STORY (see event details below):
Nov 2nd is my birthday and this year, on my birthday, I have a desire to create a fun and healing event in service of others.
"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." Mother Teresa
I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in an experiential service learning trip with WE Charity this past August. It took place in Kenya in the Masai Mara and it completely opened my eyes and inspired a new quest in me.
I was struck, first hand, by the drastic disparity between our North American way of living and the living conditions for other human beings across the world. I somewhat knew this before but to see it with my own 2 eyes and feel it with my own heart, I will never be the same. I feel a responsibility to do my part and to inspire others to do theirs in any small or large way.
As a result, I have committed to raising $50,000 in 5 years. Over these years I will likely focus on different areas that are important to this community in Kenya and I will combine it with what I am personally passionate about and how I feel I may best serve. My first focus will be water for a small community, Enoosoito, that I visited. Water is a life necessity and as you will see below, it is a necessity for so much more to be possible in regions such as this. When we spoke with the people within this community and asked them about their hopes and dreams, they shared that us being there visiting them had already surpassed any dream that they thought they could dream. And now, they feel greater hope and possiblity and one of their biggest dreams is easier access to water for the girls and women in the community.
Everyday, millions of women and children around the world have to walk long distances to collect water for their families. In Kenya, there are many dry seasons and the collection of water is a chore that keeps many women away from their families, and many children out of school - especially young girls. WE is working alongside the community members to determine a solution to this problem and improve the access to healthy and clean water sources, allowing girls to go to school and women to have more time in the day to care for their families and access opportunities for alternative income.
The community of Enoosoito is a new partner to WE and over the next few years will be investigating and implementing a clean water project with WE. Currently, the community members often have to walk several kilometers to access a river for water, and often come face to face with wild animals who are also using the water source. I am fundraising to support this project and help to provide safe, accessible clean water to the community!
"If Africa has a gift to share, it's a gift of a more collective society. In a more collective society, we realize from the inside, that our own well-being is deeply tied to the well-being of others. Danger is shared. Pain is shared. Joy is shared. Achievement is shared. Houses are shared. Food is shared. Ubuntu (people are not people without other people, I am because you are) asks us to open our hearts and to share." Boyd Varty
EVENT:
Join us on Nov 2nd for a delicious evening of yoga, dance, didjeridu and a sampling of massive ancestral drum vibes as we celebrate and honour ancestors and pay it forward to future generations in Kenya!
-Experience the healing arts of Yoga with Cheloti Ken Kundu and 5 Rhythms with Soasis Sukuweh combined with magical music by Osman Okey and Zach Sukuweh.
-Come, celebrate and feel alive in community with like-hearted, like-spirited and like-minded souls.
Sliding scale donation - pay what you can in advance (here on this page) or cash at the door. All proceeds will go directly to the development of the Enoosoito community in partnership with WE Charity.
Please feel free to donate even if you cannot make the event. If you are not interested in either the Yoga or Dance and would still like to come out, there will be tours of the WE Global Learning Centre starting at 6 pm and 7:30 pm.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/yoga-dance-for-water-in-kenya-tickets-51107254173
