By Amy Paulson

There is a small pond in Matatirtha, a rural village resting high above Kathmandu valley, whose name in Nepali means Mother Earth.  On Mother’s Day, orphans come to the pond to look at their reflections in the mirror of the water and see the face of their mothers.  

It is this serene and spiritual place of Mother Earth that we journeyed to earlier this January to empower healing, dignity, joy, and transformation for the students and teachers at Bright Horizon Children’s Home (BHCH), a school and safe haven for nearly 300 orphans and vulnerable children from the poorest, most remote areas of Nepal.

Each morning, 25 teachers, caregivers, and staff arrived to a freezing classroom, greeted warmly with smiles and hugs by our co-founder and creator of the Safe Embrace Trauma Healing (SETH) program, Elayne Kalila Doughty, MA, MFT.  Originally developed as a grassroots healing model for caregivers who work with female survivors of sexual and gender based violence, the SETH curriculum has since been adapted to work with anyone whose trauma originates from the challenges faced by communities in fragile settings: conflict, abuse, human trafficking, disease, abandonment, extreme poverty, and more. 

Co-facilitating the training was Charna Cassell, MA, MFT.  Last December, Charna joined our SETH L2 global activism program where therapists, social workers, and other healing professionals learn the SETH curriculum and how to teach it in a global setting, fundraise among their communities as healing activists, and volunteer their skills at projects around the world.

After one week of training, a second week of observation and coaching, and the launching of a leadership and life skills course for early high school students taught by the teachers most interested in facilitating healing trainings with other organizations and communities in Nepal, we achieved the following outcomes:

I hate the word “hero”.  

A hero is perfect.  A hero must do the right things at all times.  A hero is infallible. 

Modern humanitarians I’ve admired like Somaly Mam or Greg Mortensen were elevated to superhuman hero status one day, then branded as “fallen heroes” the next, after proving capable of human fallibility (even gross misjudgment); while the work they did to empower vulnerable girls - which is what was truly heroic - was tragically forgotten.

So, I pause before using the word “heroes” when describing Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and my brief yet inspiring interaction with them in Berkeley last night. But I’m jumping ahead.  Let me back up.

It was around 2010.  I bought Half the Sky at an airport bookshop. “Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” the blue cover said.  Back in those days, I was still working in finance.  My head was full of forecast figures and corporate ambition.  I opted for some lighter David Sedaris humor.  The book sat on my shelf and collected dust.

Fast forward to early 2012.  I had just quit my corporate job the year before, on the back of reconnecting with my biological Korean family, discovering I had been kidnapped at birth to an orphanage, and that my Korean mom was orphaned by the North Korean army who killed her parents when she was six.  I mentioned my story to a friend, how I was planting the seeds of the Global Gratitude Alliance with my co-founders, and how our mission was to empower women and children.  “You have to read Half the Sky,” she insisted. 

By Amy Paulson

My parents and I have a special deal: no more birthday presents or Christmas kitsch. No more stuff we don't need that will clutter up our houses, get sold on eBay, or donated to Goodwill.  Since 2012, we started a new tradition - give love to each other and to the world by making a donation in honor of our love for each other that will also empower dignity and opportunity for vulnerable women and children around the world. 

Do we still celebrate with cards, messages of love and gratitude, and a special meal together (when possible)? Absolutely. Does my mom still buy me a Santa Claus decoration every year, as is our tradition? Yes.

But now every birthday or Christmas holiday is made even more special.  It's the meaning, intention, and love that goes with giving that is most important. The best way that we can express that is to give something meaningful back to the world. And, if we want or need something for ourselves, we just buy it as and when we need it... which is great! No awkward pretending to like something you will just sell or re-gift to someone else. An extra bonus: a smaller carbon footprint.

So, this holiday season, I challenge each of you to give just one gift of love. It can be in honor of your love for a dear friend, favorite aunt, or just you. Whoever it's for, take a moment to feel joy and gratitude while giving it. That's what the holidays are all about.

Here are just a few ideas: http://www.gratitudealliance.org/gifts-of-love.html

Thanks to a connection with the School of Architecture in Barcelona (ESARQ) we advertised for a volunteer architect to help supervise and advise on this project. And we got lucky with two Italian architects, Francesca and Veronica, who are on site daily and send us weekly reports on the progress of the construction work. We are happy and grateful for their collaboration, advice and help, and to see the building grow and change week by week. 

Check out their latest report on the house progress!

By Andrew Hughes

In 2011, I was traveling in San Jose for meetings at eBay, getting ready for my sabbatical in Africa. However instead of driving to the airport to fly home, I drove myself to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.  Half a year and several infections later, I rescheduled my sabbatical, uneasy about traveling with a constant pain in my abdomen.

