Mountain home 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Bat Cave NC and Chimney Rock NC, where Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania are working, are in Hickory Nut Gorge. The flooded river scoured out landscape and buildings resulting from  Hurricane Helene last fall. 

One young man says (yesterday's video), "It fills my heart with joy watching people get their life back again." 

Someone commented: "Absolutely incredible. While career politicians hold press conferences and fundraisers, the Amish are out here swinging hammers, rebuilding a town brick by brick, no spotlight, no selfies, just service. God bless the Amish, the backbone of real America, showing us what it means to love thy neighbor."

Drone footage clearly shows the scar:

Mountain home

Hurricane Helene is long gone from the headlines, but flood victims in North Carolina are still struggling to return to their homes and the normal life they lived before Helene.

From their own home hundreds of miles away, two thousand Amish volunteered to come and work to restore homes and businesses:

Overspent

America's over-spending has gotten us into a dangerous position, so the new administration is taking steps to curtail that spending. Some people are very upset about their funds ending. They can't go on doing things the same way.

But we have to put a lid on the spending, so choices are being made about what to restrict or end altogether. 

Watch this bitter man be outraged when his wife's organization is targeted for cutbacks. He says the money just "stopped. Doesn't matter if you had a contract;" they expected "another million" and then the money just stopped. Wait . . millions? For what?

The man and his wife are British, and she is shown teaching Afghani peasants about Western deviant art. We don't feel sorry for them. It's not as if they have a right to millions of American taxpayers' dollars.

Hurricane news 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

How important is internet access to us all for communication, news, banking, etc.--and it was lost for a while in hard-hit regions. Starlink is internet access operated by SpaceX, a "crucial lifeline in parts of southern Appalachia that were devastated by Hurricane Helene." It was donated and delivered freely to hundreds of survivors as you may have seen in yesterday's videos. 

Satellite-powered, it works even in remote and devastated communities if there's a good view of the sky. Instructions for making it work are pretty basic: "Plug it in and point to sky." 

Another difference maker is Samaritan's Purse, a Christian international relief organization of 1600 employees run by the family of evangelist Billy Graham. "At our sites across North Carolina, we are doing tree work, mudding out homes, removing debris, and tarping roofs. Heavy equipment is being used to clear private driveways and private roads. In some areas, we are also offering water and potable water to the community."

 

Hot Bread 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

No matter how good an idea may be, it may fold because of any number of problems. Somehow Hot Bread Kitchen has overcome the inevitable challenges to continue, and even to grow in its mission.

Starting out in the founder's kitchen, they celebrated a 15th anniversary last year, "creating economic opportunity through careers in food" and funded by $6 million in annual donations.

Through training and support, they claim they've put "1500 individuals on the path to economic mobility" whether as employees or entrepreneurs in the food industry. They like to call their members "Breadwinners." 

Hot Bread 2

 Re-post from 2017

Hot Bread Kitchen is both a bakery and an on-the-job baking school in New York City. They specialize in training immigrant and low-income women for a culinary career.

Helping people learn the skills to sustain themselves--and others as well--is an American value.

(cont'd tomorrow)

H.O.O.D.

A rooftop tent is not a comfortable or convenient spot to spend 345 days, not in Chicago. But Corey Brooks did it to bring attention to Project H.O.O.D.

photo

Pastor Brooks started the project to help the people of Chicago's south side. He wants to give them hope for a good future, to “end violence and build communities, one neighborhood at a time. We are creating leaders, strengthening character, seeking to end violence and generational poverty in urban areas. Our goal is to nurture these human resources and provide them with positive and consistent adult interactions."

It's not a small vision and they need a lot of money to do it. So far they've raised $28.5 million toward the $35 million goal.

The pastor and his wife are driven by a conviction that God gave the vision to them, wants them to do it, and will provide what it takes. Listen to him, the "Rooftop Pastor," on this podcast.

Activist Bono 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Why is activist Bono in the news again? Because he did a recent interview with the New York Times about how to help the global poor, and anti-capitalists really didn't like it. Capitalism is the economic system that brings people out of poverty.

Bono himself doesn't like the idea: "The off-ramp out of extreme poverty is, ugh, commerce, it’s entrepreneurial capitalism." (He has plenty of company in his distaste.) But apparently he has enough integrity to tell the truth in spite of his prejudice against the answer.

"I didn’t grow up to like the idea that we’ve made heroes out of businesspeople, but if you’re bringing jobs to a community and treating people well, then you are a hero." Indeed.

