Ghana Trip.

On March 11, seven women will depart to Ghana to chart the progress Touch A Life is making in Africa. Pam Cope, Tara Seidman, Leah Cypert, Sheryl Gaskie, Dana Rector, Emily George and myself will fly out of New York into Ghana. We will have the opportunity to first stop at the Village of Hope Orphanage to check on the children in school there. From there, we will move up to the Lake Volta region. We will be able to observe the new buildings at the Village of Life, as well as connect with George Achibra, the director there. We will then move on to Tema to note the progress being made at the Touch A Life program in that city. 

I'm so excited to explore parts of Ghana that I've never seen. Out of our group, Pam is the only one who has been to all three locations so it's clear to me that so much learning is going to be accomplished while in Africa. My hope is that we can return to the States with a greater understanding of the needs of the children our organization serves.

Rachel

Publishers Weekly.

Pam received her first review from Publishers Weekly. It's so exciting to know that things, as far as the book is concerned, are really getting underway. Check out the review:

• For Cope, in life in her small Missouri town seemed perfect; she ran a hair salon, enjoyed a happy family life and lived in a beautiful home. Yet, she explains, "I have to say, I put on a hell of a performance. For a long time, I even had myself convinced of how good and right everything was in my life." Her ideal was shattered in 1999 when Jantsen, her 15-year-old son, died suddenly from a heart ailment; this moving memoir recounts Cope's transformation and growth after her world collapsed. Her metamorphosis began after she accepted an invitation from a friend to visit Vietnam. Though Cope was wrapped in personal grief following the death of her son, the trip illuminated for her the superficial environment she inhabited. After visiting a local orphanage, Cope found for the first time in her life a sense of "wholeness and purpose." Soon she stepped outside her own circumscribed world and began creating better lives for the abused, neglected and at-risk children she encountered, first in Vietnam, then in Cambodia and Ghana. This is a wonderful story of a woman whose personal tragedy gave birth to a gift and how she fulfilled that legacy to make the world a better place.

Rachel 

I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me.

A few months ago, I discovered a great cause called the Mocha Club. Some of my favorite musicians (Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz) have aligned themselves with this organization, which seeks to raise money to feed, educate and provide healthcare for poor citizens of African nations. Raising these funds is accomplished by reminding donors that the cost of just two coffee drinks will provide so many resources for the African people. Simultaneously, the organization seeks to educate society regarding the joy they've seen in the African people they've served, the joy they've observed that is unrelated to many of those people's dire circumstances. 

The following is an excerpt from the Mocha Club's Web site. It is also imprinted on the inside of the T-shirts they sell, emblazoned with the powerful saying, "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me."

:: When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. "I am needed here," I think. "They have so little, and I have so much." It's true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa every day. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It's a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.

The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.

My new reality...I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I'm ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I'm forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I'm uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart--I no longer want to need the "next thing" to have joy.

I'm not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I've come to understand that I need Africa more than Africa needs me. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I've learned that I don't need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent's many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I've found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me. ::

For me, and for Touch A Life:

I need Ghana more than Ghana needs me.

I need Vietnam more than Vietnam needs me.

I need Cambodia more than Cambodia needs me.

Rachel

Not For Sale.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving Los Angeles to have a meeting with a member of the Not For Sale Campaign in San Francisco. I am so excited to establish a solid relationship with this non-profit group. Not For Sale partnered with Touch A Life in January to build a school at Lake Volta.

The campaign was started by individuals concerned with domestic human trafficking. While human trafficking abroad had been publicized by news outlets, human slavery in the United States was going undetected. Members of the Not For Sale Campaign decided to take action to bring this issue to light. The campaign has expanded to include both domestic and international efforts.

For a little taste of what the organization is all about, read the following excerpt from Not For Sale's Web site:

• Not For Sale aims to educate and mobilize an international abolitionist movement. Inside the United States, the campaign identifies trafficking rings and collaborates with local law enforcement and community groups to shut them down and provide support for the victims.

David Batstone, one of the founding members of the organization, wrote a book titled Not For Sale, which is a tool that can provide you with more information regarding the incredible things the members of the campaign are working on in order to eradicate human slavery.

