As the month of June comes to an end, it’s my pleasure to announce Nuru’s latest partnership to you. We are now partnering with an organization called One Day’s Wages (ODW).  The organization is really cool, and you should definitely check them out.  ODW was started by a guy named Eugene Cho in 2009 in an effort to raise awareness and funds to combat global extreme poverty.  He and his wife actually gave the entirety of their 2009 salary toward ending extreme poverty. Their goal is to see every person in the US give one day's wages (0.44%) of their annual income to end extreme poverty.  

 ODW has about 750,000 members on their facebook page, and Eugene and his organization have been getting a lot of press and exposure at conferences lately. Some of the other organizations ODW has partnered with include our friends at Charity: Water and Partners In Health.

 We at Nuru are pretty exited about the $15k grant that ODW is raising for Nuru in an effort to empower 70 Kenyan farmers to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, but we are even more excited about working together with another top notch organization dedicated to working toward the end of extreme poverty. 

 To read more about it on their site, follow this link!

For those of you who are regular visitors to this site, 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.

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

For those of you who are regular visitors to this site, 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 these students, 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.

I think of my own parents. My mom is an educator, and I can remember her being the teacher that connected with the "lost causes". She never saw them that way. She took time to make students feel valued, and fostered a love for learning in the most unlikely students. My dad is an engineer. A logical thinker. But when I think of him, I see him mowing our lawn, then going next door to mow our neighbor's lawn as she struggled to care for her son on her own. He engaged even the hardest, roughest kids in conversations that told them that their voice matters. Growing up, he reminded me to remember others who struggled for the basic needs of life despite my own comforts. It's no wonder that today I value education, desire to invest in people, don't believe in lost causes, encourage individuals to use their unique voice, and can't ignore my responsibility to those who live in poverty.

Then, I see these families - parents who want to see extreme poverty ended, and teach their kids about kids across the globe who are just like them but deal with obstacles beyond comprehension. I see servanthood, love, sacrifice, and beauty lived out in these homes. I can't help but be excited about what the future holds. Not only are we seeing a generation of young people stepping out, but we're humbled by the families that care about people a world away, fight the fights that matter, and train their kids to do the same.

Thank you to all the families living life this way. It isn't always the easy road, but you're making a difference now and raising up the future leaders to continue your legacy of influencing positive change in the world. Though often unnoticed, your work is invaluable and integral to what we do. We can't thank you enough for fighting alongside us.

Today, Tiff and I were talking about how being on Tour changes your perception of things. For instance your perception of time is completely warped. You get to the point where you think a 6 hour drive is a short one.

I judge couches based on their sleep ability. I will never purchase a couch that I could not sleep on. I critique cities based on the ease of maneuvering and parking a big van like Lenore.

We also judge the cleanliness of our clothes, not by whether or not they are actually clean, but by their smell and lack of stains.

I no longer rank coffee shops based on how good their coffee is, I rank them based on the number and accessibility of outlets to plug in my laptop. I never realized how difficult it can be to find an available outlet in some coffee shops until I came on tour.

Tour also has a way of sucking just about every ounce of creativity from your being.  I used to consider myself a creative person, but day after day, I sit down at my computer and try to come up with something to blog about and find that a can only come up with basically the same thing that I said the time before. My creativity is almost completely gone, so I apologize for the lack of originality in my blog posts.

We are constantly plagued by a baseline level of exhaustion, but it amazes me that night after night we find the strength and enthusiasm to tell the Nuru story. I guess when you are doing something that you truly love, you will find the will to do it and do it to the best of your ability.

Being a part of Nuru's first tour has been one of the biggest honors of my life. I look at my life almost daily and think "Really? This is work?" For 10 weeks now, I've traveled to new places, met incredible people, and have been given the opportunity to invite them into a story that is transforming lives in both the developing world and the developed world.

