An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach. One day, after a storm, he saw a human silhouette, moving like a dancer in the distance. As he came closer, he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing. She was reaching down to the sand, picking up starfish, and very gently, throwing them into the ocean. "Young lady," he asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" Her reply: "The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them back to the ocean, they will die."The old man asked, "But young lady, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference."The young woman listened politely, paused, and then bent to pick up another starfish, and threw it into the sea. Her reply: "I made a difference for that one".I think I first read that story in a Stephen Covey book, although some research suggests it is properly attributed to Loren Eiseley: "The Star Thrower". Regardless. It's a really good piece of advice. For anything in life. Start small. Over time, small adds up to "bigger". And in the end, you have changed something that seemed formidable, if not impossible, at first glance.
As a parent, I have done my best to teach this lesson to my kids. At an early age, they knew that people across the world (and across their country) did not have the "easier life" that they have been blessed with. They also know that they can do things to improve the lives of others. Some of you already know that for Julia's 7th birthday, she requested that her birthday party guests donate money to the Red Cross "Malaria Bites" campaign. She came up with this idea on her own, after watching a very sad video about the numbers of children and moms who die from diseases passed on by mosquitos. She watched the video and she cried. And then we talked about how she could help those families. For three years now, she has donated money in lieu of birthday party gifts to this campaign. She is touched and proud to know that the $300 she has raised to date has purchased 30 nets and potentially saved the lives of 150 people. This is what I mean about starting small. She gave up a few toys and look at the difference she has made. It really is something for her to be proud of.
As you might know, Julia is a Girl Guide. She has been a Girl Guide since she was 5 years old. Now, she has been a Girl Guide in two different countries. As a member of this fantastic leadership-development organisation for girls, Julia has been provided with opportunities to give back to her community and to understand her responsibilities as a global citizen-living in privileged circumstances in a first-world country. A few weeks ago, we attended a "Thinking Day" Girl Guide celebration and we learned more about the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDG). The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts have adopted these goals as ways for our girls to strive to improve their world. Their "starfish", if you will. Each year, different goals will be highlighted, which are meant to provide direction/focus to charity/community work undertaken by our Girl Guide groups. The Global Action Theme is "together we can change our world". In 2013, Girl Guides Australia is focusing on Goals #3 and #4: Reducing Child Mortality and Improving Maternal Health. These are lofty important goals. And they are BIG. How does a group of girls in a country like Australia (or Canada) begin to tackle goals like that?
As you might not know, I was also a Girl Guide. I was a Girl Guide for almost 10 years. I learned a lot about ways to care for others during the time I spent in Guides. The 2013 Thinking Day event inspired me to consider how our community group of Girl Guides could help other girls around the world--what could we do in the spirit of the MDG's as WAGGGS is promoting? As is often the case with me, an answer could be found on the internet. Facebook to be more specific. :) I was surfing Facebook one day and noticed a post about CARE Australia's "Walk in Her Shoes". I spent about 30 minutes reading their website, and I was convinced. This was an opportunity for our family (and our Girl Guide group) to tackle the MDG's. To increase our children's awareness about the situation faced by many girls and women in third world countries around the world. To raise some money to help them. To make a difference.
Consider these statistics (direct from CARE's website):
- On average, in developing countries, women and girls travel over 6 kilometres every day collecting water.
- They carry around 15-20 litres per trip.
- Two out of every three children who are not attending primary school are girls.
- Girls are not attending school because they are needed to collect water and food--to provide the necessities of life for their families.
As of last week, our family of 4 are registered participants in the 2013 "Walk In Her Shoes" campaign. All of us have committed to walking 10 000 steps--every day--from March 18 to March 24. And we have organised a team of enthusiastic and committed fellow walkers-the Jamboree Heights Girl Guide district members. From Gumnuts (starting at age 5) to Rangers (as old as 16 years), we are all going to walk 10 000 steps. Aligned with the MDG's, our girls are learning about what is "daily life reality" for girls their age in less developed countries. They will be experiencing what it feels like to walk 6-7 kilometers a day. And they will be helping to raise money to fund projects that will improve the quality of life for these girls and their families.
To help keep track of our steps, I picked up our CARE "Walk In Her Shoes" pedometer kits from the Body Shop (national sponsor) just prior to registering for this event. The four of us have already started practicing, trying to increase our understanding of how far/how long it will take for us to walk 10 000 daily steps. Our youngest is 6 years old, and we have been unsure as to whether this challenge would be too much for him. This past Saturday, all 4 of us put on our pedometers shortly after "rolling out of bed" with the agreed-upon goal of 10 000 steps by the end of the day. Since we were spending the weekend out of town, in the lovely Sunshine Coast hinterland, we had some time to exclusively focus on achieving this. We ignored the intermittent rain and tackled a nature hike within the Mary Cairncross Reserve in Maleny. We covered about 2 km of walking trail in just over one hour. A post-walk peek at our pedometers showed us that we had completed 6000 steps. Some shopping and sightseeing for the remainder of the day enabled us to reach 10 000 steps by dinner time. I won't pretend that there wasn't occasional whinging from the kids because (of course) there was. "I'm bored" and "My legs hurt" were two phrases heard more than once. But because we have a purpose for doing this, the response to these complaints was easy to find. I wondered out loud if the girls who walk this distance every day get bored. And tired. And sore. And my kids had no choice but to imagine that they probably did, and wondered what they told themselves to combat those feelings-to forage ahead and get their chores done despite their discomforts. We also got the chance to talk about how lucky we are to be choosing to do this, while the girls who do it every day don't get a choice.
I honestly don't know if there is a better way to teach kids about gratitude and world perspective and helping others than diving into a challenge such as this. I love that my children are learning that there are injustices, hardships, and heartbreak in the world AND that we can all do something about this. However small our actions, they matter to the few that we are able to help.
Please consider providing a donation to our "Walk In Her Shoes" campaign. You can find our fundraising webpage at this address: walkinhershoes2013.everydayhero.com/au/kathleen-fraser
Every donation is significant: $5 or $50. You will be helping us to help CARE make a difference, one girl at a time. And you will be helping Stacey and I teach our children that over time, "small gifts" add up to "bigger ones" and that each person, with intention and effort to help, CAN make a difference.
Our Fundraising Page
About "Walk In Her Shoes"
About the Canadian Red Cross "Malaria Bites" campaign
WAGGGS and the UN's Millenium Development Goals
