Second Annual uRUN for Nuru 5K in Kingwood WV August 22 2015

Saturday August 22, 2015 at 10AM, runners and walkers from around the region will gather in Kingwood WV for the Second Annual uRUN for Nuru 5K and will run 3.1 miles along a mostly flat course near the home town of Nuru International's founder, Jake Harriman. Will you be among the runners and walkers?

Last year, Jamie and I were incredibly thrilled to be able to participate in the inaugural version of this 5K race. The race was started when a a fellow West Virginian and Preston County native, Katie Plum, heard about Nuru's work, that someone from her local community had started Nuru, and was trying to think of a way to help support Nuru's mission of ending extreme poverty in remote, rural areas.

Katie decided to organize a 5K race near where she grew up. She enlisted the help of others who had more experience coordinating the details of the race and place the race on the site of active.com where you can register in advance for the race. The race last year was a huge success, and enabled Katie to raise more than $2,000 to further Nuru's work. That money helps Nuru enable families to lift themselves out of extreme poverty in Kenya and Ethiopia and begin to live their lives with choices and opportunities.

This year, Katie has been working to expand the race, get more runners and walkers involved, and build from the solid base created in 2014. The race starts a little later in the day than most 5K races, so that means that if you like to sleep in on the weekends, you can still do so, and make the race.

As the final few days before the race are upon us, I wanted to ask for your help. Will you join us in running or walking the race? You can register through active or show up and pay at the event. Kingwood is an absolutely beautiful little town, and if you have never visited, Saturday is a perfect time. Also, will you help spread the word about the race? You can share this blog, or simply share the website so people can get the event details.

One last thing, maybe you or someone you know would be interested in organizing a uRUN for Nuru 5K in your town and among your running and walking community. Interested? Let me know, and I can place you in contact with Katie. Or, you can show up and run this race, and meet her in person. Regardless, let's all keep taking ground and doing our part to see the end of extreme poverty in our lifetime!

Sharing Nuru At ÜberConf 2015 in Denver Colorado

Last week was a pretty amazing week for me personally, and for Nuru as well! Among the awesome highlights, Jamie and I had the privilege of sharing Nuru with an incredible group of some top notch software developers at ÜberConf. This was the fifth straight year we were invited to share Nuru’s story at this conference, and every year it just keeps getting better.

For some, it seems like a strange connection to be made between software development and ending extreme poverty, but the more time I spend around this group of men and women, the more clear the connection is to me. You see, these men and women who attend the conference believe strongly in integrated approaches, building on best practices, rigorous testing, and using metrics to evaluate the quality and impact of solutions. These beliefs align perfectly with Nuru’s approach to addressing extreme poverty, and because of that, I believe we all end up having a deep respect for one another’s work.

A philosophy, a lifestyle, and a work ethic of continuous improvement, failing fast and adapting and iterating quickly defines this community as well as our culture at Nuru. For me, being able to share Nuru with a room full of like-minded individuals is an amazing gift! The folks who attend this conference, the speakers, and the organizing team have all become incredible advocates for Nuru. In fact, each year, the conference provides attendees with uniquely designed Nuru shirts. It’s pretty amazing to me that the day after the shirts are made available each year, at least three out of five attendees are wearing them. In addition, people who have attended the conference in previous years will wear Nuru shirts from those years during the week as well.

This year was extra special with regard to sharing Nuru because it was my fifth year sharing at this conference. These folks have believed in and supported Nuru from our earliest efforts. I remember sharing with the attendees in 2011 that they had helped Nuru impact the lives of more than 10,000 people. And now, in 2015, I was able to share with the more than 700 attendees that Nuru has now been able to help more than 80,000 men, women, and children lift themselves out of extreme poverty permanently.

The folks who organize and share at this conference have been incredibly generous to Nuru, and they have become some very dear and treasured friends for both me and Jamie. It almost feels like a mini-reunion each year as we share updates from life, vocation, and mission. And this year, the conference is giving an incredibly generous $40,000 donation to Nuru to help further our work in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Every time I have an opportunity to share with the wonderful people who have helped move this mission forward, I am inspired and encouraged, but when I get to share with our friends at ÜberConf, that inspiration goes even deeper. These incredible people have been huge advocates for Nuru and they use the conference to help connect even more people to our life changing mission to end extreme poverty in remote rural areas.