And the incredible thing is, people get it. I've spent way more time telling people how they can be involved than convincing them why they should be. I hear time and time again that Nuru just makes sense. What a testament to the vision behind Nuru, the teams of people that make the work happen, and the media team that makes communicating this story so easy! Tour is the culmination of all the work being done at Nuru, and I get the honor of sharing it with the people we encounter.

One week to go, and a final push to finish strong. We want to talk to as many people as humanly possible this week, knowing that they will continue to share Nuru's story long after our van has pulled away. Thanks to so many of you who are already being Nuru where you are. It is your stories that have inspired us on our journey and have kept us strong along the way. It's an honor to serve the poor with you.

As I sit in yet another coffee shop trying to put my thoughts down on paper, I am struck with the overwhelming feeling that our journey will soon be coming to an end. We are back in Morgantown, WV where this whole journey began. We are home, but only for a moment and then we are back on the road.

We arrived in Morgantown at 7PM last night and will be leaving tomorrow morning for Pittsburgh. We will have a couple of events in the Pittsburgh area and then move on to State College, PA. After that we will travel to Philadelphia, NYC, Connecticut, New Jersey and then finally Huntington, WV.

We will return to Morgantown for about a week and then the team will split up and scatter ourselves across the country for Nuru’s nationwide event BH2O+ that will take place on 24 college campuses and 3 city centers April 12-17.

It was wonderful to sleep in my own bed and have my own space last night and this morning, but a part of me is questioning if I am ready for this journey to be over. My life after tour is going to look drastically different than the one I am living right now, but I do not completely know what form that will take. I guess only time will tell what the future holds for each of us.

We have an event tonight at the Gluck Theater in the WVU Mountainlair at 7PM. I have a feeling it is going to be a great event. If you live in the Morgantown area, I hope you come to the event and take action to join the Nuru story.

A Few days ago, Tiffany and I were sitting in a Starbucks in Naperville, IL and a man came up to us and said, “So tell me about what you guys do?” as he pointed to the Nuru van parked outside.

At first, we both wondered how he knew we were with the van and then realized that we both have Nuru stickers on our laptops. We told him briefly about Nuru and he stopped us and told us that he had someone he wanted us to meet. He proceeded to then set up a meeting with the missions’ director at a local church.

About an hour later, a woman came up to us and asked about Nuru. She told us that her daughter has hopes of working for a non-profit organization in the future. She seemed very pleased to hear about the work that Nuru is doing and that it aligns with her daughters aspirations. And then she asked for some print materials to pass along to her daughter and some other people that she thought might be interested.

These are just a few conversations we have had with people in the past couple of days, but I cannot tell you how many times people have asked us about Nuru in coffee shops just because he each have a Nuru sticker on our laptops.

If you want to spread the word about Nuru, I would suggest putting a Nuru sticker on your laptop and going to your favorite coffee shop; I promise, eventually someone will ask you about it. Granted we are probably in coffee shops working on our laptops more than the average person, but I think it can work for anyone.

It's a bittersweet feeling. BH2O+ is the culmination of our efforts on the road. It's an experience that brings together people who have connected with the story of Nuru, the beautiful people of Kuria we work alongside, the excitement, the hard work, the sleepless nights, long drives in the van, and unforgettable memories with new and old friends. It's also the end of a journey that has changed and shaped the lives of this team more than we can articulate, and hopefully the lives of some of you we've met along the way.

Because of all of this (and more), we want Be Hope To Her 2010 to be the absolute best that it can be. If you are already planning a BH2O+ event, thank you. I know you are tired, but finish strong. Your work is tangibly changing the lives of people in Kuria, Kenya. If you are deciding whether or not to attend BH2O+, check out the registration page, find an event near you, and sign up.

I never knew that 5 gallons of water could change a life. Then I walked in solidarity with women in the developing world, and everything became different. So, April 12 - 17, I invite you walk with us and see your life as well as live in the developing world be changed forever.

“Hi, I am an artist; I mostly do paintings. How can I use that to help Nuru...oh, maybe I could sell some of my paintings and then give the proceeds to Nuru.”

