live simply so others may simply live.

Ok, so I have so many things to say on this subject that I'm not even sure where to begin. This phrase 'live simply so others may simply live' is very straightforward but has soooo much meaning. Especially here in Uganda. During the month of July, Carli Travers of Abetavu (where I am volunteering) is trying to raise a large sum of money ($30,000). I am helping with this by filming and photographing our daily activities so that people can see what Carli and Robert do here in Uganda and maybe they will feel compelled to donate.

Let me tell you something, fundraising is one of the most difficult and testing tasks out there. Some may think that asking for money is easy and that maybe you aren't really working for it and that you're just asking for a handout. Well you would be wrong to think that. It is extremely frustrating and even disappointing and discouraging at times when there is a lack of support. Especially when the basis of everything you do for your family and community relies on donations. That is the case here at Abetavu. Of course they try to bring in some income through various activities and are trying to expand this in making and selling things locally, but when you are living in a household with 20 children and pretty much supporting a whole village on top of that, it's a little hard to have a steady 'job' which actually gets you a paycheck. The work that Carli does she does for free. She doesn't get a salary or a paid vacation - or any vacation - and her job is 24/7 365 days a year. I'm not saying that she didn't sign up for this, but she's definitely not asking for money so she can put it into her own pocket, she's asking because it's the only way she can keep doing what she's doing. Making a difference in the world.

In my experience with fundraising, people just get annoyed and want to ignore you because they think 'someone else will donate money' or 'I work hard for my money, why should I give it to someone else doing something on the other side of the world' and others just don't care. Nobody is denying that we don't all work hard for our money, but let me give you something to think about. What is the point in working 'so hard' for your money when you can't use it for something good? Why do we all hang on to money so tightly and feel so unwilling to use it for something positive for humanity yet we can easily go and buy ourselves a new cell phone or outfit or fancy latte or tickets to a concert, etc.? I'm also not saying I'm perfect either - I've got my own issues with shopping and buying new clothes that I have seriously struggled to change for some time. Even my daily coffee or meals out would add up so quickly due to my hectic lifestyle going back and forth between two full-time jobs and hardly having time to prepare a proper meal. If I saved all the money I had spent on coffees and fast food, I probably could have saved $50 a week or more easily.

What I am challenging you to do is to really take a moment to think about how much you value those extras that you spend your money on. Would you be able to go a day, a week, or even a month without them to do something bigger and greater with that hard-earned money? I'm not saying that we should all give up all of our luxuries and donate all of our money to charity - that's not realistic. But to live simply so others may simply live - and I mean this from the bottom of my heart - lives can be saved with just a few dollars. I know I'm probably sounding like one of those world vision commercials right about now but it's the truth. There is hardly a doctor in our village...children are dying of malaria when the treatment only costs like $5. And no, that's not your (you, the reader) fault. But would it not feel good to know that you have contributed to saving one of those lives? Or to providing a better quality of life to many others? If you've ever felt the slightest bit touched or inspired by any of my blog posts or Facebook posts (for those of you who follow me on Facebook) then I ask you to consider donating something to Abetavu Community Development Organization at www.abetavu.com.

With all of the footage we've collected I created this short video to hopefully touch the hearts of some of you out there and to at least spread the word about what is happening here and to hopefully gain Carli and Robert some more support. But also to give you a glimpse into the work we do. Please at least watch the video and share it with your friends via Facebook, etc., if for no other reason than to admire the work I put into creating it. I've never made one of these movies before and I'm actually super proud of it and I hope those of you who watch can enjoy and appreciate it :) So I will leave you with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6kh_AnwyoQ or you can watch the video below