Saturday night my family and I had the opportunity to attend a fundraiser for a project through an organization called Heart for Africa. It started off with silent auction items and a great meal. Then our oldest son’s youth group provided entertainment of the newest fashions yet to come. Lastly was a wonderful presentation from Janine Maxwell who is the co-founder for Heart for Africa. Wow, what a story! This lady, at one time, ran a huge advertising firm that had accounts with clients such as Kellogs, Disney and Coke. Her life changed dramatically after being in New York on September 11 and having to be evacuated from her hotel, at the same time having her husband on an American airline to Chicago as the twin towers went down and planes fell out of the sky. She got home safely with her entire family; however, she was not the same person. She talked about how she started to question what was important in life and what her purpose was. And so her journey began. Through a series of events in her life, which included closing her 20 million dollar a year business, is now moving to Swaziland, Africa with her family in 39 days.
Why does it sometimes take something drastic to happen in our life before we actually realize what is truly important? We take so many people and things for granted on a daily basis. As I listened to Janine tell stories of children who she has met over the years working in Africa, my heart broke. The thousands of children who are orphans, largely due to the spread of HIV, is absolutely staggering. The video presentation put faces to children and gave just a glimpse of what some of the conditions are like over there. It is HORRIBLE! As I sat there listening, I would glance over at our youngest son who was hearing the exact same words and seeing the same pictures, wondering whether this was appropriate for him. After only a second, I came to the conclusion that it is good for all of us to be aware of what is going on around the world; you certainly can’t depend on only the news for your information. We may not always like what we hear but unless we are made aware of exactly what is happening, nothing is ever going to change.
At the end of the evening, talking to our oldest son, who is 14, the first thing he said to me is “I want to go there!” He read my mind. That is exactly what I came out of the evening with. Never underestimate the power of awareness. Not everyone in the hall that evening is on their way to Africa, but out of approximately 200 people who attended Saturday night’s function; over $38,000.00 was raised for their current project. As for our family, well we are seriously talking about what we can do and who knows exactly where that will take us…
As our Pandamonium is coming up, it is a good reminder that awareness can make a difference and move people in a variety of ways to help wonderful causes and make a difference in our world.
For anyone interested in information on Heart for Africa, or for their current project called Project Canaan, you can check out their website at www.heartforafrica.org
Alana Regier
