Follow Up on Ethiopia

It's been just over a week since I've been back in the U.S. and I've had a few thoughts come to mind and wanted to answer the couple of questions that came through.

First, PDW- by the grace of God, all is being accomplished. One of the things I love about TOMS is the focus and commitment to humility and learning- as long as we continue in that, we continue to succeed.

Ryan-I love my job. And I'm not just saying that because it's the thing to say, but as I hope you can see throughout my writing, it is just such a gift to work for an organization that is so committed to serving these kids- and can do it in style! Good luck on your interviews!

On to my thoughts. The major theme of all of this actually challenges the work of major development organizations like UN. And when I say challenge, I don't mean that I am critiquing, per se, but rather issuing a reminder that I believe will further the work we are all trying to accomplish.

We, as players in this world called "international development" MUST continue to put faces, names, and humanity to the issues we are attacking. The only way we can do this is to continue to share time, meals, and conversations with those we are working to protect. It is easy to launch a campaign on AIDS or clean water, but the campaign, and thus the power behind it, looks much different when we remember who we serve. And I actually am not solely speaking to those sitting in the marketing and fundraising departments. We as organizations, as staff, must make this an integral part of our work.

What does this mean? This means being a CEO or Director who is willing to be asked hard questions without regard to ego or pride. This means being an accountant or logistics coordinator who will not forgo small details for the sake of ease or laziness- because you know that suffering children like Mesarat, Jose, or Selam will continue to go unheard if you do not "raise your voice" in your job.

This means that goals like the Millennium Development Goals don't have arbitrary dates on them for the sake of campaigning and "rallying the troops", but rather serve as life-long commitments of countries, organizations and individuals. This means we spend as much money on our programs as we do on marketing them. This means that we compare organizations and call into question the shiny marketing pieces that tell anecdotal stories of success. This means that we love- and love hard.

We must remember that these causes are more than just words, diseases, and issues of justice. But these causes have faces, names, locations, habitats. It's reality and we must work with all of our might to make sure that we do not let ourselves forget. If we forget, then we are weak soldiers.

Until next time,

ACW