So the title of this blog is definitely not in english, or even kiswahili as would be more appropriate. Instead, it is a Zulu word that means to bring the light. I learned it from the name of a band from South Africa that I met when I was a teenager, and have some of their cds. It is appropriate though, in that is the desire of the organization I will be talking about... to bring a small light into the darkness, and when I thought of blogging about this, that is what came to mind.
I just got home from an amazing meeting about an organization called Nuru International. For those of you who read my blog about Relay, you have heard of this, and for those of you who haven't, you should read it!
Nuru is a non-profit organization that strives to bring sustainable living to those living in extreme poverty. This means those who live on less than a dollar a day. That is insane to think about. These are people who not only wonder where their next meal will come from, but if it will come at all. They work to do this through areas like clean water and sewage, education, business, public health, and agriculture. The goal is to have the first team sent into western Kenya this fall, if the money gets raised. For more details on the organization itself, I encourage you to visit their website at http://nuruinternational.com and take a look around. Also, check out one of the founder's blogs (Jake) by using the link to the right... under blogs I keep up with!
Our meeting tonight focused on fundraising. You see, nuru officially has non-profit status now, meaning that they can start even more aggressive fundraising. Right now they need to have $350,000 dollars raised by June 14. If that goal is met, another donor will give $100,000. Dude. That is huge. Right now they are over halfway there, but still that is a big chunk of change to raise.
As we discussed our fundraising in our meeting, a challenge rose among us. There are about 6 of us that are giving up eating out for 2 weeks, and putting all the money that we would have spent out into this fund.
Right now on facebook, there is a cause page for Nuru. Many of you may have already joined the cause just simply to raise awareness or because it looked cool. That's great. If you haven't joined yet, I encourage you to do so! You may have noticed the goal to raise $30,000 on Facebook alone. Our friend Billy even made a commitment to raise $10,000... insane, but possible with God, and everyone's help!
What could you do? It may seem like what you can give wouldn't make a difference, but every little bit will help us toward our goal. Could you give something up that you really don't need for 2 weeks and put that money toward such a great cause? Or maybe you have some extra money from the "economic stimulus" check you received that could go to help support Nuru.
If you're interested, you can donate through their website (anonymously if you choose) or through the facebook cause. If you'd like to help my friend Billy reach his goal, go to http://apps.facebook.com/causes/goals/show/5098. You don't even have to be a member of facebook to donate this way and have it count towards the goal!
I really encourage you all to do this. What better way to show your support, and truly be a part of starting something that is literally just taking off? Help us in our goal to bring the light to those who so desperately need it!
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