Monday Morning Mojo

The Water of Life

The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that restores the vitality of anyone who drinks of its waters. I don't know of anything that restores a sense of vigor more than taking joy in using one's resources to help others in need. Here are two of my personal favorite places to give:

1. Amman Imman - In September 2005 Ariane Kirtley began her work in the pastoral region of the Azawak, Niger as a Fulbright Scholar conducting public health research. There, she witnessed children traveling up to 30 miles a day searching for water, often in vain. She met with families who had spent their life resources hand digging over 300 feet into the ground, yet never reaching water despite the many years of labor. She spoke with fathers who had lost their traditional way of life as herders because the rainfall had dwindled from five months to one month annually in just a decade, all of whose animals had perished from thirst and hunger. Her research indicated that among the region’s 500,000 inhabitants one out of two children die before the age of five, mostly due to dehydration and water-related illnesses. In response Ariane founded Amman Imman, which translated means, water is life. Amman Imman’s first successful project was to construct a water bearing borehole for 25,000 people and animals in the village of Tangarwashane.

A close, personal friend, Debbie Kahn, founded Wells of Love, the service-learning component of Amman Imman in October, 2006. Debbie teaches children in schools, writes blog posts, organizes collaborative fundraising campaigns such as the annual Walk for Water here in DC, and has used social networking tools like YouTube and Facebook to grow the school movement to over 50 schools today. Debbie has traveled to the Azawak to conduct a Friendship Exchange connecting over 200 children in America with their African brothers and sisters in the region.

You can contribute to Amman Imman, any amount that you wish, here.

2. GlobalGiving - In 1997, while I was working at the World Bank, executives Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle were asked to develop innovative ways to combat poverty by then president, Jim Wolfensohn. I know Dennis personally and have watched his amazing progress over the years.

Mari and Dennis created one of the World Bank's most amazing achievements, the Development Marketplace. It was a first-of-its-kind event where people from around the world competed for World Bank funds. Judges that included some of the Bank's harshest critics participated in awarding the coolest and most promising ideas, many of which became strategically important initiatives over the next five years.

The event's success unveiled the enormous potential of a global marketplace for philanthropy, and participants asked for a real marketplace that was open year round and operated virtually. Mari and Dennis saw the brilliance of this idea, left the World Bank and launched GlobalGiving, a charity fundraising web site that gives social entrepreneurs and non-profits from anywhere in the world a chance to raise the money that they need to improve their communities. Since 2002, GlobalGiving has raised $76,695,591 from 305,312 donors who have supported 7,087 projects.

The world is full of problems. GlobalGiving is full of solutions. A generous anonymous donor has agreed to match 100% of new monthly donations from December 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

Visit and find a project to support with your resources here.

Happy holidays,
Seth

VisionaryLeadership.com