“Words are small shapes in the gorgeous chaos of the world.” Diane Ackerman
Here’s a powerful word. GIRLPOD.
Have a girl? Are a girl? Want to make a difference for a girl?
Think about girlpods and “Hope by 12”: “When a girl who lives in poverty turns twelve her life is in the hands of others. We HOPE to catch that girl BY the age of TWELVE and give her a healthy future.”
http://www.hopebytwelve.org/
Here’s another powerful word. WATER.
Take a shower today? Drink something clean and yummy? If so, did you feel a sense of intense gratitude?
I remember visiting the very first library Ethiopia Reads opened and watching the hygiene program going on every Saturday for some of the kids who didn’t have a chance to wash their clothes or hair at home. (This picture was taken at the mercato school where one of the newest libraries is going in.)
I also remember when Liz told me she was going to raise $150,000 to bring clean water to the area where her adopted Ethiopian son had been born.
$150,000? The amount made us stagger back.
But she did it. Her website says, “When the burden of water collection and water borne illness is lifted, girls can remain in school and women can invest more time on family life, agriculture and owning small businesses.”
Hope is a powerful word.
The community center of AHOPE cares for Ethiopian children with HIV, and Ethiopia Reads will be helping with professional development for the library manager who will help spread books to those children and their community. http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/
This week, five moms of adopted children from Ethiopia, one Ethiopian educator whose life was changed by books, and two of us from Ethiopia Reads sat around a table and talked about what we dream for Ethiopian children for 2012.
Dream is a powerful word.
Collaboration is a powerful word.
Thank you, Molly and Liz and Habtamu and Jennifer and Meghan.
Isn’t is amazing what we think we can do?
May we all be creative together as we share words and worlds.
3 thoughts on “The gorgeous chaos”
As a grandmother of an adopted Ethiopian child I love reading your blog!
We are a family passionate about children’s literacy and paying it forward.
We are each blessed every day by this amazing child and want to honor her love,compassion and zest for life!
Ethiopia Reads will be our favorite way to celebrate birthdays,and other occasions with a donation.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words!
Thanks for keeping track and mentioning about other related organizations that focus on education of daughters.