"Go, I Wish You Well....."

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

-James (NIV)

I find this so challenging. It is easy to ask someone "how are you" and to accept their answer when you know there is more you can do. Or have good wishes and hope things go well for someone yet not offer your help. Or you sincerely hope the best in a situation and think someone else will help them when you could give them a call to try and help meet their needs. Or you do offer to help and they say no. Do you simply stop there? Hope and belief in their safety and welfare, goes to not or becomes useless although we mean well. Action goes along way. Even a simple gesture, phone call, text message, cooking, email, small gift or card, small monetary donation, hugs, touch on the hand, active listening, encouraging words, poem, etc. We all know the phrase, "Action speaks..................

International Day of Giving-Hope Worldwide

I just love Hope worldwide. They are the organization that gave me my wings to speak and to act. I even had the opportunity to to be on their website for the Tri-state (on the top of the page, which loads in three seconds). You can see the site here. I know, I look tired. It was a Hopeww event for children, with my 2 and 5 year old running around. It was sooo much fun but hectic, so excuse the bags under my eyes : )

This is their official web page for humanitarian giving around the world:
Hope worldwide



The great news is Hope worldwide is now registered in Ethiopia as of last week! Just in time for the International Day of giving, Sunday, November 21, 2010. Make a difference.

Showcase: Tigist Selam

Today I would like to showcase an extraordinary woman who is ambitious, intelligent, beautiful and motivating. Her name is Tigist Selam.

All three photos

were taken in Ethiopia

by Tigist Selam.

Born to an Ethiopian mother and a German father, Tigist Selam, enjoyed the diverse experience of growing up in Nigeria, Argentina and foremost Germany. With her first performance at the tender age of three, she started her training in ballet and continued her classical training in voice, piano and the flute. Her multiple talents allowed her to attend the prestigious Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands, a school for the gifted in Germany. At the age of sixteen she left to pursue her passion for the performing arts and activism to California. She graduated in International Relations with an emphasis on International Organizations at San Francisco State University as the youngest to do so in the department's history. She continued her studies at the internationally renown Goldsmith's University of London and graduated with a Master's degree in Communications, Culture and Society, where she wrote about film, music and style.

In New York City, Tigist returned to the arts and took Master classes in theater, dance and voice while fundraising for more than a dozen non-profit organizations, including the notable Riverside Church. In 2009, she met the critically acclaimed producer of 'Good Hair', Nelson George, who asked her to write and act in her first feature film called 'Left Unsaid'. In 2010, she was officially selected as the face of Ethiopia's leading lifestyle magazine, 'Tadias' and has interviewed prominent Ethiopians along with pioneering filmmaker Haile Gerima. For the past five years, she has worked in close relationship with CNN hero Yohannes Gebregeorgis of 'Ethiopia Reads' and will be launching her own non-profit organization, the Ethiopian Educational Project, in the beginning of 2011. Tigist has appeared in numerous films, music videos, television series, magazines and commercials as an actor, writer and philanthropist.

*It is encouraging to see Ethiopians who are doing great things for themselves and others. She is a person to keep an eye on as she will go far in her future endeavors. She is really a rising star on the road to success. Let's show her some love and support by logging on to her sites, commenting and following as well. Thank you Tigist for all you do and for allowing us to see your beautiful work as a photographer. You can see Tigist's photo album here.

www.twitter.com/tigistselam

www.facebook.com/tigistselam

www.tiggie.tumblr.com

www.tigistselam.com

Guest Post-Sophie B.

What has it been like for you on your travels abroad?

Most people balk at the thought of taking their children abroad, far from grandparents and the extended family but over the past six years, traveling from the UK to New Zealand, the Fiji islands and then to Australia, we’ve discovered that for those who dare, despite the sacrifices, there are great rewards to be had.

As we have moved from country to country, we have been so blessed with an ever-increasing family, not related to us by blood but related to us by the bond we’ve made with them, bonds of faith but also bonds of shared experiences, knowledge of cultures other than our own that we couldn’t possibly have built up without living there.

When I see New Zealand on the news, I know the scorching sun and the chilly wind that blows through the houses, I feel for the community of Christchurch when it is hit by earthquake and I look to see what it means for friends living there. When I hear of a cyclone hitting the Fijian Islands, I think of my friend Lina on Viti Levu, battening down the hatches, making sure that she has plenty of candles, matches, hurricane lamps and kerosene. I think of our house girl Asenaca and her family, living on the shoreline and hope that she has gone further inland to the shelter of the mountains and I wonder if the electricity has gone off again for days and whether my friend Kristine will be able to get her washing done.

