Achieving Dreams

How blessed I am to be part of Maasai Development Project! An episode of the Oprah show has gotten me so excited. It showcased the story of an incredible woman, Tererai, who grew up in a rural village in Zimbabwe. She desperately wanted to go to school, but her father would not let her attend. That didn't stop her! She took her brother's books and taught herself. Finally her father let her attend but only for two years. Tererai was married at the age of eleven and had three children before eighteen. One day twenty years ago, a lady from Heifer International visited her village. Sitting in a circle with the young women of the village, she asked them, "What are your dreams?" Tererai's strong, yet quiet demeanor caught the lady's attention. "What is your dream?" she asked. Tererai knew what she wanted—an education! Tererai's mother told her to write her dream down. She wrote down four things: go to America, get a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master's degree and, finally, a PhD. Putting the paper in a tin container, she buried it under a rock in a field where she herded cows. Remarkably, Tererai has achieved her dreams after all. She never forgot the lady who told her, "You can achieve your dreams!" Those five words changed her life.

 

Another lady from India shared how her husband had accumulated debt and would beat her because of it.  Her sister-in-law made fun of her when she had no food to feed her children and her mother-in-law told her husband to take a second wife because she only gave him daughters. She was empowered by a small loan (under $100) to start her own business. She negotiated her first contract for beadwork and has done such beautiful work that she has been busy ever since. She has even paid back her loan, paid off all her husband's debt, hired thirty employees, including her husband, and the entire community borrows money from her. There is no mention of a second wife now! She is educating her three daughters so they will not face what she has.

 

Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn shared that we "change the course of history by educating girls." It was stated that the greatest moral challenge of our time is to educate girls and empower women to change their lives. MDP has been giving young girls an education, many that have been rescued before an early marriage and some after they've been married, thus changing not only their lives but the lives of their children as well. Adult literacy and income generating projects, sponsored by MDP, have empowered Maasai women to change their lives, and in turn, change their families and communities. Last March, I looked into Sylvia's eyes and tried to imagine how she felt. Her brother had taken some dowry for her to be a child bride, but the chief came and asked MDP to rescue her so she could finish her education. One child, one set of eyes, one story, yet how will just this one make a difference in the world?

 

The United States government has discovered that areas with the highest concentration of uneducated girls have the greatest growth of terrorists. Each of us has the opportunity to make a difference in this world right now! There are many organizations that are changing lives through educating girls and empowering women, and I am proud to say that Maasai Development Project is just such an organization.

 

One lady saw an episode of the Oprah show several years ago and sponsored two women from the Congo who had been raped and were in the middle of the civil war. Exchanging letters with them inspired her to put together a run to raise funds to sponsor more women. Finally, she traveled to Congo to see firsthand the impact these letters of support had on the women, even more than the money they received. Last year, she raised enough money for her organization to sponsor 1,000 women. The true impact of this will take years to be realized as those women raise over 5,000 children whose lives will be changed as a result of their mothers' sponsorship.

 

What can you do? Pray and ask God to show you what He desires of you. Remember that words of encouragement change lives. Share your resources with those in need. You can achieve your dreams. We can change the course of history by educating a girl. I hope that you will choose MDP to be part of how you help empower others.