Celebrating The Birthday Of One Of Our Amazing Friends, Naomi Triggs

Last week Jamie and I arrived in Denver, CO and we have been privileged to connect with a wide array of Nuru supporters and friends in this beautiful state. In fact, last Thursday afternoon we were able to meet with a few of Nuru's most longstanding supporters during a short trip to Colorado Springs. In addition, we had a rare privilege of connecting with one of Nuru's first supporters on the continent of Europe and a long time friend Naomi Triggs, AND it was her birthday!

Her story is just incredible, so I wanted to take a minute to reflect and share. She's quite the heroic individual and a definite change agent for good in the world. Back in 2003, Naomi joined about 30 other Americans (mostly from CO and OH) to start a church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She traveled there as a student, worked as a nanny, and eventually went on staff with the church called Amsterdam50.

In 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2009, I had the privilege of visiting the church and bringing small teams from our church back in Morgantown to serve the community in Amsterdam. Jamie actually was on the last team with me in 2009. During each of those trips our teams were always blessed with the conversations we had with the community and staff of Amsterdam50 including Eric Asp, Patricia van Engelen, Sokol Hakrama, and Naomi Triggs. As I write this, I'm tempted to write about how each of these (and many others) have influenced and encouraged me by their examples of life and faith, but it's probably best that I focus on Naomi and her birthday. ;)

Naomi had been one of the key contacts for teams coming to the Netherlands, and during her years of living in Amsterdam, God had placed a deep burden within her for the hurting and the broken in the world. She found herself leading social justice initiatives in the church, in the city, and around the world. She spent time in India and Kenya working with orphans, she organized water walks through the city of Amsterdam, and in 2009, she set up an opportunity for me to share Nuru with a gathering of people from around the city.

Amsterdam is famous for many things, and not all of those things are good. One of those things is its Red Light District. While at the church, Naomi also got more involved in working to address the issues around prostitution, sex slavery,  and human trafficking as well aftercare for women who have been able to escape these traumatic experiences. And her work on these issues led her back to the US. She is considering attending a seminary and getting a counseling degree so she is better equipped for caring for women who have been trafficked when she returns to Amsterdam.

When we arrived we had the realization that Naomi was back in the US for a brief period, and thanks to Facebook, we also had the additional realization that we might be able to see her on her birthday--AND WE DID!!! It was wonderful catching up with Naomi, and at the same time it was a bit surreal. Jamie and I had never seen Naomi anywhere other than Amsterdam (and vise versa). Interestingly, Jamie and I are working to learn Dutch, so we were able to get in a little practice with Naomi. :)

We have been honored to know Naomi for quite some time, and seeing her on her birthday was extra cool, but more than that, being able to follow the trajectory of her life has been amazing. She has been faithfully living out her calling as God has nudged her increasingly toward compassionate care for those who have been downtrodden and abused. Although this post is a few days after her birthday, our prayer is that this year would be one of deep focus as she continues to pursue the vision God has given her.

And for the rest of us, may we each grow more keenly aware of the opportunities that are presented to us to grow in our care for our neighbors and to work toward being instruments of healing, restoration, and reconciliation in this beautiful and hurting world.

Being Nuru: A Visit To "The Well" at Ashland University

It was about this time last September that I received the call. Zach Hefner, a student at Ashland University called me to see about how his campus, and more specifically, his church could get involved with Nuru. He told me about how active students were on his campus, and how he had been following Nuru’s work more or less since we started in 2008. He was interested in seeing his campus have the ability to drill a well, or buy some goats, or something of the sort.

I let him know that Nuru doesn’t do any of those things. We don’t drill wells (although we have in the past), and we don’t do anything that could resemble a handout. I also let him know that I was incredibly excited to talk to him, and I was even more excited about the fact that he and his friends had decided to take action toward ending global extreme poverty. I could guarantee to Zach that whatever funds he was able to raise on campus, Nuru would do its best to leverage them for the greatest impact in ending extreme poverty for the people of Kuria West, Kenya.

