Inspiration

A friend sent this post to me and I felt that it was appropriate to share with you. I didn't write this article, but it is inspiring and this is an excellent example of women empowering women & girls.

by Cynthia Kersey
The author of Unstoppable and Unstoppable Women, Cynthia is raising $1m to build schools in Africa as part of her work in the Unstoppable Foundation.

The best way to predict the future is to create it. ~ Peter Drucker

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...

I've been writing about Unstoppable people for well over a decade and what I've found is that living an unstoppable life always involves giving. People who give and are involved in a purpose that is greater than themselves are the happiest people and live the richest and most meaningful lives imaginable.
I have definitely experienced that in my own life and have found that nothing that I do gives me greater joy than when I am in service to others. I've been blessed to be a part of many service projects around the world and in November, 2006, I had an experience that has taken my calling to do this work to a whole new level.

In November, 2006, I went to Africa with 40 women from North America to attend a first-ever Grassroots African Women's Conference in Bondo, Kenya. We were greeted by 440+ rural East African Women who were there for the conference as well and each night we laughed, danced and sang together as we connected with each other as sisters.

During the day, we attended sessions and listened to the powerful stories of these courageous women who shared how they were dealing with fundamental issues like making sure their children are fed, getting clean water for their families to drink, preserving food to get them through times of drought, treatment and prevention for Malaria and HIV, taking care of orphans with HIV, and providing an education for their children so they could create a hopeful future for their families.

These women never get a day off from hauling water and firewood, cooking, cleaning, and the drudgery of daily living and never travel more than 10 miles beyond their village. Yet, here they were, many of them traveling great distances to attend this conference to share their stories and take home solutions that could help them create a more optimistic future for their families.
I was inspired by the women's optimism and the commitment to lift themselves and their communities out of the cycle of extreme poverty. They experience daily challenges that I could not even imagine and their stories profoundly impacted me. I took home the heart of these East African women promising to do something to support them in changing the future for themselves and for their children.

The UnstoppableGivingChallenge.com is the result of that promise. I have learned that the key to helping these women and children will come not from waiting for the government to step in and do something. It will come when caring and committed people join together to provide aid, resources, and equipment DIRECTLY to the people who are already making a difference on the ground.

How can you use your unique voice and talents to heal this planet? When we collectively bring our gifts and our talents to the world, we will create a world of love, compassion and power that this planet has not yet seen. And when we experience the true miracle of giving, both the giver and the receiver are healed.