Growth!

Last week, before I left our strategic planning time to be with my dad, I was able to get a sneak preview of the latest video Nuru released. I'm thoroughly impressed with the quality of these videos. Especially when I consider that each one of them was produced in Kuria on a laptop by our communications director, Doug Scott. Doug used to lead a production team and at Willow Creek Community Church. For the last ten months, he has been a full time volunteer serving on the ground in Kuria, Kenya. Can you believe the quality of these videos? If I didn't know better, I would think he had a whole crew of videographers and editors working with him, but the truth is, he's got a digital video camera that fits in his hand, and an apple laptop computer. (Of course I needed to get my little "mac" plug into a blog).

As you can see from the video, the community is really progressing in amazing ways. In fact, Jake was telling me that the farmers who took a loan for seed and fertilizer have corn that is over six feet tall right now. That may not seem all that impressive--in fact it might seem quite normal--for us. But the farmers in Kuria who didn't participate in the farm loan program have corn that is barely knee high right now. Nuru is making a difference, and the farmers lives are going to be changed forever. Can you imagine what it would mean to a family to know that

they had produced enough corn that their family wouldn't go hungry.
they would have a surplus to sell

Which means . . .

they can pay off the nuru loan
they can invest in seed and fertilizer for the next growing season.

And that means that they will have made a HUGE step in lifting themselves out of poverty FOR GOOD.

Nuru doesn't offer handouts. It offers people an opportunity to reach the bottom rung of the ladder and begin to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. That's what everybody needs. Everyone needs an opportunity to be empowered to live up to their potential. Nuru's project in Kuria will eventually begin to spread across the region, and then across the nation of Kenya. Can you imagine the impact this could mean for the people of Kenya, as well as for other parts of the world as Nuru starts projects in New locations? (Be on the lookout for a new seed project in Malawi in 2010).

Will you take a moment to consider contibuting to this great work? For all of you facebook users, you can donate on facebook too and watch your donation of as little as $5 add up with other people's gifts to make a LASTING difference in the fight against extreme poverty.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and be the change you want to see in the world.

Be hope. Be light.

Be Nuru.

Nuru Celebrates Christmas For Kuria

The video above was edited and put together by a friend of mine named Doug Scott. He took the raw footage and put all of this together on the ground in Kuria, Kenya in a dirt floored staff house where he and three other friends have been living the last couple of months. Doug used to work for Willow Creek Community Church, but for the last 3 months he has been volunteering for Nuru and designing incredible videos, taking amazing photographs, and designing the content and layout for the Nuru website. This video is the first of a handful of videos he has produced while serving Nuru on the ground in Kenya--I thought you might enjoy this video, and perhaps you'll see a familiar face as you watch. ;) If you blog, or have facebook, or like to email your friends with cool videos, etc., then copy this url http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yprNOFFeIq8 and send it to some friends. Or you can just point folks to my blog--that would work too. I'm trying to get the word out about nuru to as many people as possible--will you help?

Oh, and there's a reason I'm posting this video and writing this blog today. I just looked on youtube and 89,000 people have watched this video. By taking three minutes to watch the video, you can help make the video even more popular on youtube, which will mean even MORE people will watch it and find out about this great organization.

Beyond that, today marks the commencement of Nuru's Christmas campaign called "Christmas for Kuria." There is a page on the website where YOU can leave YOUR greeting for the children of Kuria, Kenya. Click here, and send your Christmas greeting. Right now these children and their families are getting ready for the growing season, but the cost of seed and fertilizer is skyrocketing. Today, you can join Nuru in helping this community by making a donation to help purchase seed and fertilizer that can be loaned to the people of this community.

My buddy Willie's two children were the first to contribute to the campaign using paypal. They didn't give a lot by our standards. They gave a dollar each. That's more money than the average person in Kuria, Kenya makes in a day. And it was a lot for these kids too.

I'm really proud of them for their giving. I didn't ask them--they asked me. They asked their dad too. We were in awe of their willingness to give. "The Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Will you join them in their generosity this holiday season?