Rachel

Kids Caring 4 Kids.

Kendall Ciesemier with Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. As recognition for all of the hard work Kendall has done, Clinton surprised her at her high school and brought her downtown Chicago to be a guest on Oprah's popular talk show.

It has been a blessing for the Touch A Life Foundation to partner financially with Kids Caring 4 Kids. Kendall Ciesemier is a 15-year-old from Wheaton, IL, (which is my hometown! This makes our partnernship with this organization all the more exciting for me.) who started raising money in 2004 to benefit orphans with AIDS in Africa. The organization has turned into a group that raises money with the intention of donating it to various non-profits whose goals are focused on eradicating slavery, poverty, hunger and AIDS in African nations. 

Kendall is an inspiration to me. She is an example to youth everywhere that no one needs to wait another day before taking action to change the world. Kendall has undergone two liver transplants (both during the summer of 2004) yet she has a disposition of peace, confidence and strength. At age 15, I was nowhere near the level of maturity that Kendall has already achieved. I am so impressed by her grace and courage. 

I took the following quote from the Kids Caring 4 Kids Web site because I feel that this sentence sums up the organization perfectly:

:: By watching Kendall think of others during her time of need, many kids have been inspired to look at how they, too, can be a "kid caring 4 kids," seeking to make their own positive impact on the world. ::

Rachel

Same Kind of Different As Me.

I'm actually poaching the idea for this entry from a post I made on my personal blog. It's regarding Same Kind of Different As Me, a story chronicling the journey of two perfect strangers who end up becoming best friends. Ron Hall, a wealthy art dealer, and Denver Moore, a homeless vagabond, co-wrote the piece, and their words serve to remind readers that though we may appear different from one another based on our circumstances, at our core we are all very much the same.

An excerpt from the book's Web site explains the dynamic of the book better than I ever could:

A dangerous homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery...

An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel...

A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream...

A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.

The story begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana and within an East Texas honky-tonk...and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda, in an upscale New York gallery, in a downtown dumpster, in a Texas ranch. Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love. 

"Just tell 'em I'm a nobody that's tryin' to tell ever'body 'bout a Somebody that can save anybody." 

Denver Moore

Rachel

Children's Art Village: Art Camp Dates Released.

The Children's Art Village is an organization that seeks to bring art curricula to children all around the world as a means of therapy and social recovery. The organization has provided children with art camp experiences in Ghana and Cambodia. The non-profit has specifically affected and benefitted Touch A Life by providing the children at the Village of Hope Orphanage with the opportunity to participate in the week-long camp. The children are offered the experience to delve into creative art projects, including everything from completing papier-mache projects and attending photography classes to making watercolor paintings and decorating their own stickers.

The camp is incredible. It allows the children to explore their creative sides, which is truly a therapeutic experience for them. Pam and I attended the camp for the first time in August 2008. We are thrilled to be joining CAV Director, Mai Lai, and her team for art camp again this summer. For those of you readers who might be interested in attending the camp as well, please see the organization's Web site for further details and dates.

Rachel 

TOMS Shoes.

TOMS Shoes is an incredible organization that would be a great partner for the Touch A Life Foundation. The company was started with the intent of providing shoes for anyone who might need them, specifically those in third world countries whose everyday lives are negatively affected by the fact that they walk around barefoot. For every pair of shoes the company sells, they donate a pair to a child in need. Since the organization began in the spring of 2006, TOMS has provided shoes for more than 100,000 children in Argentina and for 50,000 children in South Africa.

I would love to see TOMS and Touch A Life work together to provide substantial, protective footwear for the children in Ghana, Cambodia and Vietnam. I think the mission of TOMS is simple and easy, and it is well-received in the consumer-driven world in which we live. Because of the current state of the economy, people are looking for ways to buy what they need while also remaining socially conscious. TOMS provides people the opportunity to do just that: Purchase a pair of shoes for your own use and get the satisfaction of knowing that your dollar is being stretched a little further so as to meet the needs of someone less fortunate than yourself. 

Rachel