn’t sound like much money but every little bit helps and for our school, raising this much money is impressive.

Anyway, Today I took all the coins to the bank and put them through the coin counter. Many of the coins were rejected because they weren’t American money. I’ve now got coins from El Salvador, Mexico, England (before they went to Euros), Europe (after they started using Euros), Canada, Kenya, Somalia and a few others that I haven’t identified yet.

May 7 is World AIDS Orphan Day

I started writing a post about this but Erin says everything I want to say and says it much better. And huge bonus, she has graciously let people copy her post and link to her blog.

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Tomorrow, May 7,  is World AIDS Orphans Day. World AIDS Orphans Day is a grassroots campaign to draw attention to and advocate on behalf of the millions of children orphaned by AIDS.

Here are some of the staggering facts. Please read them… please really stop and think a minute about these statistics.

• There are over 15 million children orphaned by AIDS living around the world RIGHT NOW. 15 million is the equivalent to the number of all of the people living in New York, Paris, and Bangkok combined. That is an awful lot of children.
• Well over 12 million AIDS orphans live in Sub-Saharan Africa, alone.
• Experts believe that millions more orphans remain unaccounted for in India, China and Russia.
• At least 10 million more children will be orphans by AIDS by 2010.

Do you know how many TOTAL global confirmed cases of the swine flu there have been? As of today (May 6), there have been 1,516 cases. Do you know how many people, world wide, have died of the swine flu as of today?? 31. And look at all the hype… all the action… all the caring.

Do you know how many people around the world DIED of HIV/AIDS in 2007? An estimated TWO MILLION people. That is over 5,400 people a day, dieing of HIV/AIDS. It has been estimated that now, in 2009, 6,500 people will die every day from AIDS, and an estimated 6,000 of those people will leave behind children when they die.

So today, another 6,000 children will be added to the already 15 million children world wide who have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The result of being orphaned by AIDS is heart-breaking for these children. From the World AIDS Orphans Day website:

• In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, orphans are often subject to discrimination and are less likely to receive healthcare, education and other needed services.
• In HIV affected households lacking community support, food consumption can drop by 40% putting children at risk to hunger, malnutrition and stunting.
• Impoverished and often without support to educate and protect them, orphans and vulnerable children face increased risk of HIV infection. (And there are already an estimated 2 million children currently living with HIV).
  
• Orphans are often easy prey to many forms of exploitation: forced labor, prostitution and child soldiering.

In the United States, if a child loses a parent to accident or illness, it is considered a terrible tragedy. Such stories are covered by the media, communities mourn and show their support, etc. In Sub-Saharan Africa, parents dieing is a normal part of life. It is still a terrible tragedy for those children, but it happens so often that no one else really pays any attention.

And do you know what makes this really, truly horrible? Do you know what makes my gut twist and my heart ache? HIV IS COMPLETELY TREATABLE.

If a person contracts HIV in the United States or another country where there is treatment readily available, they have an excellent long term prognosis. Most HIV+ people receiving treatment now have close to normal life expectancies and can live in good overall health.  With treatment, HIV+ children can be healthy and happy. They can go to school, grow up, go to college, have (healthy!) children, and live long enough to raise them and beyond. Without treatment, an estimated 50% of HIV+ children will die before the hit their second birthday. My Solomon was almost one of those 50%.

HIV does not have to be a death sentence, and yet for thousands of people every day, it is, because the world doesn’t care enough to really do something about it.

Can you imagine for one minute if some terrible disease struck the United States (or whatever country you live in) and was killing thousands and orphaning thousands every day? Can you imagine if another country had treatment that could lead to good health and a long life, but it just was too expensive or too difficult or too much trouble to get that medicine to us? We wouldn’t stand for it.

So why do we stand for it now?

I can’t wrap my head around what 15 million orphans looks like. I can barely wrap my head around the 100 or so HIV+ orphans that I am trying to find adoptive families for. The numbers are staggering, and so is the need for action. Children are the future of our world, and I shudder to think about what this world will be like with so many millions of children growing up without the love and security of a family… and way too often growing up without adequate food, education and medical care.  Where does that leave all of us?

Rich Stearns, President of World Vision, US said,

“I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn’t they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?”

I know that it feels like the problem is way too big for us to really do anything to make a difference, but I know with all my heart that touching the life of just one, just ONE, child can truly make a difference. And if everyone touched the life of just one child, we could reach them all.

Here are some ways that you can help touch the life of an AIDS orphan this World AIDS Orphans Day.

- Get educated. One of the biggest roadblocks in getting people to care and take action is the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. This is not a disease that only strikes those who “deserve it” (yes, that is really how some people think!). This is a disease that strikes men, women and children… it strikes heterosexuals and homosexuals, it strikes people of all races and social classes and it strikes people in all countries. HIV/AIDS is a HUMAN problem.

Fear is another big roadblock. HIV can not be transmitted in any casual way, and people that are HIV+ are not a threat to those around them. HIV can only be transmitted through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).

I have written a ton about HIV/AIDS, and you can find those posts here. Once you are educated, join my Tell Two Campaign and share the truth about HIV/AIDS with others.

Two excellent books to read about the HIV/AIDS crisis and the orphan crisis are There is No Me Without You and  28 Stories of AIDS in Africa.

- Sponsor an AIDS orphan. There are many wonderful organizations out there that allow you to sponsor a child for a very low cost per month. Doing so makes a great difference in the life of that child, and getting to know the child you sponsor through pictures, updates, letters, etc. will have a great impact on your life as well. I promise. Two wonderful organizations that I work with are AHOPE for Children (which supports AHOPE Ethiopia, a home and community support program for HIV+ children in Ethiopia) and Hardthaven, a home for AIDS orphans in Ghana. I know that financially times are hard for many right now, but we  live better than most people in the world and would have to sacrifice very very little to sponsor (and truly help) an orphaned child.

- Consider adopting. Adoption is only an option for a tiny percentage of the 15 million AIDS orphans around the world and it is certainly not the solution to the AIDS crisis or the orphan crisis, but for the tiny percentage of children who do get adopted, it changes their world and their future dramatically (and for the adoptive parents, it is equally amazing).  There are agencies and programs placing healthy and special needs orphans from all over the world with new families. If your heart may be open to adopting an HIV+ child, I have about 100 amazing children of all ages waiting for a second chance at love, family and life.

You can read here why I believe in adoption, and you can read here why I feel so passionately about adoption for HIV+ children.

- Support From HIV to Home, an organization that helps provide care for HIV+ orphans and supports and helps parents adopting HIV+ children. They have a wonderful program to help raise money for parents adopting HIV+ children called Kids Walking Kids Home.

- Support Project HOPEFUL, whose mission is to “encourage, educate and enable parents adopting children with HIV/AIDS”.

- Visit the World AIDS Orphans website for other ways to touch your heart, get educated and get involved.

Please feel free to share this post anywhere you see fit. Thanks for reading.

Barefoot on April 16th

On April 16th go barefoot.

Go barefoot to help people understand how important shoes are.

Go barefoot so people know that some kids can’t go to school simply because they don’t have shoes.

Go barefoot so people know that one million people in Ethiopia have a disfiguring and debilitating disease from walking barefoot in volcanic soil.

Go barefoot to remind people that in many countries children walk miles for food, clean water, and medical care.

Go barefoot so you can remind yourself how lucky you are to go home and pick which pair of shoes you’ll wear tomorrow.