The Quest for Vitamins

As a kid, the word “vitamins” does not sound appealing. It sounds like the equivalence of a dentist appointment or flossing. Things you know you have to do but rather not. Regardless of the eagerness to take them, they are a part of our lives.

For a kid in a third world country, vitamins are like candy. Vitamins mean they have a greater chance of being alive in a year. Many children living in poverty and/or in the wake of disaster are vitamin deficient, especially Vitamin A. Vitamins help prevent malnutrition, child diabetes, blindness, and even death.

VitaminAngels is an organization that distributes millions of supplements and vitamins to children, newborn to five year-olds, increasing their chances of leading happy healthy lives. (http://www.vitaminangels.org/)

Incredibly, it essentially only costs $1 to provide one child for 5 years. $1 for 5 years! Which made me wonder, if these are so cheap and bring such a huge benefit, it should be so easy to conquer this particular world issue. I hope that VitaminAngels continues to do great things for children worldwide and helps obliterate such a thing as vitamin deficiency.

The Quest for Cool Jewelry

I love unique jewelry. I scavage my way through flea markets looking for pieces that are different from the things you see every day. Visiting a particularly interesting market in the Cape with a friend I came across a booth entitled “Bead for Life”. Intrigued, I took a look, and fell in love. These bracelets and necklaces are really awesome and bright and colorful. They come from a pretty great story too…

Bead for Life is an organization that started by pure chance and has changed so many lives already. While touring through Uganda, the three founders of the would-be organization happened across a local woman, Millie, who was making interesting beads from scraps of paper she glued together and dried in the sun. Millie did this for pleasure, believing there was no market for her craft. She also worked for a dollar a day crushing rocks in a quarry. The three ladies bought some beads and after friends at home admired them, they realized that a market did, in fact, exist.

Three years later, these beads are a hot commodity and are seen across the US, Uganda, and the world at large. BeadforLife aims to create “sustainable opportunities for women to lift their families out of extreme poverty by connecting people worldwide in a circle of exchange that enriches everyone” (mission statement). BeadforLife is a totally awesome way to donate and make a difference for families in poverty by giving these incredible women the opportunity to help themselves change their situation.

I think that charity is working with the people, not just throwing money or aid at them blindly because when you work with them, you really know what their needs are.

Make sure to check out their website, http://www.beadforlife.org/index.html, where you can learn about helping selling these beads by throwing a bead party or learn about the women working over in uganda and their families.

The Quest for Clean Water

A filter seller embodies the spirit that VillageForward conveys. His local business, part of a worldwide movement, aids water relief in his community.

A young boy stands near a VillageForward issued water filter. Because of this clean water, his life expectancy has risen exponentially.

2.5 million people die a year from a water related disease.

90% of those are children 5 years old or younger.

As an American, I understand I take many things for granted. I have a solid education, a home, a loving family, etc. I also have clean water to drink. America has some of the cleanest drinking water in the world. Other countries aren’t so lucky.

Village Forward is an organization whose goal is to bring clean water to those who need it most through ways of social entrepreneurship. In countries like India and Nepal, Village Forward has established families or small businesses are creators of basic water filtration canisters made from clay. They key to these canisters is the silver-infused disk because silver never loses it’s water filtrating properties. Essentially, these devices work similarly to Brita filters. You pour in bad water, that water seeps through this disk that extracts and traps harmful happenings, and clean water is then available to dispense in drink, all within an hour. Social entrepreneurship, Village Forward believes, is the best way to create these canisters because it not only encourages community involvement in a majorly important task, but it also fuels small businesses, which is very important to economy.

I first heard of this charity as Rotary Club Meeting in my hometown that I had been invited to attend. It originated a few towns over and I remember thinking how very cool it was that something so big and awesome could begin in a small Massachusetts town. A few weeks later I was running my annual Volley for Charity doubles tournament in my town when participants pay to play and at the end of the day, the pot is donated to the winner’s charity of choice. This year the winners were undecided about where to donate the $550 to, so I suggested Village Forward.

This is an organization worth more than a passing glance. They strive to make this world a better place, one clean drop of water at a time.

>>> www.villageforward.com

"Catch a fish for a man and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for life."

The Quest for a Better World

This will be a 365 day blog. For one year, every day, I will post a finding about a charity that is making life better somewhere in the world, a story about good people, or a rambling about the world’s issues and my jumbled-mumbled thoughts on them.

Please keep your eyes and hearts open. That’s all I ask.