Last week, we had a Nuru Tour event at the New Life School of Worship in Colorado Springs, CO. We were able to speak to the students, faculty, and staff during their devotional time before classes started for the day. At the conclusion of our presentation, I had the above conversation with a student named Hannah.

She told me that she feels passionate about sustainable development in the developing world and loves Nuru’s approach to eradicate extreme poverty. And she wants to use her love for creating art to support Nuru. I love to hear about ways people are using their gifts and talents to partner with Nuru International.

It blows my mind every time we have the privilege of meeting someone who wants to help Nuru in any way he or she can right then and there. It is always amazing to meet people who share our excitement for Nuru!

We have had the opportunity to speak to many different types of people throughout our tour and it is abundantly clear that the Nuru story has the power to attract anyone. It is so cool to see how the Nuru model has engaged people from all walks of life, like high school and middle school students, artists, and lawyers just to name a few.

You can be a part of the Nuru story no matter your age, experience, education, or profession. Everyone has the ability to be a part of things that matter in this world. Use your imagination and dream big! Check out our do something tab on the website and see how you can get involved right now.

Right now, I am sitting in a Starbucks in Colorado Springs, CO and I am just reflecting on all that has taken place over the past seven weeks. That’s right my friends…seven weeks! Wow, I cannot believe that we have already been on the road for that long! Week eight has already begun and I am suddenly disappointed that I have failed to keep up with my daily journal entries.

The days have completely run together and woven themselves into a story that I am still trying to process. I don’t even know how to effectively convey all that we have seen, discovered, learned, and experienced. And I wonder if I will ever be able to articulate all that this experience has been.

Today, we have already spent a couple hours at a coffee house in Denver trying to catch up on work, had an event at the University of Denver School of Law, met with a man who left a note on our van a couple days earlier requesting a meeting, and driven from Denver to Colorado Springs and it is only 4:30PM.

It is often difficult to find the time to complete all the work we have to do, and even more difficult to find time to step back and reflect on all the incredible things that have happened. One thing I know is that I am not the same person I was when we left for this journey and I have a strong feeling that there is still more transformation to take place over the remaining time we have on the road.

I am so incredibly bless to be doing what I am doing with two amazing friends. The Nuru story has truly transformed my life. Thank you all of you who has made the Nuru story one worth telling! 

Wednesday night we were at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. We had about 75 people in attendance at our event in the Wolff Auditorium in the building that houses Gonzaga’s School of Business Administration. A couple of professors actually made attendance to our event mandatory for their classes.

Throughout the presentation, the BH2O+ sign up sheet went around the auditorium. And it seemed that everyone was signing up to be a participant and/or part of the planning team. At the conclusion of the event, there seemed to be a buzz of excitement among the students and professors.

One student in particular, Michael, came up to me and told me that he has been training for the Whidbey Island Marathon in April. I know a good number of people who have run marathons, but every time I hear of someone setting such a goal, I am inspired because of the dedication it takes to train for and compete in a marathon.  He then shared that he has decided to use that experience to raise money for Nuru. Wow that is even more inspiring!

Michael will join many of my friends who have already completed marathons to help support Nuru.

He turned to his professor to tell him what he had decided to do and said it is so cool to be able to help an organization that is doing so much good in the world. I continue to be humbled by the many incredible stories that we have the privilege of carrying with us throughout this tour.   

I am so excited to hear what creative ideas Michael comes up with to share the Nuru story and raise money through this marathon.

Good luck on April 11th Michael!  

