KIVA: loans for life

Hi friends! Just wanted to shoot out a quick few words on KIVA, another one of these amazing organizations that's cropped up in the last decade to help Americans and everyone with excess to administer justice to those with lack.

It's very simple: you make a loan in increments of $25 to any of KIVA's approved borrowers from around the world and BOOM! you've made a difference. KIVA takes care of the rest: they make sure there is a specific money goal for the borrower for a specific business need and keep them on a specific payback schedule.

I just made my fifth loan (I received a KIVA loan as a gift a few years ago, and every time the borrower pays it all back, I lend it again) to this lovely group running a restaurant in Uganda. I was drawn to them because the boss lady's name is Annet (my mom's name is Annette) and she's 54 years old (you guessed it--so is my mom).

If you feel inspired to get started on this amazing microloan adventure, click here or on the KIVA graphic above.

Sign the petition. Save the LRA strategy.

Hey friends! I’ve been asked by the amazing team at RESOLVE (good buddy org of Invisible Children) to get some more friends to sign the petition, which, along with a 1-minute video explaining the situation, can be be found here: http://goo.gl/xW3Dn

Basically, at the end of 2010, we celebrated the release of the first ever U.S. strategy to see an end to LRA violence in the DR Congo and Central African Republic among other countries. (The "LRA" is the "Lord's Resistance Army" that has been active for almost 25 years in several of the most remote nations in Africa, killing, raping, and abducting at will. See my most recent post for Invisible Children's event this April that will help make sure this war won't go past its 25th year.) But now, the hope of seeing concrete action that can save lives is in jeopardy. Congress is threatening to cut the money needed to implement the LRA strategy from the U.S. budget, the very strategy Congress required the President to create.

Thanks for signing the petition! Pass this on to three friends you think might like to sign it.

Sign the petition. Save the LRA strategy. from The Resolve on Vimeo.

25. Mark your calendars: April 25

On April 25th join thousands of participants around the world to speak out without speaking. We are standing in solidarity and remaining silent for 25 hours to resemble the 25th and hopefully final year of this war. Sign up at invisiblechildren.com/​25 to create your personal fundraising page to help raise money for Invisible Children's life saving Protection Plan in DR Congo.

25 Event Details from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

DO SOMETHING NOW

Just wanted to make everyone aware of a gorgeous website for one of the great collaborative social justice efforts of our generation--DO SOMETHING NOW (dosomethingnow.com). Though I'm unaware of the exact origins of that phrase, my interaction with it has been from the unmatched Passion conferences and their GO Center where they showcase dozens of worthy causes that are making incredible differences in the far corners of this planet. (Incidentally, one of my best friends from childhood, Emily Vogeltanz, has been the head designer for the GO Center at Passion for several years now, and she has an eye for the 'look and feel' of an environment that I've not seen reproduced in any other gathering; below are some pics from Passion 2010 that of course only hint at the beauty she creates.)

Go to DO SOMETHING NOW and, well... do something now.

International Justice Mission VICTORY

Just wanted to pass on some amazing news about the full-circle efforts of the passionate, unstoppable force that is INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION. Let's celebrate that these sex traffickers have been brought to justice!

HOW IT ENDS

*NOTE: My promised reflections on my recent trip to Haiti are coming forthrightly in my newest ministry update, to be posted presently on this here blog...

I am not a political activist in the least sense of the phrase. In fact, I wish most 'political' issues didn't have to BE so 'political' at all. The government exists for the people, to protect their unalienable rights (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), and thus only circumstances that threaten these things cause me to seek the help of those who represent me in the halls of power.

