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 …

Today, my usual Sunday routine was happily interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the office 4-wheeler, apparently absconded by several co-workers. They were determined I should finally see some of what this curious, spiritual, rural and distinctive little town called Deoghar has to offer. I  jumped aboard the capacity-busting jeep – which held no less …

Although “service” often conjures religious connotation and imagery, in its most essential form it simply refers to one’s own awareness of and respect for the life that is within them and which surrounds them. Service is the spiritual impulse to comfort and uplift the circumstances and experience of another. True, open-hearted service is actually a …

Slowly and carefully, through mud and landslide debris, I walked along a remote and desolate road in Bhotechaur, hoping to find people who had previously received emergency earthquake relief distributions. Bhotechaur is a small, mountainside village in the very remote outskirts of central Nepal. The houses were spread far apart, and I could see both …

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 …

Sitting under a mango tree in a small, rural community in Mozambique this past November, I began to truly appreciate the meaning of lasting change… I had traveled to Mozambique and Zambia to report on CARE’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI), which aims to provide women, families, and health providers with the tools they need …

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 – …

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 …

There’s more than good food cooking in the Costa Rican sun — the sun’s energy is being tapped to make positive change in local, developing communities. Projects initially designed to teach solar oven construction and solar-powered cooking are blossoming into sustainable development initiatives promoting good nutrition, conservation of natural resources, literacy, education, and women’s rights. …

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 …

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 had underestimated the quiet joy and peace that would come from sliding across the surface of the ocean’s depth. I don’t feel confined at all – I feel quite free in the flow of perpetual motion. And I feel quite safe in the boat’s cradle – while also remaining very conscious of the ocean’s …