Looking forward to hearing your stories,

Tiff

Well Lenore has almost 10,000 new miles, we have been through 17 states, and we have consumed enough coffee to float a small battleship. I figured if I were going to be drinking that much coffee I should probably stop making so much trash from all the empty cups… I picked up the mug that is in the photo above from the original REI store here in Seattle. I have had my eye on it for a while, ever since I saw the one that our education program manager Meghan Baird had a few months ago. I was having a tough time justifying the purchase for a long time because it was a bit more expensive than your everyday travel mug. That was, until I got the chance to actually try one out in Charlotte. Turns out that you can fill it up and turn it upside-down and nothing comes out. It also has a clip on the handle that you can use to clip it to your backpack when you are finished with your coffee. I know to most of you the purchase of a coffee mug would not seem all that exciting, but the road has a way of making the little things seem a lot sweeter. I am very happy with my purchase and if we meet someday I would be more than happy to let you fill it up for me too!!!  :-)

Peace,
D

Last week the Nuru Tour Team visited Stanford University. It was exciting to be on Stanford’s beautiful campus and to see where Nuru began. We had a Nuru Tour event at CoHo, the Stanford Coffee House, on Wednesday night.

Once we got everything set up for our presentation, we realized that most of the people at CoHo were there to study or meet friends, not to hear about Nuru. Usually, at our events, we talk to a group of people who want to hear about Nuru and have specifically come to our event for that purpose. In this instance, we had to speak in front of a large group of people who were trying to somewhat ignore us.

I think we were all a little bit nervous about trying to tell the Nuru story over the many distractions at the coffee house, but we each got up on the stage and shared our hearts for this amazing organization.

At the conclusion of our presentation, I walked around CoHo to handout Nuru information cards. Some people kind of ignored me, but some people eagerly took the cards. In fact, one girl who just happened to be studying there was so excited that she was at the right place, at the right time to hear about Nuru.

This girl ended up connecting with the Stanford BH2O coordinator and has volunteered to be a part of the planning team. How cool is that!?! Although, this was a challenging event for the tour team, we were able to reach a group of people that might have never heard about Nuru any other way.

We never know how much of an impact Nuru’s story can have on a person’s life. We just have to continue to be faithful in sharing the story and let that story transform lives.

I've know I've kept you waiting long enough, so here's the exciting conclusion to "A Day in the Life"... enjoy! If you didn't get a chance to read the first part, you can do so here

2:05pm: We hand the keys to Lenore over to Arturo (owner of Imperial Tire Plus), who takes her for a drive around the parking lot, listening intently. He then pulls her into the garage and puts her up on the jacks so they can have a closer look. At this point, we are realizing things can not be good.

2:30pm: Arturo comes to tell us that not only are the brakes shot, but the rotors are also going to need replaced. Derek asks to take a look, and goes over to Lenore, looks around then comes back into the waiting area to call Billy and talk about the damage. ??2:41pm: We get the go-ahead, and Arturo and his team begin working, assuring us that Lenore will be good to go by 5pm, giving us time to make it to our event in LA at 6.

I have calls and emails to catch up on, and we are making dinner for our Falling Whistles friends. Arturo cannot remember the wireless password at the shop, but tells us there is a Starbucks nearby, so I decide to walk there to try to tackle some calls and emails I need to make. Meanwhile, Lisa and Derek decide to go to the grocery store to get food to make since there will be no time between Lenore being finished and the start time of our event.

3:00pm: I arrive at the Starbucks, and luckily snag a table near an outlet. I plug my computer in and begin listing out emails that I know I need to write. By the time I finish, I have 27 drafts started. Wow.

I begin furiously writing emails, and lose track of the time.

4:48pm: I look at my phone and realize Derek and Lisa should be by any minute to get me, so I text Lisa to see how things are going. Imperial Tire Plus was waiting on parts and needed to also replace the drums, so now Lenore won't be finished until 6 - the time we're supposed to start cooking dinner.

I call David, our contact for the event, but he doesn't answer. I leave him a voicemail, hoping he checks it before we are supposed to arrive.

5:14pm: I snap back into work mode while I wait, and unexpectedly get a call from Mike Spear at StayClassy.org, a website that "makes it easy to find, plan and support charity events in all sorts of cool new ways". (MIT rated the one of the top 30 startups in the country.)

Mike and I talked about how Nuru can use the website, when it's new version rolls out on March 1, to promote and maximize our events and fundraising efforts. I hang up excited about the potential the site has to offer and ready to populate it with all of our events and information in hopes to broaden our support base.

