In honor of the beautiful, sunshiney day outside

I love this tree. Although this is (unfortunately) not my house, it's directly across the street from us so I get to stare at the pink explosion every time I come and go. This picture is from a few days ago so now their entire yard is pink with fallen petals!

Another sign of spring in Baltimore-- lacrosse lacrosse lacrosse. While I have been accused of sports fanaticism of my own, lacrosse in Baltimore really takes it to another level...and being outside the beast, I find it vaguely wierd and annoying. Mostly because it tends to dominate my husband's life come springtime, and I can not stomach the obsessive tyrant parents who freak out about little Timmy getting a scholarship to Princeton (and no, explaining that little Timmy is still on the JV, and not even a starter, does nothing to quell the craziness). However-- last week I got to watch three major parts of my life collide when Ohio State played UNC in a lacrosse game in Baltimore. I almost took a picture of the toddlers behind us running around with their baby lax sticks as evidence of the oddness that is Baltimore, but instead focused on the game:

Buckeyes pulled off the upset, 14-11! Made me proud of my midwestern heritage :)


Hopefully this good weather sticks around for the weekend!

Go easy on me, it's been awhile...

I was watching the American Idol charity special last week and without even realizing it, started composing a blog post in my head. It was so horrifying and yet sort of awesome all at once it really got the juices flowing again...BUT, I've decided I should save the negativity for another day (cause let's face it, it was mostly just horrifying) and instead come back with some love and happiness to offer. Since I've ditched the 2 hour daily commute and transformed into Zen Dana, it just seems more appropriate.

It's also appropriate that the target of all this love and affection is the place that inspired me to start blogging in the first place-- GlobalGiving. More specifically, my now former co-workers (ack that is sort of sad to even type) who threw me a rocking farewell party last Friday night. In the midst of lots of bowling, drinking, eating, laughing, and catching up, they also showered me with some ridiculously generous and thoughtful gifts-- including a donation registry for one of my favorite project leaders, Stella in Kenya! Over $800 has been raised so far for a fantastic woman doing amazing work in Kenya (fingers crossed that things stay peaceful) so click here to check out the registry action and/or make a donation.

To the GlobalGiving team-- yall rock. Seriously. It was a privilege to work with all of you for 3 years (plus of course the internship in 2002 of course) and will probably go down as one of the crazier and more exciting things I've ever been a part of. It is a testament to how hard everyone works, and the insane pace that you keep up to build the marketplace, that my going away party had to happen a few weeks after my real departure...but the wait made it even more fun and it was great being a part of the team (if only the bowling team) for a couple hours! Remember, Baltimore isn't so far away, and I hear there is this great commuter train that will bring you right to Penn Station...marathon in October anyone??

Lastly, since I'm back on the blogging train (as of about 10 minutes ago) I feel like I can actually join in on the BlogHer challenge. BlogHer is rallying the blogging community and their readers to support five awesome women-oriented projects on GlobalGiving-- from Nepal to Darfur, these are great projects and I love the concept of "harnessing the power of women online". Check out the great widget below and spread the word!

10 (not 53) places to go in 2008...

Cross posted from GlobalGoodness...

My parents were Peace Corps volunteers in the early 1970’s, so I usually blame DNA for my frequent urges to travel. Despite growing up in homogenous suburban central Ohio (with a lovely Canadian island as my only international adventure as a kid), as soon as I headed for college I was able to indulge my need for adventure and interest in learning about new places, cultures, and geographies. From 1999-2003 I spent every summer south of the equator (thus making my summers actually winters) traveling to Tanzania, Bolivia, Madagascar, and South Africa. I even managed to snag a hiking job in the French Alps as my first gig out of school!

Living with the travel bug that my trip leader in Tanzania called “itchy feet”, I was particularly interested to see the recent NY Times travel article about the 53 places to go in 2008. Although most of the swanky destinations they listed are far out of my price range ($70,000 for a week at a Swiss chalet? Seriously?) I was interested to see 10 of their 53 locales overlap with places where GlobalGiving has projects. GlobalGiving loves having volunteer travelers tack on a project visit when our friends, colleagues, donors, and readers find themselves in places where our partners work– so if you want to get an up close and personal look at development in action and meet some fantastic project leaders– let us know. And take me with you!!

