A handful of times in the past several weeks I have found myself in the middle of sharing a meal or a cup of coffee with someone and realized, "this is the kind of meeting that could alter the trajectory of my life." Life can pass by for months without a moment like that, but lately they occur regularly.
What has awed me more than anything is the sheer number of people who are doing incredible, world-changing work who toil in obscurity, whose names will never be known beyond a small handful of people whose lives they impact directly. Sometimes they are the levers in vast organizations ensuring that everything is done with diligence and integrity. Sometimes they are the drivers of small organizations that would cease to exist if a single person drops the ball. This experience has humbled me greatly and reinforced that we will be in excellent company as we move forward with this work. The challenge for us is to continue to dream big in the presence of so many people who have gone before us.
Sarah and I spent last week in Washington DC staying with our exceedingly hospitable friends Liz and James and developing a partnership with Fulaa Lifeline International - the organization that runs the Cornerstone Children's Home where we plan to launch our programs this Autumn. We were nervous, to say the least, knowing that the board of directors at Fulaa had the right to decline to work with us if they weren't on board with our plans.
Our nerves, it turns out, were entirely misplaced. Meeting with Samuel Juma, a Sudanese refugee and the founder of Fulaa, and the members of his board was like reconnecting with long lost family. I know the international aid world is fractious and full of disputes between seemingly like-minded groups - in fact, I am often shocked by all the different well-intentioned people who divide when they should unite - and though our partnership is still young, I am excited to join with Fulaa. Together, I think we'll make each other better, but more than that I think we'll enrich the lives of the children at Cornerstone along with the people of Nimule.
What has awed me more than anything is the sheer number of people who are doing incredible, world-changing work who toil in obscurity, whose names will never be known beyond a small handful of people whose lives they impact directly. Sometimes they are the levers in vast organizations ensuring that everything is done with diligence and integrity. Sometimes they are the drivers of small organizations that would cease to exist if a single person drops the ball. This experience has humbled me greatly and reinforced that we will be in excellent company as we move forward with this work. The challenge for us is to continue to dream big in the presence of so many people who have gone before us.
Sarah and I spent last week in Washington DC staying with our exceedingly hospitable friends Liz and James and developing a partnership with Fulaa Lifeline International - the organization that runs the Cornerstone Children's Home where we plan to launch our programs this Autumn. We were nervous, to say the least, knowing that the board of directors at Fulaa had the right to decline to work with us if they weren't on board with our plans.
Our nerves, it turns out, were entirely misplaced. Meeting with Samuel Juma, a Sudanese refugee and the founder of Fulaa, and the members of his board was like reconnecting with long lost family. I know the international aid world is fractious and full of disputes between seemingly like-minded groups - in fact, I am often shocked by all the different well-intentioned people who divide when they should unite - and though our partnership is still young, I am excited to join with Fulaa. Together, I think we'll make each other better, but more than that I think we'll enrich the lives of the children at Cornerstone along with the people of Nimule.
Here we are at a super-classy Fuddruckers in Annandale, VA with (L-R) Christian Kochon, Seth, Sarah, Renee Ramsay (who will be working with Fulaa while we are there) and Samuel Juma.
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