6:05pm: I make another phone call, and am hanging up just as Derek walks up behind me. Four hours and hundreds of dollars after Lenore rolled into Imperial Tire Plus, she's as good as new and we need to get to LA.

6:17pm: We are driving down the freeway when I get a text from David. He was in a meeting, but says they can be flexible with the start time and wants to know if we're okay. I assure him everything is fine and that we'll be at the house around 7.

7:08pm: We arrive at the Falling Whistles house and immediately start cooking dinner. While dinner is cooking, we have the opportunity to engage with people by talking about what Nuru does and allowing them to ask questions.

8:11pm: Derek announced that dinner is ready. Everyone gets food, but we are all still engaged in conversation about what each of us do and how we do it. It is an amazing night of good food and an opportunity for two nonprofits to learn from one another.

9:45pm: We take a tour of the Falling Whistles office (attached to the house) and Sean Carasso shows us some photos of what they've been up to lately. We dream together of what it could look like if our culture engaged global issues, and how we can be a part of opening their eyes to the realities of the developing world.

11:37pm: We've been talking for hours and I had no clue what time it is until someone mentions going back to the Falling Whistles intern house, where we will be staying for the night.

11:45pm: We arrive at the intern house, beginning to realize how exhausted we are. I shower and begin getting ready for bed, but end up back in the living room, chatting excitedly with Mallory and Justine, two of the Falling Whistles interns, about tour and life that we lead.

12:30am: I finally break from conversation and make my way to bed. As I lay down, I reflect on the day, realizing that this is not normal, even though it's the life I've grown accustomed to. I set my alarm for 7:00am (I have a meeting with Tanner in the morning), and fall asleep thinking what an honor it is to live even one day of this life.

Today the Nuru Tour Team is driving from Palo Alto, CA to Portland, OR, which is about a 10 hour drive. This is not the first of our LONG driving days, but fortunately it has been about a week and a half since we have had to travel such a long distance in a day.

So you might be wondering what we do to keep our sanity on long drives…we are still coming up with new things to do, but some of our favorites so far are…

Glee sing-a-longs – our favorites are Don’t Stop Believing and Gold Digger

Disney sing-a-longs

Asking would you rather questions; for example, would you rather live in a house infested with poisonous snakes or live in a house with a toilet seat made of razor blades?

Catching up on sleep

Having conversations in which we speak in various accents

Watching VHS tapes on Stevie the TV and Vicki the VCR - We recently watched Jurassic Park and then discussed which dinosaur we each would want to be. It was a tough call, but I think I would want to be a Philosoraptor.

Reading – I just started reading The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis.

Eating Little Debbie snacks - when we were in Collegedale, TN, we went to the Little Debbie Bakery Store and stocked up on zebra cakes, Swiss cake rolls, caramel cookie bars, and oatmeal crème pies. The supply has almost been totally depleted.

Cleaning/reorganizing Lenore - we try our best to keep our home clean.

Van dance parties - these and sing-a-longs pretty much go together.

Making videos with the flipcam – often times these videos include footage of van dance parties and sing-a-longs. Perhaps we will post some of these in the near future so you can check out our mad skills.

Reading our weekly letters from our amazing Morgantown family

Calling our friends and leaving them ridiculous voice mails

And then, of course, we do work. We catch up on emails, follow up with contacts, write blogs, discuss our events, etc.

If you have any ideas for van games or ways to pass the time, feel free to share them with us.

From time to time, Nuru is invited to share our story at conferences, and it's something we really enjoy. We love being able to share our story with others and invite them to join with us as we work together to end extreme poverty, one community at a time. It also gives us an opportunity to hear more of the great things that other people and organizations are doing around the globe too.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of traveling with a talented team of volunteers to participate in a conference called Jubilee.  The name of the conference comes from an idea in the Torah which talks about a time every 50 years when all debts are cancelled, property returns to it's original owners, and everyone enjoys a time of rest and restoration.