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from American Enterprise Institute

Activist Bono 1

Bono's career in music and charity activism has spanned decades. 

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The poverty and suffering of Africa's people touched his heart, especially compared to the standard of living in the West. Millions of dollars were raised with his concerts (which included the famous Live Aid in 1985).

What happened to the millions? Some of it went to suffering people. But "the vast majority of the food [resulting from Live Aid] rotted on docks beside the Red Sea or [was] used as payment for loyalist army units." 

Economist Dambisa Moyo published a book back in 2010 (Dead Aid) explaining how this kind of thing happens. As an African herself, her perspective is authentic and her message compelling: decades of "aid" to African countries is not doing the good that was intended. 

A review of it on Amazon reads, "Moyo demolishes all the most cherished myths about aid being a good thing.”

(cont'd tomorrow)

Field hospital 2

Follow-up to this post

Lviv in western Ukraine is flooded with thousands of Ukrainians fleeing for their lives. Most refugees head for the border with Poland, just another 43 miles. They're exhausted in every way, far from home, worried about their future, taking care of children.

Some left medications behind, all of them left stable health care behind. Some have injuries from their travel or the attacks they're running from. One woman had endured a broken arm for nine days.

Vulnerable people receive care and medicines at the field hospital erected by Samaritan's Purse. The woman with the broken arm was in tears to finally get relief from her pain.

Field hospital

Hospitals are vulnerable to bombing and medical care is disrupted, like everything else in Ukraine. So Samaritan's Purse is there. Thanks to their donors, SP has the ability to rush a field hospital to a crisis in as little as 36 hours.

From their website: "UPDATE (March 6): The DC-8 landed safely in Poland and materials for the Emergency Field Hospital have been transported to Ukraine. The Samaritan’s Purse team is now in the process of setting up the facility on the outskirts of Lviv."

Beyond humanitarian, their inspiration is to love their neighbors as Christ said. They treat everyone and don't deny anyone or "pass by any broken person in a ditch regardless of who they are," per the story of the good Samaritan. Including ICU and operating rooms, they will be able to treat up to 100 patients per day at the field hospital.

Charity:water 5

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Scott Harrison not only started a new charity, but he also broke the mold of the usual charity business model. Potential donors may be suspicious of pleas from organizations that seem opaque. They often can't confirm that their donation is doing what they wanted it to do.

Charity:water tries to overcome that with these strategies:

1. Transparency - financial reports are published on the website
2. Tracking - using google and gps, the progress and results of all projects are viewable
3. 100% of public donations go totally to water projects in the field

That last one can only be done because particular donors have committed to funding the organizational costs. All salaries, office costs, etc., are funded by these donors. 

It's compelling for a potential donor who is touched by their mission to know that 100% of what s/he gives will be used in the field to provide water to targeted communities.

Meet Scott:

Charity:water 4

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

This is the story of Tencia, a widow in Mozambique who bakes bread and supports three sons.

Making the bread to sell used to be a very slow business. She had to spend hours fetching water because Every bit of her bread-making process requires water: the dough mixture, washing hands, utensils, plates and bowls. “Without water it’s impossible to bake."

Still, she managed to make a yearly profit of $89.

photo

Then in 2010 charity:water partnered with World Vision to bring a brand new well right into the center of the community. Tencia now had all the water she wanted, and it eliminated many labor hours for her.

"She began baking and selling 40–50 loaves in a single day, doubling her profit from $89/year to more than $178!

"This is the difference that [accessible] clean water makes. Tencia isn’t just earning income for her family anymore, she’s building a better future. Water has given her the chance to dream and the means to make her dreams a reality."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Charity:water 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

When charity:water started up in 2006, there were about a billion people in the world without access to clean water. It's something like 800,000 now, still a huge number. 

They provide about 2700 people per day with clean water, or one every 30 seconds. Scott says he's heard "water is life" many times from those villagers. The website has stories upon stories.

photo

Fetching water is a woman's work in Africa, taking up to eight hours a day. "Young girls learn how to balance the weight of a water bucket, with a baby on their back, while boys their age are learning how to read in school.

One young boy decided that was unfair. He refused to do nothing while his mother and sister shouldered the burden of this work, so Devison started walking for water too.

