For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a heart for the poor even as a child. Fifteen years ago I spent my summer in a poor rural city in Bolivia and it changed my life forever. I was a part of a college group who signed up to volunteer in an elementary school working along side the locals. Most all the students attending this school were living in extreme poverty. Part of the program was to do home visits so parents had the opportunity to get to know us. Most all the homes we visited were made of corrugated sheets of steel, wood beams, plastic, and cardboard pieced together, barely. The floors were dirt and the homes were as big as a single garage. There were no bathrooms, running water, or electricity. Being poor in the United States would be considered rich to most of these families living in this third world community.
The school I was working in provided one hot lunch made of some type of hodge podge of rice, meat, beans, and liquid. The founders of this school made it a priority to provide a hot lunch because for most of the students, this was the only meal of the day. And the kids who attended this particular school were considered the lucky ones because of this single meal.
When I signed up to go on this trip I honestly believed I was going to help others. I had a hard time understanding how people with seemingly nothing could be full of joy and hope. These people became my friends and they ministered to a part of me which changed the way I looked at the world as well as my life. Their joy was rooted in their faith and even without a bed to sleep on, they continued to live life abundantly in spirit. I was also touched by the generosity of each of the families I visited.
Families would try to give us some type of gift to bring home. Most of these gifts were probably their most prized possessions such as a photo (as in the only one they had), an article of clothing, or something else of value. This happened with every home visit. When I think of it, it still blows my mind away today.
When I returned to Seattle, I was a complete wreck. I honestly believed I would move overseas and dedicate my life to helping the poor as a single person. While I was trying to figure out how I could make this idea possible, I quit my job and instead devoted my time to volunteering with homeless teenagers in the University District. This is where I met my husband, Rob. We both volunteered for a couple of years before dating and a couple years after that we were married. Rob and I have always had a strong desire to help those who are the poorest of the poor. Since my Bolivia trip, both he and I have traveled to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua on multiple occasions. Most of these trips involved helping indigenous people build homes in villages impacted by civil war.
Fast forward to today. Since having three children, I haven’t been able to go back to doing these short term trips. Instead, both my husband and I have supported (financially) different organizations around the world dedicated to the causes of global poverty, slavery (yes, this exists), and human trafficking (sex slave industry).
Last week I had the privilege of meeting Eugene Cho, the founder of a grassroots movement called One Day’s Wages. I asked to meet Eugene for coffee because I had been hearing a lot about what they were doing and wanted to learn more.
One Day’s Wages is an organization passionately dedicated to fighting global poverty. As the organization’s name suggest, they encourage people to donate one day of their wages. ODW’s helps support organizations do amazing work in the causes of extreme poverty and justice. 100% of all donations are then given to partner agencies such as: Not For Sale, Partners In Health, Heal Africa, Charity:Water, World Concern, Burmese Migrant Education Workers, and Haiti relief agencies.
I am encouraging anyone who also wants to support the causes of extreme global poverty and human trafficking to consider donating one day of their wages to ODW – whether it be $5 or $500. If everyone gives one day, think of the change we could make today.
PS: I’m considering starting an Savory Sweet Life group, if you’re interested in joining please let me know. I would love to see as many people get involved as possible including adding an SSL-ODW Blogroll on SSL if we can get a group going.
