Veteran's Day and Jake's Story

The End (Jake's Story) from Nuru International on Vimeo.

Today is Veteran's Day, it's a day when we honor those who have fought in the past, and we look toward a time when war will end. Veteran's day actually started as Armistice day and commemorates the end of fighting in World War I on November 11, 1918 at 11 a.m., known as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

The video above tells the story of a veteran and long time friend named Jake Harriman. After experiences he had in southern Iraq while he served as a platoon commander in Force Recon, his life has taken a radically different direction. He saw a link between terrorism, insurgency and extreme poverty. Rather than telling his story in written words, I'll merely suggest you watch the link. Suffice it to say that Jake's experiences have led him into a daily battle to work toward the eradication of the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, extreme poverty.

Here's an ugly truth. If we don't do something about the issue of extreme poverty that makes a sustainable difference, not only are we choosing to ignore our neighbor instead of love them, but we are setting ourselves up to reap consequences through providing breeding grounds for terrorist organizations. We really need to stand up and do something about this issue. Personally I believe that extreme poverty can be linked to several other issues in our world including trafficking and slavery. People need an opportunity for basic choices in life, and for many, there are no choices, and no hope.

And that's really the good news. We can actually do something about this issue. On this Veteran's day, will you join Nuru's efforts and get in the fight to end extreme poverty? What if we were able to say that our generation was the one that brought an end to extreme poverty?

I'll close this post with a quote from my friend that was featured on the ONE campaign's website last year.

There is hope for those without choices. We can end extreme poverty in our lifetimes, and in so doing, answer the cry of the desperate, give a voice to the voiceless, and provide choices to impoverished men and women who have been struggling for so long.

A revolution has begun…a revolution to wake up and mobilize a generation to end this fight once and for all. There is no room in this fight for egos, partisan politics, or ideological differences. One sixth of humanity cries out to us today – asking you and me to simply put our differences aside and use our talent, skills and resources to empower them with choices. This Veteran’s Day, I ask you to step forward and get in the fight with us. In so doing, you will ensure that thousands of brave veterans and countless global citizens have not sacrificed their lives in this war in vain. Join the revolution. Be hope. Be light. Be Nuru.