There is an international crisis in eastern Africa (indeed, it is greatly affecting at least four countries and IS Africa's longest-running conflict at 23 years and counting) that hardly anyone seems to know or care about except one of my favorite non-profits, Invisible Children, and the people they've inspired with their films over the last six years. A terrorist regime called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) lurks in the jungle, primarily operating in northern Uganda but in recent months and years moving into southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The LRA is led by a man Senator Feingold has called a 'megalomaniac,' Joseph Kony, and indeed he is a sociopath (he is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the amazing, recently formed tribunal International Criminal Court). For over 20 years he has abducted children in northern Uganda to feed the ranks of his army which has no purpose and no end. These children are forced to kill and do terrible things until they know nothing but bloodshed for their entire lives. Murder, mutilation, abduction, rape, and psychological control follow this madman Kony wherever he slinks. This IS the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis, and it must be stopped.

I mentioned that I'm not political. However, that doesn't mean I'm not democratic. I'm proud to live in a country where the people have the power and they direct the actions of those to whom they've given power, namely, our congressmen and executive administration. Did you realize that if you're a U.S. citizen, these men and women, including the President of the United States, work for you? This isn't merely wishful thinking; this is reality. I was reminded of this incredible fact recently upon my venture to Washington, D.C. for the LARGEST lobby day for ANY African issue EVER, the event Invisible Children co-sponsored called How It Ends. On June 23rd, nearly 2000 young people from almost every state met with 90 Senators and hundreds of Representatives, asking them to support the 'LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Plan' bill, currently on the floor in the Senate and the House. This bill is the most important act thus far in bringing Kony's war on children and civilians to an end.

Turns out it's not that hard to set up a meeting with the office of a congressman. Turns out it's THEIR JOB. I want to encourage any reader to visit invisiblechildren.com, subscribe to their iTunes video podcast, become inspired, and write a letter to your congressmen asking them to co-sponsor the aforementioned bill. It's time for these atrocities to end and for the people of eastern Africa (espeically northern Uganda) to live free from fear.

Dry Tears

I was at the 58conference November 7-8 that Chestnut Ridge Church put on, and I met some really cool guys from the organization Dry Tears, which they founded. The really awesome thing is, one's a senior in high school (Conner) and the other's a sophomore in college (Kyle)! I'm just so impressed that people so young are giving themselves to the work of justice (which was the theme of the conference, inspired by Isaiah 58).

Dry Tears is about providing one of the basic human needs that so many needlessly die from being without: water. Of earth's 6 and a half billion people, over 1 billion don't have access to clean drinking water. That's just rediculous. Most of the people who die from water-borne illnesses are children. Conner and Kyle heard about this stunning situation and were moved to action, but I think one of the details (the one for which they named their organization) is what caused them to really become passionate about the work that needs to be done. The terribly sad fact is, some children in this world are so dehydrated that their bodies can't produce the moisture needed to form tears. They cry but nothing comes out. Think about the last time you had a good cry. There's something healing in the saline moisture on your face, yes? There's some evidence that you've come through something; you wipe your eyes, and you begin to be restored. But these children sit in the dust and wail, dry as a bone, being killed from the inside out. Unbelievable.

Check out their website (I've added it to the JUSTICE section to the right) and get involved.

ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE

This is an awesome tour coming up with Derek Webb and others. We tried to get them to come to Morgantown, but it didn't work out unfortunately.

I just love the title: ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE. It's really neat because at so.zo (the coffeeshop/cereal bar I help with), those are the very three words we use in a little business card holder that says: 'SO.ZO SUPPORTS...' and then those three words are listed, and underneath that is the appropriate business card of the person who oversees each of those areas of so.zo's mission (I'm under the MUSIC one).

Kind of the byline for the tour is using is: 'HOPEFUL*INSPIRED*INVOLVED' and again, this is really clever marketing because it speaks to and corresponds with the roots of the three ideas of art, music, and justice. (And of course it's more than just clever marketing because these artists are really committed to what they're purporting to be.)

A slogan for the tour is: 'ADD TO THE BEAUTY, SEEK JUSTICE & GIVE GOD PRAISE.' I think each of us could adopt this as a life vision in some way. Think about how you're living or not living out each of these mantras.

The tour is partnering with two wonderful organizations: International Justice Mission and Food for the Hungry. Check out the websites, see if you can swing coming to a tour date, and think about getting involved.