I found myself challenged and encouraged by the words of other communicators and the passion and fire I saw in the faces of the students who were participating in the conference.  It was wonderful to be present at the conference because I believe that one of the biggest humanitarian issues of our generation is the issue of extreme poverty.  It’s not a problem we can ignore, and I believe future generations will look back on our generation and either celebrate or criticize our engagement over this issue.

 Being at a conference full of students and professionals who were thinking deeply about how they could actively work to use their time, talents, and resources to engage this problem (and others) was hugely refreshing.  Imagine being around two thousand people who are thinking about their degrees as tools to help them make the world a better place.   

I think there is something special that happens in us, when we realize that we have the potential to shape the future.  We have the potential to be part of the solution to problems that exist in the world.  We can say enough, and get engaged!

I am grateful for the opportunity to share Nuru's story and I'm excited about the students who are taking Nuru back to their campuses and encouraging others to join us in the fight, and I look forward to seeing us all work together toward the end of extreme poverty. 

Few people really understand what our daily lives look like. I don't know that you could without being here or having been on the road before. So, on Friday morning, I decided to document our lives for a "day in the life" blog. I picked this day long before I knew of the craziness that would ensue. So sit back, relax, and step into a day in our lives...

7:00 am: Wake up after six and a half hours of sleep on the floor of a Santa Monica condo. There are three of us and one bathroom and we need to be out the door by 8. So, I forego the shower and use Psssssst, a fantastic dry shampoo we found thanks to Emma at Wingate University.  It's like washing your hair without the shower.

I get dressed and ready, realizing I've worn this pair of jeans no less than 5 times since they were last washed. We desperately need to do laundry.

7:55 am: Lisa and I walk to get Lenore (our van), several blocks from where we were staying. We hop in and cruise toward the condo, luckily finding a spot near the door. We load up our stuff, say goodbye to our host, Kelli, and Mr. Bean, her puppy, then hit the road.

8:15 am: Derek is on a call with Billy (Grassroots Movement Director). Delores (our GPS) is confused and keeps recalculating out route. Lisa is yelling "Calculate faster!" as Delores finishes figuring out where we are and where we're going.

8:38 am: We're parked on the freeway, stuck in LA traffic, vowing never to live or communte to work here.

8:47 am: We're over sitting in traffic, so we decide to have a little Glee Singalong to pass the time.

9:17 am: We arrive at the Corner Bakery in Brea, CA. We grab some caffeine as we overview the day before our meeting with Candace.

10:00 am: Candace arrives. She is all smiles and full of energy. We share with her the vision of Nuru and Be Hope to Her and begin to brainstorm ways that Life Pacific College can be involved. Coincidentally, BH2O+ falls during Justice Week, so it seems life a perfect way for the campus to get involved.

10:48 am: We wrap up our meeting with Candace and text Conner from Dry Tears to solidify our lunch plans with him. We hop in the van and begin driving to Biola University in La Mirada, CA.

11:15 am: We arrive at Biola, pick up Conner, and head to In-and-Out to grab some lunch and talk about what Nuru has been doing and what we've been seeing as a result of the tour.

12:15 pm: We head back to Biola and grab coffee with Conner. As we're pulling onto campus, we notice the brakes are making a strange noise. We park the van, and head to Common Grounds to talk with Conner about Dry Tears and what they've been up to the past year.

As we talk, he shows us around the campus, making sure we stop to see and take a picture with the famous Jesus mural, "The Word", located on Biola's campus.

1:17 pm: We have a seat near the Rosemead School of Psychology building and continue talking. I get a call from Tanner, a girl interested in helping get both a USC BH2O+ going as well as a city event in Southern California. We schedule a meeting at Common Grounds in La Mirada for 9am Saturday morning.

Conner has another meeting at 2, and we realize we really should head up to LA to get some work done before our event with the Falling Whistles crew.

1:46 pm: We climb into the van, begin leaving campus, and realize the brake sound has gone from sporadically not good to absolutely TERRIBLE. Knowing we don't have to be in LA until 6pm, we decide it's a good idea to get the brakes checked out immediately.

