When half the world is living in poverty…

I’ve never enjoyed fundraising. Honestly, it’s my least favorite part of what my husband and I do.

And yet when I see needs in the developing world that can easily be met by the developed world, it’s hard for me to sit back and wish someone else would take care of it. It’s then that my drive to help overtakes my desire to avoid the unpleasant.

This year’s Love A Mama Mother’s Day Drive is no exception.

Two years ago I was buried in my own self-pity and sense of entitlement as Mother’s Day approached when I began to think of mothers in the developing world and all that they are up against. As they approach birth they are literally staring at a potential death sentence, with as many as 1 in 7 not surviving childbirth in rural Papua New Guinea (PNG).

I became so burdened when I thought of their poverty and heartache contrasting my own abundance and relative discomfort. My conviction rocked me out of my selfishness and I decided to try and make a small dent in the issues of maternal and infant mortality in honor of all the mothers out there that would never dream of getting worked up about whether or not they’d have breakfast served to them in bed.

Fast forward to now and I’ve literally seen hundreds of women (and a few men) around the world help by donating clean birth kits and baby slings. Their responses have humbled me. They’ve also reassured me that people want to be generous, but sometimes they are just waiting for a cause that tugs on their heartstrings, an issue that they can personally relate to, or an opportunity to do something tangible.

The project for this year’s Love A Mama Mother’s Day Drive is the Sunshine Project. We’re raising funds to obtain a solar suitcase that can literally bring light (and power) into delivery rooms in areas of remote Papua New Guinea (PNG) where there is no electricity.

Because seriously, can you imagine being in the middle of a labor or birth crisis like an emergency c-section or post-partum hemorrhage with your birth attendant trying to work by candlelight?

Yeah, me neither.

So no, I can’t sit back and do nothing when half the world is living in poverty while the other half is fighting over the remote control.

Now hear me out here: I’m no hero. I have my own issues. I sometimes fight over the remote control, too. I grumble or worry too often about my lack of sleep or my own financial “troubles” and I lament about very important things like how I can’t get Honey Nut Cheerios in Australia.

All of that is part of the reason why I’m actively combating my own self-centeredness by doing what I can to serve the poor and advocate on their behalf. And honestly, that’s something that anyone can do, if only we’re willing to look beyond ourselves, step out, use what we have in our own hand, and do something.

I sure hope you’ll join me this year as I work to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the developing world. Together let’s pool our resources to address the crippling poverty that prevents these women and children from having the best chance at life.

Join us this year at The Sunshine Project. Let’s bring some light—and ultimately some life—into the delivery room in areas where it’s needed most.

Love,
A

p.s. Thanks to those of you who have already given so generously and who have helped by sharing links on facebook and other social media. As of today we’ve raised $1600. That’s only $400 short of hitting our goal for this year’s Mother’s Day Drive. Yeah, Love A Mama Community, you are pretty amazing. I really am proud of you and inspired by you. xx