Return to Ethiopia - Fundraising

[Ideal08]

Y'all, I was gonna put this in the HC thread, but it was too much to put in HC format. I wanted to expound on my Ethiopia HC, though, so, heeeeeeeere we go. Once upon a time, not long ago... naw, I'm just kiddin'.

I want you all to know, first off, that I have ALWAYS dreamed of going to Africa. I didn't know all the places, but I knew I wanted to see the Great Pyramid, go to Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. I wanted to travel the continent a little bit. ALWAYS. I never dreamed exactly how I would do it, though. Well, that's not entirely true; I'd like to go to Egypt for my honeymoon whenver I find a husband, but that's a different topic, right? Anyway...

When I was in Columbus, I WANTED so bad to be able to make my dreams come true, but I didn't know how to do it and compromise to make my relationship work, too. I didn't realize at the time that only I was doing the compromising. I didn't realize that in the process of trying to make someone else happy (impossibility) I was making Monique unhappy.

I wanted to start a non-profit. I knew that I wanted to go to grad school and get a Master's in Public Policy (or Non-Profit Management or Public Administration... differs by school). I knew that I wanted to work for non-profits and learn everything about how they operate. Beyond enrolling in school, I had no idea how to REALLY make my dream a reality. I mean, truthfully, I've never really started anything, let alone my own non-profit. Sometimes thinking about it was overwhelming. But it also gave me a sense of purpose. Fast forward....

Relationship ended and I decided that it was finally my chance to live my dream. So I packed up and moved out here to DC. My friend of 11 years lived out here, so I didn't have to worry about having a roof over my head. She also hooked me up with a part-time gig at a bookstore (I LOVE to read). One of the things that drew (I have NEVER written or typed that word and it looks funny) me to DC was the number of non-profits and foundations here. I knew that I could get a job with one of them, even if it was being an administrative assistant. I just wanted to LEARN whatever I could.

So I get out here, I'm living with my friend for all of 1 month, and I land a job that gives me free housing and utilities. FREE! Did I ever tell y'all that that's my favorite word in the English language? ANYWAY, lol, not only did I get a job, I LOVE my job! And I LOVE my girls!! And what's even better, I'm GOOD at what I do! And I'm doing something powerful and meaningful, and that's important to me. I finally feel like I've found my niche.

The school that I work at is run by a foundation. My hopes when I came here was that I would work here long enough to get into the foundation side. I now have worked out my plan. If I stay until my kids graduate ('07), I can complete my Master's program (if I don't procrastinate in getting started). THEN I can MAYBE move into the foundation side of the house. Anyway, on to the more exciting stuff.

Then opportunity knocked at my door. I was asked if I would be interested in going to Ethiopia to study hunger projects. Inside, I was like ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? But I simply said it was something I'd be very interested in doing. At the time, the program hadn't even been funded or anything, there was only a 40% chance that the program would even get off the ground. But by the grace of God, it did, and I'm going to Ethiopia!!! And I couldn't feel more blessed or more happy about the whole ordeal. This is the one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me! EVER!!

I said all that to say this. When I decided to move out here, I did it so that I could live my dream. And I realized on my drive home from an Ethiopian restaurant last night that my dreams were coming true. Everything seems to be falling into place. The group of people traveling to Ethiopia (4 other teachers from public/private schools in DC and the program coordinator) had to read a book titled, The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back, by Billy Shore. Y'all this is SUCH a good book!!!!! And I want you to know, chapter 4 in the book is about City Year, the AmeriCorps program that I did after graduating from college. When I got to that chapter, it all seemed like fate (God's ordering).

The book touches on different non-profits and how they got started and stuff like that. As I was reading the book, I felt like I was SUPPOSED to be reading it. Have you ever felt like you could actually FEEL divine intervention?? This is EXACTLY how I felt yesterday. As if God was whispering in my ear, "This is exactly where you are supposed to be."

I have more to write for you all, but I have to go, and this is long enough as it is. I'll write more on this experience later, including to where I'll be traveling in Ethiopia and the people I've met so far.