2:00 pm: We drive down Imperial Highway in La Mirada, and spot a place called Imperial Tire Plus. We pull over, hoping the "Plus" means they check brakes.

My fingers are growing tired as I recount the events of Friday, and I would love for each of you to be able to empathize with the suspense we experienced in finding out what was wrong with Lenore. Look for the conclusion of "A Day in the Life" soon.

Pacific Ridge Students from Nuru Tour on Vimeo.

These are just some of the incredible students we had the privilege of meeting at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, CA. We had the opportunity to speak in front of both the high school and middle school students on Wednesday.

Derek, Tiffany, and I were blown away by the hearts of these students. They have the creativity and desire to devote their gifts and talents to things that are bigger than they are in the world. These students are definitely world changers!

After we spoke in front of all the students, we had lunch at the school with the students you see in this video. They interviewed us for their school newspaper. They asked insightful questions about the Nuru model and asked about ways that they can partner with Nuru. You could tell that they were really internalizing the issue of extreme poverty and the power they each had to make a difference. 

I would have loved to spend more time with each of these students to hear their stories and take notes on their ideas. I think I speak for the team when I say that we were a bit envious of the teachers that get to see these kids everyday.

After they interviewed us, we asked if we could get them on our flipcam. They decided to say “We are Nuru” in six different languages. Wow these youngsters are something else!

I am so excited to hear about the ideas these students will come up with in the future to spread the word about Nuru.

Thank you Pacific Ridge Students for your incredible hearts to serve others and for inspiring the Nuru Tour Team! Keep up the awesome work!! 

Lisa :)

Last fall, I met an MBA student at Arizona State University named Brian Laesch via twitter @blaesch.  At the time neither of us really realized how an apparently happenstance connection thru social media might lead to many people engaging in the fight to end extreme poverty.  Earlier this month, Brian hosted our tour team in Tempe, and he is currently in the process of organizing a "Be Hope To Her" event on the largest campus in the country.  Brian runs his own blog here and you should definitely give it a read.

I asked Brian to write a blog describing a bit of his own life experiences, the tour event, and how he and many others are making a difference at ASU.  What follows are Brian's words, and I hope you are encouraged by them as much as I am . . .

I wanted to help. But even I didn't realize how much I wanted to help until the Nuru Tour team showed up in Tempe, Arizona last Thursday, after driving all day from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After working for almost five years in Hollywood in TV/Film production (with a little acting and writing when I found time), I was burnt out. Mostly, because deep down inside, I knew my selfish pursuits were not fulfilling my soul. Sure, I had fun. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to feel that my work had meaning. I didn't know how I wanted to do it, but I knew I needed to make a change, and going back to MBA School at Arizona State University seemed like a good first step in a new, positive direction. I had no idea that it would lead to me getting in contact with Nuru Grassroots Director, Billy Williams, through Twitter, after posting "The End" on my blog, and now helping to plan a "Be Hope to Her" event for ASU on April 13th. I'm not sure that I even knew that when I signed up to help coordinate the Nuru Tour stop. Somewhere in my mind, I figured I would do this, then just go back to studying for ridiculous amounts of time until I graduate. But now I know: Nuru is what I've been looking for. This is that opportunity to help.

 I'll try to spare you the dramatics, but when I say that, I mean it. I'm extremely excited about getting involved with Nuru after Tiffany Newcomb, Derek Roberts and Lisa Hough came through and gave their presentation to ASU students in the John W. Schwada Classroom Office Building last week. I'm encouraged by what I saw, and I'm excited about the possibilities. A number of those students expressed interest and will soon be actively helping us put together "Be Hope to Her."

Tiffany, Derek and Lisa provided compelling stories and videos and really explained how Nuru works. Afterward, we spoke with students who saw the event on Facebook, a listserv email, or an on-campus poster. And leaders of student organizations, such as Rachel Austin of Circle K International and Cate Marshall of the American Medical Students Organization (who both stepped up to make the tour stop a reality), also showed enthusiasm and prove to be a huge part of moving forward.

