The difference between here and there

Someone close to me recently visited Africa, mainly to see the sights and take it all in. She knew she was in for a visual treat, but she had no idea she'd also fall in love with the people. In the last couple days, she has placed an order for 54 dresses to be made and shipped by October 31 and very possibly 200 tote bags (to be filled with school supplies) by January 31.

I have never been able to be part of something this big. Dresses and tote bags may not sound like much, and many people would just dismiss this project as "a nice thing to do," and then move on to talking about themselves. But I am excited about this! And here's why.

All of the children that will be blessed with new dresses and new book totes will know the value of those things. I'm not talking monetary value--I'm talking literal value. How well would you handle it if you only had 2, maybe 3 outfits to wear and had to wash those outfits in a washtub, by hand, then hang them and wait for them to dry outside your teeny, tiny home? How well would you handle only being able to use a tattered nylon bag in which to carry your belongings from point A to point B? Would your children like to do anything mentioned above? Probably not.

They would probably say something along the lines of, "You expect me to wear THAT? And wash it by HAND? And not use a DRYER?!"
And then they would look at the bag and say, "Is that Coach? If it's not, then I don't want it. I won't use that."

Just the other day, I was thinking about letting my old coworkers know that I'd be available to make homecoming dresses and to please let the kids at school know. Then this came up, and I am so excited to help these people that are in NEED rather than help to spoil some entitled teenagers that don't need it.

Talk about a shift in focus and being reminded of what's really important in life...

I know that when my kids are old enough, this is the type of thing I'd like them to be involved in--not worrying about what they can get for themselves to improve their social standing.

Having a designer outfit vs. having an outfit to wear, period. I'd rather just have something to wear.