Kumar knows a thing or two about setting priorities. Since his life crashed down around him during the earthquake five months ago, he has worked tirelessly. His focus has been on restoring a sense of safety and home for his family. Kumar is just 35 years old, but he supports a family of 9, including …

I have come to deeply appreciate the power of volunteerism to open one’s heart, mind and self-awareness, and to transform one’s perspective of his or her role and relationship to the world at large. My volunteer experiences have each provided a unique gift of insight, presented here as “principles” of MoyoMaya. ♥ No act is …

Maybe it’s the seasonal turning, but I’ve noticed that I’m beginning to feel a familiar sensation which seems unique to the developing world… “Time” becomes thick and real, and you can feel yourself swimming through it with each step. And strangely, even though the sensation is one of “slow motion”, every once in a while …

God is in the breeze moving a curtain, in the breath filling my belly, in the dreams deep in my heart. All these things are sacred and beautiful. I am part of the night sky – a blanket of twinkling sisters to whom I belong. I am understood and valued by this spiritual family, and …

PRESS RELEASE: July 27, 2007 Tanzania’s national population statistics reveal a startling truth – more than half of the country is comprised of children. In 2002, it was reported that 55% of the population is 19 years of age or younger.(1) In 2005, it was revealed that a full 45.8% of Tanzania’s population is actually …

Brief but visual, and intense in its effect. The dream fragment is so clear, I can still see it. I can still feel it – the fear, the exhilaration, the journey. Beautiful, rustic surroundings. Mountains. I thought, “Nepal”. I was on a massive bus, loaded heavily with passengers and belongings. I noticed the rich, brown …

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 …

I have traveled far, and in many countries But I have never found one culture or creed that was correct And yet I have found truth and authenticity in all of them In each of them You will never be what you think you are — “right” You will never NOT be a part of …

India has a “hidden face”… it is her disabled population, and they are all but denied and forgotten. Indeed, the statistics are staggering: there are over 70 million disabled persons in India; less than 5% of the disabled are educated; less than 30% are employed; more than 80% live in rural areas. As it seems …

Today I was given the opportunity to spend the day with the Health Coordinator, Arif; together, we would be traveling by motorcycle for more than 100 kms for field visits to see Chetna Vikas’ health-related work in action. I happily abandoned my laptop, grabbed my digital camera, and hopped on the back of Arif’s bike …

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 …

As I pushed back into my airline seat, I exhaled… not so much in relief as in resignation. I was feeling a very old, familiar sensation. It was a sense of dimensional shifting – the world I was leaving, the world I was moving toward, and the suspended “nowhere” place in between them, where I …

As the peace and pace of my new Deoghar life slowly comes together, work itself remains the missing piece of the puzzle. In these early days at the small organization where I’m working, there is an alarming, and sometimes amusing degree of time required to do the simplest things – find a desk at which …

We had entered 2006 by mere moments when, in celebration, I waded into the dark, night waters of the Indian Ocean and gazed up, deep into the Milky Way. I mused happily and with gratitude at the turning of “time” (relative as it is), and silently welcomed the year ahead. In that moment, it was …

It had been an incredible day… We spent hours in the sweltering Zambian sun gathering video footage and photos in a very rural and remote village called Chobela. I had traveled there to document the ongoing implementation and progress of CARE Canada’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI). This particular day in Chobela was both educational …

Someone asked me once, “Have you had any spiritual experiences lately”? I stared back at them, unsure where to begin. It’s not that I didn’t understand, but it just never occurred to me to stand in front of the ocean and ask it if it ever felt wet… For me, all of life, every waking …

1. REFLECT MORE That is, take the moment. Stop more often, and just reflect on the amazing experience you are having right then and there. Open your eyes, hear the words, breathe it in… Life is lived in the moments that you burn into your memory by appreciation. It is meant to be savored, not …

We are well into what is called the “short rains” now, and it has been raining steadily since about 2 o’clock this morning. What this means is that I was once again blessed with the opportunity to take my morning exercise under a cloudy, cool sky with the fresh smell of rain and earth all …

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 …

Tanzania offers many rewards to those who rise early. On my morning walk today, I watched a brilliant pink and orange sunrise slowly warm the ice-blue cap of Mount Kilimanjaro. Kili herself stood stark and completely unobstructed against the pale blue perfection of Moshi’s sky. Several days of sunless cloud have finally broken in an …

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 …