It takes all kinds of people to make the world go 'round but I can only imagine what kind of world it would be if it were filled with the personalities like the ones I've had the opportunity to meet over the past week.
I am touched, impressed and feel fortunate to have met them - to say the very least.
Last week I received an email from a gal who is cycling across Canada to raise money for a cause she deeply believes in. Severely ill herself at one recent point in her life, she beat the odds and not only came back, but returned with a determination to help others. On her quest she hopes to fund villages that are set up to help children all over the world - Canada included. She's out on the road, day in, day out, without any support vehicle and she's making a difference.
My phone rang the very next day and it turned out to be a 70 year old man who is also pedalling across Canada. Awhile back he gave of his time to help build a school in Cambodia and now it's his goal to ensure everybody knows the importance of education and every child has not only the right to it, but the opportunity to become educated.
Both are braving the elements and giving up years of their lives, and all to help strangers in need.
The next person I met they call the "Shoeman." His voice turned to tears when he shared his story of volunteering in Kenya where water is filthy, kids are going hungry and pregnant women walk five miles to see the doctor. "It's heartbreaking," he said and I knew that he meant it. But he doesn't turn a blind eye. He's giving of his time, he's collecting shoes which are then sold and money goes towards wells where some children have never before seen water that wasn't cloudy and brown.
And then we have an artist. So moved by the lives that were lost in Afghanistan, he's taken the last three years of his life to hand paint a 10 by 40 foot mural depicting the faces of the 156 young men and women who died while serving there. With the help of Kin Canada, he's touring the piece across the country in an effort to help the families of those who have been lost and those who serve and come back with injuries.
People like this are all around us. We see them at fund raising events we see them on the street. I sometimes get a bit frustrated when so many people come asking for money for this charity or for that, but these people are out there giving of their time and trying. And when you think of it, there are many ways to get involved and many ways to make a difference if you can't give dollars. My hat goes off to these individuals. I shudder to think what our world would be like without them.
