Thursday, September 4, 2008

Quote


I'm reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. He built several schools for children in Pakistan and this is his memoir of the experience. This quote jumped out at me last night and inspires me for the work I am about to do....


"Once you educate boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities. But the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, imporve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, then answer is to educate girls."


I don't want to sound idealistic, but I am excited for Togo (less then 2 weeks away!) and at this point can use all the comforting I can that this is the right decision and I can make a difference...for others and for me!

5 comments:

Rev. Jeremy Smith said...

That's a great book. He spoke at Bentley about how women can stop terrorism. In the culture of the people he was with (I forget the name), the boys who are conscripted to be suicide bombers have to get permission from their mother to do so. Since the mothers are mostly uneducated, they give their approval without knowing what it entails.

Educate the women, empower them to stop their children, and you stop terrorism.

No, it's not that simple. But it's another point that women empowerment like you are going to be doing is an awesome thing to dedicate your life to.

Looking forward to 10ish days from now!

Sally Langford said...

You are going to make a wonderful difference in the lives of the girls and women in Togo! They will make a big difference in yours, too. I am very proud of you. Much love, Mom

Mr. Marc said...

Snapshot: I remember one time at work when you were babysitting Ella (fake name) at the end of the day and you were so excited about how great she was with the flashcards and you had her show off for me. You didn’t even have to say you were proud of her; the look on her face was beyond beaming! How much of a difference did you make with her in those little bits of times? Who knows? How did YOU feel? Again, this is only a snapshot, but now multiply that thousands of times over with higher stakes. You are genuine about this and you WILL make a difference.

Anonymous said...

Ann,

I stumbled across your blog completely by accident and I scrolled down through it and I bookmarked it in my favorites.

I can hardly wait to read about the work you and your husband do in Africa.

I wish that when I was younger, I had taken the time to do what y'all are doing.

God Bless you and be with y'all.

I'll be reading from Athens, Alabama.

Keith Taylor
jktaylor@tva.gov

Unknown said...

You've been a blessing my Boston-life, and I know you'll be a blessing to so many Togo-lives. :-)