Bonus prize– if any intrepid readers can identify all 10 places in the NY Times list where GlobalGiving projects, I’ll send you a $10 GlobalGiving gift card (email me your answers at dledyard@globalgiving.com) I’ll even give you the first one for free…

Renovate 3 Elementary Schools in Laos

Double bonus prize if you can guess where my parents served in the Peace Corps (and yes, it’s on the NY Times list!)

A petite new year's request...

Although I'd like to kick off the new year with a blog that's fresh, funny, optimistic, resolution filled, etc-- for now I'm just going to post a mass email I just sent to most of my address book. I'm torn between shame for mass emailing and excitement about taking action for something I care deeply about...and hopefully the big bucks will start rolling in shortly!

Hi all,

I don't usually do this-- despite working for a nonprofit I am loathe to actually ask people for money-- but the current situation in Kenya, and a personal friendship with a Kenyan woman named Stella, has driven me to make full use of my email address book. Feel free to stop reading, delete, or de-friend me on facebook if offended by the mass email. I promise not to do it often!

I've worked at GlobalGiving for about three years, and one of the best parts of my job is getting to work with (mostly over email and phone) some amazing people around the world who are doing amazing things in their local communities. Stella Amojong Omunga started a small NGO in Eldoret, in western Kenya, doing health and education work with teenage mothers. We became fast friends over email-- she is funny, eloquent, enthusiastic in a way that even spills over into electronic communications, and totally dedicated to her work. Her reports about her use of funds are detailed down to the penny, and while some people will tell you that only large donations make a difference, Stella was always deeply grateful for any $10 or $20 or $100, and could stretch it to do amazing things.

I got increasingly worried watching the news after the Kenyan election, especially after dozens of people were burned alive in a church in Eldoret where Stella lives. I emailed Stella to see how things were going and the first sentence of her response made me pause: "I'm terribly ashamed to be Kenyan right now...what we are witnessing is beyond human comprehension! I'm even taking a huge risk to check my mail, our country has been turned into a war zone: no food, no drugs, no transportation...its simply hell!!" She described the lack of food, medicine, and supplies, and how she is personally sheltering women and children at her home. "We are regrouping and doing anything in our power to provide humanitarian assistance." (full messages below if you're interested)

GlobalGiving has created a fund to support Stella and our other partners who are responding to the situation in Kenya and we're trying to raise some funds quickly in order to get them to the ground where needed as soon as possible. You can donate online here: www.globalgiving.com/1980 (or for you Tar Heels in the crowd, Carolina for Kibera is a great organization working outside Nairobi: http://cfk.unc.edu/) I know things can be tight after the holidays, but I promise that even $10 will be well spent in Stella's capable hands. And if donating isn't your thing, forwarding this message or the link or just spreading the word is helpful too.

Thanks for reading, happy new year, and here's hoping for peace in 2008.

Dana

From: Stella Amojong Sent: Sun 1/6/2008 8:25 AMTo: Dana LedyardSubject: RE: situation in Kenya
Hi Dana,

I'm glad that people like you exist...we are quickly reaching a melting point here. The last few days has seen mass evacuations of displaced families while the few remaining in safe havens still face startvation. I'm glad that relief has started trickling in but many fear that the worst is yet to come.

I'm not sure getting foodstuff or other supplies would be a good idea: all roads are barricaded by armed youths and unless you have heavy paramilitary escort, getting to the ground/villages is simply hard. Relief agencies, like Red Cross, are donating basic food to the displaced families, but this is not enough. Our bank has been opening the local branch sporadically and I believe it will continue doing so next week. We have had to sell some domestic electronic equipment (fridge, cookers, TV) to raise some quick money to buy food. Prices are quickly escalating and supplies are beginning to diminish but we still hope for the best.

My preference would be to send in the money and we can use our local networks in sourcing for basic food, drugs and other necesities. Indeed you can direct other donors to our project so we can have as much impact as possible. The key word here is URGENT.

Once again, thanks for you quick response to our plight. Say a small prayer for us.

Regards,
Stella

From: Stella Amojong Sent: Fri 1/4/2008 4:20 AMTo: Dana LedyardSubject: Re: situation in Kenya
Hi Dana,

Thanks for your concern. I'm terribly ashamed to be Kenyan right now...what we are witnessing is beyond human comprehension! I'm even taking a huge risk to check my mail, our country has been turned into a war zone: no food, no drugs, no transportation...its simply hell!!

