Remembering That We All Count

                            A Birthday Wish by Susie S.

 Once a year, no matter what else is going on, people in my life, friends, family and co-workers have taken the time to celebrate the moment I came onto the planet.  I'm so grateful for that.  Imagine not knowing?

 Birthdays have always been special for me.  I was born on my youngest Aunt's 7th birthday and there were always two cakes so we each were special.  Then, as the years passed I met more friends who were born the same day in August.  Marcia, Geoff, Shelly, it is so fun to celebrate with you!


When I was 11, my mom bought me a horse for my birthday.  One of the best moments in my life.  I had to do a scavenger hunt all over town and ended up in my Grandma's yard where he was waiting.


On my 16th birthday I passed my driver's test.

When I turned 30 I threw a huge party for 100 people. It was so much fun we did it for 8 years in a row! 
We use our birthday so many times every day.  We take it for granted.  You need your birthday for your passport and every other piece of ID you have your whole life.  They use it on your tombstone and your death certificate too. It's how you look up your horoscope and many of you even use it for your passwords!

At its simplest essence it means you counted.  That the moment you were born was considered important enough by society to be marked.  All the celebrations that followed are the wonderful bi-product of the simple truth that you counted. 


The abandoned and orphaned children supported through House of Loveness in Zimbabwe count too. I want to remind them of that. They've never had a birthday or blown out candles on a cake.  They don't know the day they were born or their exact age.  They have never made a birthday wish...

In honor of my 40th birthday in August 2011 this is my birthday wish.  I hope that instead of buying me a drink, taking me to dinner or giving me a gift, you will celebrate a virtual party with me to benefit the children of Zimbabwe supported through House of Loveness. So please celebrate with me (again)...the gift is to be counted and still counting!  But this year let's do it this way:  save the postage and the card and the texting fees...and instead purchase a virtual celebration for me to benefit the children supported by House of Loveness. 

Every donation for my birthday will receive some special birthday swag because I know you all like gifts as much as I do!


 At the end of this 40 day campaign the children are going to have a party for me in Zimbabwe.   I probably won't be there.  But it will be the most important one yet.  Let's see what kind of wondrous amplification our fun can have.  I'll buy the real drinks in gratitude. 

xoxooxox
Susie

The Impact: Empowering Children Through Education


      Education is the most powerful weapon which you 
          can use to change the world. -Nelson Mandela
  
House of Loveness serves the emergency and long-term needs of at risk children in Zimbabwe. The birthday donations will go towards school fees and supplies for the Angel Academy in Chitungwiza. This school survives solely on the support of donations to House of Loveness.  Currently the school has 36 students age 2-9. For all of the children, it's their first opportunity to be in a classroom. Your donation will give them the gift of education. Your donation will remind them that they count.

* Special thanks to the uber talented singer/actress Carla Duren for allowing us to use her song "belove" for the campaign. For more information www.carladuren.com or look for her in the new indie film "gone Elvis"


*If your donation is made in the US it is tax-deductible through the HOL fiscal sponsor From The Heart Productions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Springtime In Zimbabwe

Image
Making friends at Wild Is Life I spent a week in Zimbabwe in August.  I really didn't want go. I'm so grateful I got on the plane anyway. Before I left, I was feeling frustrated about the recent elections in Zim and how the results would affect the citizens.  I was also frustrated because House of Loveness needs a new car (the kids are taking buses and hitching rides to school).  I was frustrated because I desire to move the children to a better home but we don’t have enough money to make it possible.  I was frustrated because we are having problems getting birth certificates for the (abandoned) kids and they need these to go to boarding school.  I also felt pressure to stay in the US for the release of my new film so I could pay my own bills.  The trip ended up being filled with deep connection to the children, the animals, the people, the land and the sunsets.  My frustrations turned to gratitude. My walk with Tatenda My first morning in Zimbabwe, I
Read more

Following My Heart

Image
"It is the heart that gives; the fingers just let go." -Ibo tribe, Nigeria In the next 48 hours, ten women and two of their children are joining me for a week long retreat in Zimbabwe.  I am filled with gratitude for the sacrifice they are making to leave their families during the Thanksgiving holiday, pack bags full of supplies to bring to the children and fly 20 plus hours to Zimbabwe. I have to believe the decision to come to Zimbabwe was made from their heart.  Their head might have given them another answer. On my first trip to Zimbabwe in 2008, I arrived to the news the baby I was to adopt had died.  I spent eight days in Zimbabwe to get her buried and in my head I knew I never wanted to go back.  But my heart led me to return again six weeks later with a wheelchair for Kuda, one of the abandoned children I met whose legs were so atrophied that he scooted on his hands across the dirty hospital floor.  No one ever thought he would walk but I wanted him off that hos
Read more

The Catalyst to Choose Love

Image
Qoya class during the 2013 Service & Safari Retreat Earlier this year, I was invited to give a speech during Catalyst Week in Downtown Las Vegas . The speech was about a catalyst moment in my life . I chose to speak about going to Zimbabwe to adopt a baby in 2008, only to discover she died just before I arrived. Betsy in Zimbabwe, 2008 Losing the baby was a catalyst moment because I had the choice to leave immediately and never return to Zimbabwe (which was my first instinct) or to stay in Zimbabwe and spend eight days grieving a baby in a country I'd never been to, among people I didn't know. I stayed. I spent most of the next eight days taking care of a crew of abandoned children that lived at a local hospital. They reminded me to go beyond the wounds and sadness and Choose Love. December 2013 Some of the children supported by House of Loveness since 2009 By the end of the following year, I had returned to Zimbabwe seven times, and founded Hous
Read more