International Need: Connecting to Make a Difference

A friend of mine has a beautiful young daughter Christy who made a life changing decision this year. She is leaving the comfort of her home in the states to live in Africa. Many factors could be examined to tell us why she is leaving. She fell in love with Africa. What is love but giving of yourself to another? Who can explain love and why it could lead you to the other side of the world?

Part of Christy's interest in Africa began with reports on the evening news witnessing the people's needs. Good News Now (www.goodnewsnow.com) believes people respond to each other in ways that need to be celebrated and enjoyed. We want to hear stories like the story of my beautiful friend. Christy wants to make a difference in the world.

I received an email from another beautiful woman today. Christine also she wants to make a difference. Last month she went to Nepal. Both these ladies I think would agree that although they cannot help everyone who has a need they can and did begin a journey that will enable them to take the resources and connections that they have and help someone. One person can make a difference. One person can touch a life or two or three. I think my friend Christy would say once you start it is irresistible. Christine writes me and says, "It's been a joy to see so many people come together to support Yubaraj."

Yubaraj is a young man who appeared in a new article written by Kevin Site's of Fallujah fame. As a journalist for CNN Sites captured the footage of an American marine killing an unarmed Iraqi in 2003. He received the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism in 2006. As a well traveled war correspondent before he joined Yahoo, Sites spent a year that started in 2005 covering armed world conflicts for Yahoo's Hot Zone. His reports were read by over 20 million people. Sites helped developed the one man journalism team carrying an array of digital equipment in his backpack enabling him to travel behind the headline into uncovered aspects of the conflicts. Turning down jobs with the major news networks to go with Yahoo, he believed the internet brings an interactive depth to the news that can't be developed on television. The internet can be print, photography and video making it a more powerful medium. It was the hope of the group at Yahoo who worked with Sites that the readers would be moved by the stories presented and that people would respond and get involved with the people who were covered in the reports.

Responding to the feed back on Yubaraj from readers Christine Egger got involved with the Nepalese boy who had been working to support his family since he was 12. Christine took on Yubaraj as a project and helped overcome a lot of the readers frustrations and confusion when their desire to help meet the "how to" of practical help. Christine formed a team and connected them to a website called GiveMeaning (www.givemeaning.com) which lets readers respond to people behind news stories. The site allows you to post a story, a proposal in response to a story to meet real needs or donate your resources; time, talent, finances and connections to help fulfill a proposal's goal.

Yubaraj left school to support his family, but had a desire to return to finish his education. Christine's had connections to people with familiarity with nonprofit work in Nepal.

Members of Christina's team meet with the family and the tribal elders to determine if Yubaraj was a good candidate for the project. Christine described her thoughts for Hot Zone:

"Reading about Yubaraj reminded me so much of another hard-working boy I had met while traveling in Nepal years earlier. Like Yubaraj, this boy was quick and hard-working. I thought that if he could go to school he would do well. But he was also clearly resigned to the responsibility of earning an income for his family. I have always strongly regretted not finding a way to make a difference in his life.

The regret expressed by the readers who wanted to help Yubaraj was very familiar. It was clear that many of the people who wanted to help him didn't believe their donations would reach him or, if they did, that they wouldn't be used responsibly."

GiveMeaning meet the requirement for the organization to provide support for Yubaraj and his family in that all money donated to GiveMeaning goes the person designated. Money was budgeted to meet the needs of the family during the time Yubaraj is in school.

Christine's trip to Nepal cumulated in fine tuning the project to incorporate the desires of Yubaraj to own a shop one day. It was determined a government education verse a private boarding school would be the best choice. In her blog on the GiveMeaning website she was able to ask Yubaraj is he had a message to all those who gave him the gift of an education. There are no words to express to express his thanks.

Christine is not to be stopped. Like my friends Christy who when she returned from Africa could only ask, "what next?" Christine wants to look into helping younger brother and sisters too.

Christine has a Masters (2005) in International Development from Michigan State University, where she studied Nepali as a Foreign Language Advanced Study Fellow. She works part-time as a Program Officer for Amazon-Africa Aid, an NGO (nonprofit organization) supporting health and education programs in Mozambique and the Brazilian Amazon, and dedicates her remaining hours to coordinating this support for Yubaraj.

You can read more about Yubaraj Khadka at www.givemeaning.com/project/yubaraj and Hotzone.