So many people have the greatest of intentions, but they stop short of taking action, and what the world needs is people who take action, folks who choose to make a difference with their limited time and resources on this earth. Zach is one of those types of people, and thankfully there are more people like him.  I am filled with joy that every day, I have the opportunity to meet and interact with passionate difference makers like Zach.

After my own life was awakened to the issue of global extreme poverty in an English class in 2005, my life has been on a different trajectory. I believe that global extreme poverty is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, and I believe further that future generations of humanity will judge us based on what we did or did not do to bring an end to global extreme poverty. As a result, I am passionate about seeing others get involved, and taking action, people like Zach.

A few months after my initial call with Zach, I made my way to Ashland University, and met one of Zach’s campus leaders, a guy named NateBebout. Nate and I were able to have lunch together, and we talked at length about seeing people get connected with issues and even discovering their own callings as a result. Nate is a solid leader, and honestly, he is a true gift to the students at Ashland.

At Ashland Uniersity, students had raised over $2000 for Nuru through giving a little bit each week. As I shared with members of their campus ministry in April, I couldn’t help but think about the future. You see, the students here had taken a big step from good intentions to action, and had started down a path of being engaged in ending global extreme poverty together with Nuru.

I’m excited for the future because of leaders like Nate who will be able to work with even more students in the future, and provide them opportunities to care and take action to end extreme poverty in our lifetime.

If you are reading this blog, maybe it can be an encouragement to you to take action as well. When Zach started talking about Nuru on his campus, he was the only person there who knew about Nuru. Maybe you can lead the charge in your workplace, on your campus, or in your faith community to be Nuru, and invite others to join us in this work.

May today be a day for you to be Nuru, and to move good intentions into conversation and action toward making a difference in this world.

Invisible Children, Advocacy, and President Obama's Action Against the LRA

The year 2005 was an incredibly significant year for me. In 2005, I resigned as a chief of my tribe, I had my eyes opened in a life and career altering way to the issue of extreme poverty, and I was first exposed to an organization called Invisible Children.

My friend Dave Williams, who at the time was working with me as a leader in a summer-long character based leadership development program in Orlando Florida, shared a website with me. On the site, I was exposed to the brutality of child-soldiers in northern Uganda, and I saw the beginnings of one of the most impressive grassroots advocacy movements of young people I have ever witnessed, and I was thoroughly inspired. Less than a year later, representatives of Invisible Children visited the campus of WVU, and dozens in Morgantown and thousands around the country participated in a global night commute in solidarity with children in northern Uganda.

This organization, has catalyzed thousands of young people to take action against global atrocities like the work of Joseph Kony and the LRA in Uganda. I have met many people who trace back their beginnings of advocacy, justice, and community service work to their exposure to Invisible Children. Some of my closest friends have participated multiple times in some of this organization's awareness campaigns. These campaigns were designed to bring more than awareness. They awoke a desire in many for a different kind of world. 

Invisible Children, through one of their campaigns, came on Oprah Winfrey's radar, and because of that, came on the radar of millions. They have partnered with many other organizations and agencies, and have encouraged people to write their congressional representatives to take action to end the reign of terror caused by the LRA in Africa. It was because of Invisible Children that I wrote my first letter as a concerned citizen to Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, my state's Senators at the time. They encouraged a lobby day in DC that saw over 1000 grassroots lobbyists travel to our nation's capital to advocate for a bill of which Invisible Children played a strong role in its initiation.

And now, President Obama has authorized 100 military advisors to travel to Africa to help local militaries bring an end to 26 years of terror, atrocities, and the abduction of 1000s of children who have been forced to become soldiers. I believe that Invisible Children has played a huge role in encouraging young people to participate in our government's processes, and I believe that for many, it has restored a belief that they can make a difference in this world, they have a voice that can be heard, and they have a role to play as citizen participants in our government as well as in bettering this world.

Who is the LRA from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Today, remember that you have a voice, and you have an incredible opportunity to good in this world, and to help make the world a better place--don't take it for granted!

