A Sprint Towards Women Empowerment

Carlotta Luke raising funds for the Omid Foundation 

She will be running in the Brighton Marathon this April. Although 26.2 miles is always grueling, running along the sea for most of the route has its benefits. Brighton takes the opportunity to make a huge street party out of the event which helps the runners get through it all. It is a huge personal challenge to run such a long distance.  In the banner above you can see me running the same Marathon last year which gave me a huge sense of accomplishment. It gave me a feeling that if I could do this, I could do anything if I set my mind to it.

 

Shortly after I ran the Marathon, I went to a screening of The Glass House, a documentary that documents the lives of a group severely disadvantaged young women in Tehran who are taken in by the Omid Foundation. These women are faced with relentless emotional and financial deprivation, abused and taken advantage of by those who should be supporting and protecting them. Omid works with these women to help them achieve self sufficiency and self-determination. There were so many times during this film when I was moved to tears, both by the desperate plights that they come from, and the growth and support that they receive at Omid. The ethos of the Foundation is one of unconditional love, the sort of love that children should receive in their family settings from those closest to them, but that these young women have never had. This unconditional love helps them gain self confidence and the ability to engage in society as a whole, and imagine a future for themselves.

Omid was set up in 2004 by Marjaneh Halati, a university friend of my husband's and an old friend of mine. Marjaneh's commitment and clarity of vision that has created this foundation is astounding. She has literally saved and transformed many lives through her work.

Seeing this film, and the emotional effect it had on me, made me think more about the Marathon I had recently completed. The fact that I take for granted my ability to tackle challenges and my expectation of personal accomplishment was in such stark contrast to the reality of the emotional lives of these young women, through no fault of their own and due solely to the circumstances of their birth. It made me want to do whatever I could to raise awareness of the crucial work that the Foundation carries out and to help them continue transforming the lives of vulnerable young women in Tehran. So this year, I am running in the Brighton Marathon both for my own sense of personal achievement, and most importantly, to raise money for Omid. 

- Carlotta 

Make a donation - Sponsor Carlotta and support the Omid Foundation

Please support Carlotta's participation in the Marathon and help her raise funds for the Omid Foundation. With your help, she aims to raise $5000.

Make an online donation through our website, which is easy and totally secure. 

 

 

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Clean Water for a Healthy World

Water is the most urgent need of the global poor. 

On World Water Day this year -- March 22nd, 2011 -- we must take time out to remember the 4,500 children who die each day for a lack of access to clean, safe water.

In rural villages, children walk an average of 3.5 miles every day to fetch water from a smelly mudhole. Over 50% of the world’s hospital beds are filled with patients who suffer from water-borne illness.  Clean water access is the very first step -- a foundation for life, health, education and opportunity.

http://giveh2o.org/

Since I began studying and living in a third world country battling poverty and its social ramification a year ago, one burning question has consumed me: What is the most I can do as one person?

Of course government and business, if directed properly, could both help the global poor in a big way. Real leaders in these areas must pursue clear property rights and rule of law while promoting sustainable growth through trade and commerce. But for those of us who are everyday citizens, not currently elected leaders or multinational executives, what is our best way to serve the poorest?

We must develop ‘best practices’ from successful water projects. Further, we must create integrated solutions that create impact through a multi-faceted approach.  In a few years, we will see highly innovative rural projects that center on clean water access while transforming the entire village. Effective charities can build many other capacities around a water well, training the community in well maintenance and repair, teaching hygiene and sanitation, and providing needed vitamins and medicine.

Among other big players, the Gates Foundation is investing heavily each year into building water and sanitation projects, as well as discovering ways that the most effective solutions can be replicated on a global scale.  What’s incredible is that while Gates gives away a few billion dollars each year, the generosity of individual Americans is nearly 100 times larger, some $230 billion in annual charity comes from all the ‘little guys’ rather than corporate or foundation grants.

What does this mean for us? Thoughtful public giving can change the world many times faster than the biggest headline donors. We are in fact ‘the change’ for the world, and it is our duty to become informed global philanthropists.  It is up to us to change lives with clean water. For the price of lunch -- only $10 -- I can give one person access to clean water for a lifetime. If just one in ten Americans gave $150 to clean water, we could solve half of the most urgent crisis of the global poor, giving clean water to 500 million people.

Water is the most urgent need of the global poor. In memory of the thousands who die each day from unsafe water, please seek out a great water charity, spread the word, and change lives today.

 

World Water Day is March 22. Visit http://giveh2o.org/ to Pledge to End the Water Crisis