Yes, indeed they are now even burning people who have taken refuge in churches. The situation in Eldoret is the worst and believe you me, GEMINI has not been cowed by all this. We are regrouping and doing anything in our power to provide humanitarian assistance and on a personal level, I'm providing shelter to the most vulnerable women and children and psychological counseling to the affected families in a nearby church compound.

If there is anything that GlobalGiving can do to enable us alleviate the situation, we would be so grateful. What we currently need is lots of foodstuff, drugs and clothes. We will still have a lot to do after all this is over and we look forward to a year with so much tears...but with your assistance, things will be OK.

Thanks so much....and, oh by the way, Happy New Year (You are the first person to hear this from me!!!)

Regards,
Stella

The only thing better than one blog...

Is a second blog! Since I update this one so frequently (insert sarcasm and guilty feelings here), I've decided it's time to expand. Luckily I won't be the only one handling blog numero dos-- this one will be me and fifteen or so of my bestest GlobalGiving buddies.

Last week was the official launch of GlobalGoodness-- I've cross posted what I wrote for today, but you can also check out previous posts from my fellow GG all stars Mari, Dennis, Donna, and Kevin.

Enjoy!

Over the river and through the woods…

As Thanksgiving approaches, I can’t get these holiday carol lyrics out of my head. Working on the project team at GlobalGiving, I have the privilege to work with the amazing project leaders and innovative organizations that list their work for funding on our website. This also means I get an up close and personal look at the challenges our partners face on a daily basis. Here is one description of the journey to send an e-mail in Malawi:

“Well, first I leave the school and hop on my bicycle. After riding my bike for two hours over dusty, bumpy roads, I arrive at the internet café. Then I write out my e-mail carefully by hand and give it to the owner. Assuming the internet isn’t broken that day, he logs on to the only computer in the village and sends the e-mail for me.”

Rather than braving the river and woods to get to grandmother’s house, each day our project partners face challenges ranging from lack of electricity or internet connectivity, natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, health crises including malaria and HIV/AIDS, non-existent transportation infrastructure, or unstable political environments. Tasks that seem like no big deal to those of us in the U.S.—sending an email, turning on the lights, making a phone call—can be time consuming and difficult. With all of these challenging circumstances it’s a wonder that anything gets done at all!

But the most exciting part of my job is that not only is stuff getting done, our partners are tackling the most difficult challenges our world faces right now and achieving great results. It’s a testament to the determination, creativity, passion, and insight of the projects listed on GlobalGiving that each day I get to read updates from the field like this:

“The Roteang Village children have nearly completed the immunizations…” from "Provide 570 Children with Lifesaving Vaccines" in Cambodia.

“One of our a pioneer teachers at Nyaka told me last year that because of his job at Nyaka, he has been able to buy land, take care of his twin sons and daughter, and take care of his aging mom and dad…” from "Nyaka School for Children Orphaned due to HIV/AIDS" in Uganda.

“Through these two projects, we secure transportation and safe passage for women who are fleeing their homes to reach the shelters or other refuge…” from "Safe Houses for Iraqi Women" in Iraq.

Whether arriving via the back of a bicycle, the dusty Indian mail service, carrier pigeon, or solar-powered dial-up email, project updates keep donors informed about all things (good and bad) going on with the project on the ground. Clicking “submit” isn’t the end of a donation to a GlobalGiving project—it’s the beginning of an adventure!

From this blog to God's ears

So roughly 10 hours since my last post, it's dropped to 65 degrees and a steady rain is falling, convincing me that my blog is basically a direct hotline to the (wo)man upstairs. I'll take requests for future posts via email, so send me all your most important requests ;)

Fall. And rain. Stat.

It's hovering near 80 degrees as we approach 10pm the last week in October. I'm sweating, contemplating turning the air conditioning on just so I can fall asleep in peace. Brian is hiding out in the basement with his dad so I can't even sedate myself with bad reality television, my uber cute jack-o-lantern has shriveled and molded on the front porch, and California is going up in flames before I even have a chance to get turned down by those fancy grad schools I think about applying to.

To steal a phrase from Alan, where the eff is fall? Cool, crisp, beautiful leaves? Maybe some rain while we're at it? Jeebus.

If you're looking for a wicked smaaaaht blog post (and not just me complaining about being hot) check out Eli's take on my take on Triple Crown Winners. Not only does her post beat the crap out of mine, her BoSox beat the crap out of my Indians too :(

How many more weeks til basketball season???