This Is What I’m Going To Do Today

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City Moms Blog Network has partnered with Food for the Hungry to initiate change in communities around the world facing extreme poverty. In May 2016, Food for the Hungry sponsored an educational trip to Guatemala for three members of the City Moms Blog Team.

IMG_1566Hi. I’m Steph – a kid-raising, lullaby-singing, tear-wiping and heart-holding mom of 3 little girls.

I’m also a mom who is confident that I can change the world.  Some might call it a huge cause to embrace, especially given my season of life and the current state of world affairs, but I’m seeing it happen right before my eyes and I’m confident that changing the world isn’t just a personal mission of mine but a cause that every mom can (and should) support.

And do you want to know how I’m going to change the world?

I’m going to love people.  

And I’m going to teach my children how to love people. Period. Locally and globally.

You see, I had a dream to love other moms through the power of the local mom blog. It started small in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2011 and has grown to 62 cities in just a few short years.  As our network has grown within the boundaries of the US, I asked myself at the end of last year, “What now?”

The answer was clear – to inspire moms to look outside of the walls of their homes to areas of significant need across the globe and to join together in a movement to end poverty, through extravagant love and generosity.

“In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it
or keep planning for it.  Simply put: love does.”

– Bob Goff

Food_for_the_Hungry_official_logoIn May, we took our first giant leap of faith to love moms outside of the boundaries of the US by traveling to Guatemala with Food for the Hungry to see firsthand the work they are doing in some of the most poverty-stricken communities of the world.

During our trip we visited three communities in Huehuetenengo, Guatemala – Lopez, Luminoche and Ical.  There we learned about how 51% of children in Guatemala and 80% of children in indigenous Guatemalan communities suffer from chronic malnutrition, leaving Guatemala with the highest rate of chronic malnutrition in Latin America and the 3rd highest rate in the world.

Photo May 02, 4 23 15 PMWe learned how Food for the Hungry goes into countries suffering from extreme poverty and asks the question, “what are the most difficult places to work?” And that’s where they arrive. Lopez, Luminoche and Ical are just three out of hundreds of communities that Food for the Hungry helps worldwide.

Photo May 02, 10 57 47 AMWe saw firsthand how these communities invite Food for the Hungry in and how they put together a plan to transform the village with the help of Food for the Hungry local staff, child sponsorship dollars and most importantly, a willingness and eagerness from the villagers themselves. They include the men, women and youth of the community in the leadership development, the transformational change, and the empowerment of community members to better their families, friends and neighbors. Food for the Hungry’s goal isn’t to go into a community to save them. Their goal is to go into the community to learn together and transform the community together. A 10 year agreement is made with a clear exit plan and the intention of the community being self-sufficient at the end of the 10 year agreement.

Between empowering community leaders to prioritize needs and cast vision for growth and change, training volunteer moms to see and meet the healthcare demands of the village, organizing savings groups (i.e. micro loan type groups) for young moms to help support their families and building keyhole gardens for families that desperately need the nutritious food the garden will supply for years to come, it was very obvious that the work of Food for the Hungry truly does transform these villages forever.

Photo May 04, 12 33 50 PM

Upon returning home after our time in Guatemala, it was tempting to focus on the enormous amount of needs in Guatemala and ultimately the macro problem of poverty in the world.  However, if and when I do that, I’m tempted to throw my hands in the air and be discouraged that my single acts of love and generosity can’t possibly help.  Instead, I’m choosing to focus on the individual people – the moms and children – that our family can help.  The moms and children that YOU can help.

So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do today: There are hundreds of young girls and boys in Ical, Guatemala, who struggle with the real threat of malnourishment. I’m going to tell their story and I’m going to find 300 moms to sponsor a child in Ical along with me. This is how I can love the world around me today. This is how I can teach my children to love people – both locally and globally.

That’s what I’m going to do.

What about you?

 

For more about our trip, please check out Moms Just Like UsWalking Alongside Moms Across the World and Guatemala, You Have My Heart.

Won’t you join us in sponsoring a child in the community of Ical, Guatemala?

Make A Global Impact And Sponsor A Child

For about $1 a day, you can bring hope and change to a sponsor child’s life and the community they live in, through food, education, clear water and medical treatment.

Your gift of $35 a month can truly make a lasting difference and change a child’s life.

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Order A #CMBNWorldChanger T-Shirt!

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All proceeds will benefit Food For The Hungry.