Help International Justice Mission and Write President Obama

Hey there!  As you probably know, I'm a big fan of International Justice Mission.  They are a great organization who are dedicated to fighting slavery, trafficking, and other forms of injustice.  Will you consider visiting this link and signing their online petition?  Or, taking the content of the letter below and drafting your own letter to the president or to your congressional representatives.  Thanks so much!  By the way, as a reminder, January is anti-trafficking month--this could be your one significant gesture to reduce human trafficking this month. :)

We Urge You To Help End Modern-Day Slavery

Dear President Obama:

We applaud the words of your proclamation of January 2011 as anti-trafficking month, when you stated: "From every corner of our nation to every part of the globe, we must stand firm in defense of freedom and bear witness for those exploited by modern slavery." As you know, millions of men, women and children remain in slavery around the world, and we appeal to you to make the eradication of modern-day slavery a priority of your Administration at home and abroad.

We urge you to strengthen our government's anti-slavery policies, institutions and diplomatic tools, including the following specific steps:

- Provide funding and full-time staff to the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) to allow it to scale up and replicate projects that have successfully reduced the prevalence of labor or sex trafficking abroad.

- Increase funding for victim relief and perpetrator accountability, and provide tangible support for police, prosecutors, and courts to deter this crime and secure relief for victims.

- Urge Congress to include additional resources for the TIP Office when the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act is considered in 2011.

- Insist that TIP Office diplomacy is amplified throughout the State Department and U.S. Embassies, and the concerns reflected in the annual TIP Report are raised at the highest levels.

- Provide adequate funding in your budget not only for fighting slavery abroad but also for confronting the crime at home. Increased resources to support survivors of labor or sex trafficking as well as for police, prosecutors and investigators, should be included in your forthcoming budget.

- Enforce current law that prohibits the importation of slave or child-made goods into the U.S.

- Strengthen the TIP Office by making its coordinator, Ambassador Lou CdeBaca, the equivalent of an Assistant Secretary of State.

We appreciate your stated commitment to protecting freedom and look to you for leadership in eradicating slavery at home and around the world.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Thanks again for visiting my blog, and for pursuing justice. May you see lasting change in the world as a result of your efforts to be the best version of yourself you can be today!

Mrs. Stewart & Her Amazing Sixth Grade Class of World Changers

San Antonio School Teacher Being Nuru from billy williams on Vimeo.

For those of you who read my recent post, you know that Nuru had a nationwide awareness campaign that had 1500 hundred people participate at 26 sites. But what you didn’t know was that there were others who were inspired to take part in their own “Be Hope To Her” events.
In fact, just a few days ago, Mrs. Stewart, a sixth grade teacher at Nimitz Middle School in San Antonio, Texas helped her students organize their own “Be Hope To Her” Event. Collectively, starting at 830AM and ending with the last bell at 330PM these sixth grade students logged over 100 miles carrying buckets of water. They all wanted to be able to say that for one day they “walked a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

These students not only walked through the day, but they have been learning about the issue of extreme poverty throughout the school year. In fact, these students read Greg Mortensen’s Three Cups of Tea as part of their studies this year.
Mrs. Stewart first discovered Nuru through an article that made it on the apple website in November about how Nuru uses Macs in our efforts to end extreme poverty. When she read the article, she was personally motivated to do something, and she got her students involved in Nuru’s work.
These students have been scouring the Nuru website and reading staff blogs to become better educated activists. I am thoroughly impressed with Mrs. Stewart and her students because they are educating themselves on the issue of extreme poverty, and they are taking action.
On June 3rd, I was able to talk with her class through skype. It was amazing to be able to applaud this incredible woman and her world changing students through video technology. We spent about a half hour sharing with each other, and the students had some really great questions to ask. They are serious about ending extreme poverty, and they know that their involvement in this issue matters.
Some would possibly tell these boys and girls that they are too small, or that their efforts don’t matter, but I told them, and I will tell you as well, that everybody has a contribution to make toward the end of extreme poverty.

The goal is huge, but it is achievable. Because Mrs. Stewart took the time to educate them, and encouraged them to get involved, they are joining a generation of world changers, and I sincerely believe that together with your help, all of us can see the end of extreme poverty.
I hope you will follow the lead of these students and get involved in the issue. Together, we CAN end extreme poverty. Together, we can be part of a generation that sees the end of the greatest humanitarian crisis of the contemporary era.