After a two week hiatus due to the Thanksgiving Break, I’m back! And what a busy week it has been. Preparations in Eugene, Oregon’s are underway for the upcoming fundraiser that is tonight! We couldn’t be more excited for the event at the First Friday Art Walk. We’ll be located on 7th and Willamette in the Artist Alley with other artisans. They’ll be Ghanaian ethically produced products such as messenger bags and bracelets. There will also be some homemade ornaments, t-shirts, and rubber wristbands.
This is such an important time for us. As most of us at Finding Refuge are getting ready to graduate college, we are hopeful about the future of our organization. With the vast number of fundraisers and informative meetings about our cause, we’ve been more than aware of the great following that we’re getting. And with that hope of the future, we must always remember our past and why we’re in the position we’re in.
There’s a little story that Desmond Tutu told us while we were getting ready to sail the world on Semester at Sea and it has stuck with me ever since. The story is of a little boy who made a difference:
“One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, ‘What are you doing’?
The youth replied, ‘Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.’
‘Son’, the man said, ‘don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?’
’You cant make a difference!’
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,and threw it back into the surf.
Then, smiling at the man, he said
’I made a difference for that one’.”
For me, that’s why we exist. To make a difference to one more child. Every human life is so important with a vast amount of opportunity laid out before them. The children living on Lake Volta are dehumanized to the point where they no longer believe this. We exist because we’d like to give every child the opportunity to succeed and make a difference. Whether they become pilots, business women, activists, or politicians, it doesn’t matter, the fact that they have been given the opportunity to succeed is enough for us.
On that note, I challenge you to make a difference. Leave a legacy of helping others and creating a happier world for future generations.