"Devison wasn’t trying to be a hero or take a stand; he just wanted to do the right thing. He wanted his mom to have time to do more important things. He wanted his sister to be able to go to school too."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Charity:water 2

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

"At 28 years old, Scott Harrison had it all. A top nightclub promoter in New York City, his life was an endless cycle of drugs, booze, models—repeat. But 10 years in, desperately unhappy and morally bankrupt, he asked himself, "What would the exact opposite of my life look like?" 

Working for a medical charity ship in Africa gave him the opposite of his NYC life.

He saw African women walking for hours every day to carry water home to their families. He saw children get sick from it. He got their water analyzed, and sometimes it was alive with disease-causing bacteria. 

photo

He found out what it would take to get clean water to these villages and became obsessed with making it available to millions who don't have it. A new charity was born - it's called "charity:water" and he's still CEO/founder today.

A natural promoter, he put his talents to work on a global project to accomplish something good.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Charity:water 1

 This week's content is from Thirst, by Scott Harrison

The Harrison family became Christian in the 1980's. The couple and their little boy, Scott, became active in their church, and they were all in.

Scott learned to play the piano, joining a band that played for events and clubs during his high school years. In New York after high school, he found a niche where he could monetize his drive, charm, intelligence, good looks . . as a club promoter.

photo

It was like making a living as a perpetual life-of-the-party. For ten years he immersed himself in celebrities, drinking, models, drugs, money. Ten years in, he wanted out.

A few months later, he was on a Mercy Ship. No luxuries, no glamour. No celebrities, alcohol, models, drugs, or money . . his lifestyle of indulgence was over.

(cont'd tomorrow . . the better way he discovered, making a difference in the world)

Fair for all 2

To demonize any race and all its members - in America or anywhere else in the world - is unfair.  Beyond unfairness, it is also dangerous because it could be your race that is demonized next. Instead of revenge against whiteness, the right goal is to be fair to all. That's the goal of FAIR, Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism. 

In case you missed it, here's a re-post from last July. Please watch this multi-racial founder explain why he thinks we should all be pro-human.

Fair for All

Opposition to CRT, or "critical theory," or whatever it will be called next, is not confined to one race or tribe or gender or political party. Recently on this blog you've seen parents and a teacher and people of three different races speaking up. Today's post features a fourth race.

We (include me) take a stand against demonizing any race and turning Americans into enemies of each other -- against telling kids they must affirm stories they don't believe, telling them that their neighbors hold them back, shaming them for sins they did not commit.

To affirm a pro-human stand on these issues, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism was recently organized. 

Student-led 2

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

Austin Harvest's open-air fresh produce and floral shop opened last summer. The students "came up with the name, they came up with the manifesto, they designed the way it looks. They choose what we sell. … Nothing is being done apart from them making the decisions.” This teaches agency - the truth that what you do matters, that your choices make a difference.

Two businesses partner with By the Hand to provide mentoring, to provide skill training like  flower arranging, and to provide the produce at their cost.  

There's no better education/transformation than actual experience. These students will never forget their successes and mistakes in managing this business and working together.

Faith-based By the Hand Club for Kids provides hot meals, tutoring, chapel, Bible study to kindergarten-through-college students who are failing. They specialize in reading skills, a major indicator of future success.

from Stream

Student-led 1

Homicides in Chicago (2020) increased 50% over 2019. Some of its neighborhoods are not doing very well. But Austin has something to be proud of, and students are doing it.

The community of Austin has about 19 liquor stores. Only 2 grocery stores remain after a third one pulled out. Maybe it was badly managed or maybe insurance went through the roof, the reason could be anything. But grocery stores are few, liquor stores abound.

"By the Hand Club for Kids" organized a forum for their kids to interact with community leaders (including a former Bears linebacker) about potential solutions . . and that's how "Austin Harvest" got started.

"We were asked to knock down a liquor store, open up a fresh market and provide produce at a reasonable price to our seniors,” says a director of the Club. It's a boon to the community, less fortunate people, and even to the students themselves.

from Stream

(cont'd tomorrow)

NFL to farm 2

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

Jason Brown played center for several years in the NFL, the highest paid center at one point. When he was replaced as starter at his position, it motivated him to go and do as he thought God was leading him to - that is, begin farming a thousand acres in North Carolina and giving away the produce.

Purchasing their dream farm was an answer to prayer. Their first crop posed a big new challenge: how would they dig up, harvest, and distribute 100,000 pounds of sweet potatoes?? That was another answer to prayer. And there's much more.

As of 2018, the year this video was posted, Jason and his family were still giving away not just the first fruits of the farm, but all the fruits of the farm. 

If you could use some inspiration today, here it is: