In July I was lucky to be a featured guest blogger on Huffington Post. Wrote about a theme that I have been thinking a lot about as of late – the reasons one community may go across its own boundaries in order to help another community. Read the piece here.
It seems to be a topic that resonates. Thoughtful comments, many likes/sharing etc. It’s an important conversation to be had.
I remember talking with a friend who immigrated here from Rwanda. She is one of our donors. She also once gave money to a program in Ethiopia that helped children in danger as they walked to school. She told me that people back home would ask her: “Why are you helping people in Ethiopia when there is so much need here at home?” Her answer – “If there is a need greater than my own, then I will go to where the need is”.
What is the Malala Effect? It is when a deep-rooted city like Buffalo begins to enter the space of dissolved boundaries and peer out beyond its long-standing hedges. What they’ll see are home-grown organizations such as ours rallying to respond to a massive unmet need – the need to educate the world’s girls. What we are finding is an incredible energy, bank of talent and amazing generosity within our prideful city. Our organization is growing and creating impact because Buffalo is stepping through traditional boundaries and rolling up her sleeves. It’s an exciting time to see what the global village really means and what it can really do.
~Anne