Years ago, when I started volunteering overseas, it was simpler… the “voluntourism” industry hadn’t actually exploded and caused damage to what was otherwise a potentially beautiful force of good in the world: international volunteering. So, when I see old pictures of myself volunteering in Tanzania, Romania, Nepal, Cambodia and elsewhere… I tend to cringe a …

Gezina is one of those incredible people who make you aware that generosity has nothing to do with material assets and that geographic borders do not apply to human hearts… Gezina, a 24 year old mother of three children under the age of 8,  gave us an entire day, her time, her attention, and a …

Vulnerability is to be alive – fully alive with heart wide open. Having dropped the walls and armor required for perceived safety, the vulnerable heart leaps off the edge without reservation. Vulnerability is bravery, courage, unrelenting faith in the possibility of that which has not yet happened or perhaps has never been seen or experienced …

It’s Sunday evening now, and I’ve just completed my first, full weekend in Deoghar. Despite the forced solitude of “foreigner status”, I kind of enjoyed learning the pattern of work and errands that must be accomplished on “free days” so that the traditional Indian work-week (Monday through Saturday) can start over again. Suffice to say, …

From Romania to Tanzania, India, Mongolia, Costa Rica, Peru, India, Nepal, Jordan, Cambodia and onward… my intuition has led me gently but firmly across the globe, speaking in whispers when possible but thundering demands when necessary. Intuition makes itself known to me through inspiration, energy, joy and ideas. It fills me with anticipation and excitement. …

Change comes, and at first you resist… You thrash about with temper or maybe desperation to keep things as they are. But, slowly… the resistance ebbs. And you relax into what is your only choice. Acceptance. The waters of acceptance dance around your toes, and then take your feet and rise up over you. You …

I look through all these old emails, old journals, old messages. I’m treasure hunting. I’m picking up the breadcrumbs, desperate to figure out where it is that I’ve always been headed… or at the very least, how to return home (when “home” as a destination has never really existed at all). It’s time now. The …

I could not have imagined how much the world would change in the short span of time between meeting Stephen Chilufya in February and writing his story in April. But somehow, it fits. It’s all about challenge, change and harmony… CARE’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI) has been working in rural communities across Malawi, Mozambique …

In all my years working in international development and humanitarian relief, and in all the words I’ve ever penned in an attempt to make people feel connected to human stories and situations in faraway places, I could never have been as effective as COVID has in a span of mere weeks in facing people with …

My bags are packed, and I’m ready to fly… I have all that I need. I understand my present by understanding my past. My current path isn’t arbitrary. Today’s journey is built upon each step that I have taken up to today. All the mistakes I have made. All the victories I have won. All …

The first time I saw 27-year old Emmanuel Mwamba at the water borehole on Chipindo Primary School grounds, he was getting ready to fill the pail he had brought from home with fresh, clean water… Now in its final year, CARE’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI) has been working in rural and remote communities across …

Today is “puja”… a spiritual celebration. Specifically, today is “Saraswati Puja” – celebration of the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom. What a way to start a work week! With preparations beginning days in advance, the entire Chetna Vikas office had been transformed into a thematic feast for the senses… a colorful altar for the ritual …

…about the relationship of gender equality and nutrition in Southern Africa Hunger, malnutrition and poverty are not accidents — they are the result of injustice and inequality. From household to global levels, inequality between men and women, between the powerful and the marginalized, between those who can access resources and those who cannot, shapes access …

Today was another breathtaking day spent motorcycling through some of the most rough, rural and remote regions of Deoghar district, learning about and experiencing first-hand Chetna Vikas’s (CV’s) incredible work in women’s empowerment. This day, my guide and travel companion was Manoranjan, a “Master Teacher” who divides his work days between the CV office and …

She is your sister, your daughter, your wife, your friend. She is family. It doesn’t matter where she is born… Every woman and girl deserves access to good food, clean water, and the same opportunities as their husbands, sons, and brothers. In Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia… We are working alongside women and girls, men and …

In northeastern Tanzania lies Lushoto, a tiny mountainside village perched in the lush, green heart of the Usambara Mountains. There, on the front porch of a small cottage, sat the Girl. She sat alone, early one morning, to watch the sun rise and the day unfold. The Girl had long brown hair, soft brown eyes, …

I first learned of Romania’s overcrowded and destitute orphanages in the early 1990s, as Western nations were realizing the implications of the domestic policies of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. When Ceausescu was overthrown and executed in 1989, there were more than 150,000 children in Romanian orphanages. This was a direct result of his insistence that …

Certain aspects of Tanzania ensure your constant awareness that this truly is a different world… The sky, for one, seems bigger here than anywhere else I’ve ever been. It hangs over you, flattening you between the immensity of the space above and the solidity of the earth below – sky and earth, each the aerial …

Today we set out early in the Chetna Vikas four-wheeler in order to accommodate a full day agenda – field visits to several villages across Dumka District. Specifically, we were headed to an agricultural project being piloted in Haripur, Dhankutta and Patharia villages. The rationale for this programming is readily apparent in the project operational …

It was barely 8 a.m. when I rounded the bend into Barmasia to begin my morning commute. My eyes were immediately drawn to the bobbing sea of umbrellas as pedestrians moved through the (already) stifling, dusty street. Of course, I recognized that the umbrellas were being used as sun-shades, and I smiled in agreement – …

Moyo is the Swahili word for “heart.” Maya is the Sanskrit word for “illusion.” To me, the words “MoyoMaya” together represent an intention to use the heart to heal the “space between us.” After all, the space between us (between people, between cultures, between countries, between you and I) is an illusion. Separateness is not …