By Elisa Morgan
"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you've never spent the night with a mosquito." African Saying
By the time you read this, I'll be on the ground in Kisumu. God willing. And if you're like I was just a few months ago, you're asking, "What's Kisumu?"
Truly, the first time I heard the word I auto-replied, "God bless you!"
Let me get you oriented a bit so you can follow along better.
Kisumu is a village on the northeast shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Kenya is a country of 40 million (42% under fourteen years of age) located on the central eastern coast of the continent of Africa. Just under the "horn" of Africa, below Ethiopia and Sudan (now there are two Sudans...), east of Rwanda and Uganda, above Tanzania. From here we'll head to Nairobi, to the largest slum in Africa in Kibera, and then we'll be in Lake Naivasha before shooting back to the States next weekend. A whirl of an adventure. A spiral of emotions. A merry-go-round of immeasurable need.
Like I said, until a few months ago I'd never heard of Kisumu much less thought I'd ever fly here and connect in person with some of the women of this world. Really?
But here I am and here I plant my feet and my mind and my heart to listen, to learn and to serve that I might then - and only then - share with you and others.
Some facts for today:
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are treatable and preventable diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poor. Here in Kenya, we're seeing the hardest hit region: part of Sub-Saharan Africa where altogether 90% of malarial deaths occur, 2/3 of HIV cases are reported and 1/3 of all TB diagnoses.
How many times we wonder how we can make a difference? How we can invest in a purpose beyond ourselves? How we can - dare I say it - change the world?
That's what I'm here to find out. Come with me? Prayerfully, tag along? Send me YOUR questions? YOUR prayers? YOUR next steps? E-Mail Me! And bring along a friend so that we can enlarge our community, adding one voice to another and another until we have a WAVE of ONE moms making a difference?
Day 1 Daily Action: Today the bloggers will visit health clinics that receive direct funding from the United States. Sign our petition asking Congress not to cut funding for these effective programs that are saving lives. Then ask 5 friends to do the same-Click here!
"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you've never spent the night with a mosquito." African Saying
By the time you read this, I'll be on the ground in Kisumu. God willing. And if you're like I was just a few months ago, you're asking, "What's Kisumu?"
Truly, the first time I heard the word I auto-replied, "God bless you!"
Let me get you oriented a bit so you can follow along better.
Kisumu is a village on the northeast shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Kenya is a country of 40 million (42% under fourteen years of age) located on the central eastern coast of the continent of Africa. Just under the "horn" of Africa, below Ethiopia and Sudan (now there are two Sudans...), east of Rwanda and Uganda, above Tanzania. From here we'll head to Nairobi, to the largest slum in Africa in Kibera, and then we'll be in Lake Naivasha before shooting back to the States next weekend. A whirl of an adventure. A spiral of emotions. A merry-go-round of immeasurable need.
Like I said, until a few months ago I'd never heard of Kisumu much less thought I'd ever fly here and connect in person with some of the women of this world. Really?
But here I am and here I plant my feet and my mind and my heart to listen, to learn and to serve that I might then - and only then - share with you and others.
Some facts for today:
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are treatable and preventable diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poor. Here in Kenya, we're seeing the hardest hit region: part of Sub-Saharan Africa where altogether 90% of malarial deaths occur, 2/3 of HIV cases are reported and 1/3 of all TB diagnoses.
How many times we wonder how we can make a difference? How we can invest in a purpose beyond ourselves? How we can - dare I say it - change the world?
That's what I'm here to find out. Come with me? Prayerfully, tag along? Send me YOUR questions? YOUR prayers? YOUR next steps? E-Mail Me! And bring along a friend so that we can enlarge our community, adding one voice to another and another until we have a WAVE of ONE moms making a difference?
Day 1 Daily Action: Today the bloggers will visit health clinics that receive direct funding from the United States. Sign our petition asking Congress not to cut funding for these effective programs that are saving lives. Then ask 5 friends to do the same-Click here!
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