Living abroad changes you forever. Travel, if you really see a country as it truly is and not the Travel Brochure Version, changes you forever. There is something that you cannot ever undo when you see the vibrancy, the colour, the abundance of life, the dirt and poverty of a developing country.

I grew up in the Southern Alps, spending 17 years there and still, 18 years after I left, it is the country that touches my heart the most. The suffering of people there is heartbreaking and although most of the West think of it as a haven for terrorists, for me it will forever be the country of early morning mist on the river, Moghul forts, bright colours, breathtaking mountains, tall pine forests, inquisitive wild monkeys and, most of all, of hospitable friends. I miss it so much.

When I returned to the UK at age 18, I realized it was easy to spot those who had travelled, who came from another culture or had experienced another culture. Trying to put my finger on what it is exactly is difficult. Is it friendliness? Is it an openness to other cultures? A reluctance to judge cultures or make assumptions? Possibly it is an openness of mind, an awareness of others, an ease within themselves.

I long to pass it on to my children because whatever that quality is, it is rich and beautiful. We are so privileged to have seen so much of the world when others have barely ventured out of their town. I am delighted that my children know their time zones, that they realize that not everyone has the privileged lifestyle we do, that they accept that other people eat differently, live differently, that our lifestyle is simply one choice among many. I hope it encourages them to see justice done, to help those who want and need help, to give generously, to have an openness to new friends, to new cultures.

We are incredibly blessed to have had the experiences we have had in our lives so far. I hope they’ll be many more adventures to come.

Sophie

*Sophie is a wife and mother of three little girls. She calls her husband the gorgeous Frenchman. They have been on the move for six years now and have lived in UK, NZ, Fiji and lived in Australia for three years.

*Thank you so much for your post and for being a guest on "Our Trip To Ethiopia". Sophie is a fellow member of SITS (The Secret to Success is Support). To read more and get more insights on today's Guest, please visit http://www.familytravelogue.blogspot.com and http://www.littlegumnut.blogspot.com

The True Size of Africa

*You should see this blown up. It really is quite amazing how big Africa really is, that it can fit all of these countries within.

*Click on the picture provided by "Twitpic" and it will become enlarged.

Joshua's Heart

You know how we look at poor children on television from other countries and our heart melts and even hurts to the point of giving or just turning the station because it can be too intense? Well a 5 year old boy saw one of these programs and asked his mother if they could feed one of the children because they had no food. After some time Joshua wanted to feed all of them and couldn't understand why they were so many hungry children. He also saw a homeless man and wanted to feed him. Soon after, Joshua decided to start feeding people, to the point of being a President of his own organization that feeds the hungry. He is now nine years old and feeding an even bigger population with more outside support.
MSNBC presented a special on Joshua called "the 9 year old philanthropist who bares an old soul." His foundation has so far fed 7,ooo people. You can see the video here (wait a few seconds for the video to load) and you can see his foundation here. I am so impressed with this little boy. It doesn't matter how young you are to care for others. It also shows what one is capable of when they act on their passions. Now I feel if he could do it I can do it also. As I am in the middle of starting my own Foundation soon, I am so motivated by Joshua's Heart.

My Interview on "Journey to Joy".

Hi everyone. I am usually a private person when it comes to my personal life. I had an opportunity to be interviewed by another blog called "Journey to Joy". This will probably be the only time I will post about the most intriguing part of my past. The interview is basically about what brings me joy. But to answer the question I have to go through some tough times to appreciate what brings me joy, today.

So I ask you, "What brings you joy?" You can make a comment below or answer the question by visiting the blog host. To read my interview go to Journey to Joy.

CNN Heroes 2010-Vote

It's coming next month, on Thanksgiving Day @ 8pm, eastern standard time. CNN Heroes is a once a year special event, about ordinary people doing the unordinary, while changing the world one person at a time. The television special started in 2007 and continues to highlight medical marvels, community crusaders, championing children, young wonders, those protecting the powerless and those defending the planet. This years 10 are just as powerful as the proceeding years and as usual it will be a difficult vote for the CNN Hero of 2010. They are diverse in culture and gender. You may or may not know that one of the 2008 nominee for CNN Heroes was Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Founder of Ethiopia Reads. You can read more about him here. Our Trip to Ethiopia featured Ethiopia Reads, on this site, in December 2009, before distributing donations from all of you, to the non-profit, at their doorstep in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!

This years competition is going to be good. If you want to get to know all the nominees with a brief history of their work, just click here. If you want to vote with rules on the voting process, you can click on the vote now tab or click here. I have been waiting in eager anticipation and can't wait to see the next one. I honestly can't make up my mind on who to vote for. I may just have to vote for more than one person.