 After the meeting, the team and I were lucky enough to check out an on-campus screening of the new documentary, "God Grew Tired Of Us," regarding four Lost Boys from Sudan who embark on a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety. For me personally, this simply added an extra shot of reality to the evening.

After the screening, I took the team on a tour of ASU's famous (or infamous, depending on your view) Mill Avenue. We decided to eat at what is arguably the most "cultural" spot on the heavily-commercialized street (not that there's anything wrong with that): Rula Bula Tempe Irish Pub & Restaurant. We had some fish and chips, listened to the live band, had some good discussions on a range of topics (including the possibility of dancing with a lady who had consumed too many pints), and that was that. They headed back to the Nuru Tour van (strategically parked on Apache Blvd. near a concentrated number of south campus dorms) and were off to the Grand Canyon, followed by San Diego. It was a quick trip, but overall, a great night and great stop on the Nuru Tour. I was glad to be a part of it.

 Please be on the lookout for ASU's version of "Be Hope to Her" on April 13th here in Tempe, AZ. If you live in AZ, and would like to get involved, please contact me. We'd be very happy to have you be part of the event.  Interested?  Contact brian.laesch@asu.edu for more details.

Last fall, when we launched the I AM NURU recurring giving program to help empower families out of extreme poverty for good, we received a number of donations.  In total, 345 families are being empowered to lift themselves out of extreme poverty as a result of the program.  

Sometimes when people give to support Nuru's work, they share a little bit of their own story in the process.  One of those people is a guy by the name of Dave Frost.  Dave's story inspires our staff to this day.  Here is his story.  I hope you appreciate his story as much as we do.

I am currently living on Social Security in a mobile home in a small community in South Dakota.  I am also well over $150,000 in debt for cancer surgery and treatments with no insurance.  I am donating nearly 2-3% of my gross income in the hope that it makes life better for someone who is far poorer than I am. That sure doesn't sound like much of a percent, but it is easy to figure what I live on . . . I will try to up my donation as I can, and I will say that if I can afford this, 80% of the folks in America can afford this and more.  Thanks for the opportunity.

Since last fall, Dave has gone a step further. He has shared Nuru's story and updates with 75 friends and family members in an effort to encourage them to join us in the fight. 

His words and actions have moved and inspired us, they serve as a rallying call for folks who want to make a difference in the world and feel like they don't have anything to offer.  His story is both a humbling and powerful example of how people like you and me can truly stand up and make a difference.  We can end extreme poverty, together, one community at a time.

Will you tell others about Nuru's work, or consider financially supporting Nuru today?

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hello friends. 

The photo above is from our event at Southeastern University. We spoke to the majority of their student body at their chapel service. In all there were about 800 students that we were able to talk to and we had individual conversations with several of them afterward. I know I speak for the whole team when I say we had a really great time meeting the students and faculty at Southeastern! This leads me to the issue that I wanted to discuss.

This might come as a shock to some of you, but I have a pretty healthy fear of speaking in front of people. I know what you're thinking... Why on earth would anyone who is afraid to speak in front of people, take a job where they talk in front of people everyday??? Well the answer is, because the story needs to be told. It really is that simple.

I think something changed inside of me when I first heard Jake tell his stories of coming face to face with extreme poverty. I could no longer compartmentalize the statistics I had heard about extreme poverty and in that moment it truly became real to me. Poverty had a name and a face and I knew that I had to do whatever I could to end the injustice. I volunteered for a while doing everything under the sun until the opportunity came to take a trip to tell the story. I could not turn down the opportunity to tell the stories that had changed my life so much and give others the chance to become involved as well.

This is why I face my fear of public speaking and I encourage you to face your fears as well. Nothing that is worth doing is easy, so take that step, whatever it is, to start living a life that matters!

Peace,

D

Thanks again to all of the people who came out to this event!