The first weeks of sabbatical were tough. I couldn’t enjoy myself, convinced that I had a life threatening gastroenterological disease, despite the doctors confirming that I was fine. And, then I arrived in Ethiopia. I was there to research projects to support through The Gracias Foundation, the nonprofit that I was about to launch (now called Global Gratitude Alliance). The kids we spent time with there are all HIV positive. Most are also orphans who have watched their mothers and fathers wither away in front of them. For the younger ones, you wouldn’t know about their stories just by looking at them. Like all kids, their laughter is music – they just want someone to share it with. For the older ones, the sadness in their eyes is deep. And, the uncertainty they have about the future is real.

Is it possible for your heart to break and open at the same time?

Yes.

3 Musketeers Children’s Fund was founded by Brian and Maria O’Shea to honor the memory of their beloved children Søren (11 years old), Saoirse (9 years old) and Connor (3 years old) who died tragically in a car crash one year ago.

The fund’s aim is to support projects improving health, education, and safety for children in countries where no other alternatives are available to them.

Saoirse would have celebrated another birthday last week.  To honor her, the 3 Mustketeers are funding new beds, lunch boxes, and exercise books for the Maisha orphans in Kenya.

We are so grateful to 3 Musketeers and so deeply moved by their story… as are the children at Maisha who met co-founder Brian O’Shea when he visited the Maisha home earlier this year. 

“I was so sad when he told us about his family,” said one of the Maisha boys, “He is a very good man.”

We can’t think of a more beautiful way to commemorate the O’Shea children than by giving love and light to less fortunate children around the world.  Thank you to 3 Musketeers for your grace, generosity, and inspiration. 

We're thrilled to share the exciting news with our community - we've got a new name: Global Gratitude Alliance!

While our mission, approach, and projects remain the same, the new name is a clearer reflection of who we are and what we stand for: our commitment to global humanity, our practice of giving with gratitude, and our vibrant community of everyday activists like you who share our vision for a peaceful and thriving world.

And, this is just the beginning.

Throughout this year and next, we'll be launching some innovative programs and partnerships serving women and children - both globally and locally in the Bay Area. So stay tuned for more news to come!

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly inspired by your enthusiasm, love, and support throughout this incredible journey.

With gratitude and joy,

Global Gratitude Alliance
formerly, The Gracias Foundation


PS: The name change doesn't impact any donations - we've still earmarked your gifts for the projects you're supporting!  We're also transitioning social media to the new name - bear with us if you still see The Gracias Foundation in the meantime...

By Michael Forzato (Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

What will I take from my experience at Maisha? Well I don’t think that question can easily be answered with words because words can never fully embody how someone feels or describe the connection that one has with the people of Maisha. This connection is felt right when you walk through the doors of the home, seeing the smiling faces of twenty-two children and the wonderful aunts and uncle as they welcome you as if they had known you for years. This connection only grows as time passes because the close corridors of the Maisha home leave little room for privacy and separation. You sleep together, you eat together, you laugh together, and you play together. This interconnectedness, and the people’s natural amicable character is what make Maisha such an ardent place. 

By Michael Forzato (Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

During my winter break in 2010 I was lucky enough to visit Mombasa, Kenya. I was excited to explore a different continent that I had never set foot on. We got on the plane in Zürich, Switzerland and set off on our seven-day trip to Africa. 

I was never nervous, to be honest, but also very eager, a similar feeling I get when I join a new basketball or soccer team or about to move to a different country and experience different cultures. 

We got off the plane in Africa and I was shocked. There was not much thought put into what I should expect when I got off the plane, but it definitely wasn’t what I saw. Perhaps I was relying on the African stereotypes of the country, where it is made up of vast savanna with wildlife roaming the great plains. In some cases this is true, however what I witness driving in a taxi to our hotel was very much different to my expectations. It was actually quite sad the living conditions that these people were forced to live in. Shacks after shacks lined the unpaved dirt street that bare feet walked upon. 

Starting today, all donations to the Maisha safe housing project will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $20,000, thanks to the generosity of our ecstatic activist and 2x Maisha volunteer, Giulio Montemagno.

The Maisha kids are desperate for better living conditions and enough space to safely grow into young adults. Construction will start in just a few weeks, but we've still got a big gap to close.

So, join us in empowering dignity for these extraordinary kids, and for the next generation of Maisha scholars.

By Becca Rhew (Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

The other night my husband and I got onto the topic of Valentine’s Day and how we would celebrate.  We live in Switzerland, so:

a) Valentine’s is not as big as in the U.S.
b) A“nice” but not extravagant dinner can easily run you $120+, a standard greeting card averages $5, and a dozen roses…you don’t want to know.  

Inspired to to get involved and volunteer? Here are some pointers (but not an exhaustive list!):

In November, Gracias co-founder, Amy, contributed to The Shift Network's web talk about philanthropy and giving alongside Jan Masaoka, Executive Director of CalNonprofits, and Devaa Haley Mitchell, The Shift Network's co-founder. Here are some of the subjects they discussed:  

(Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

This January, we're turning two!  We are thrilled by how much we've achieved together, and YOU are at the center of it all.  So, a huge Thank You (Gracias) to everyone!  We hope you'll enjoy our birthday video!

By Debbie Brupbacher (Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

Debbie dedicated this run to The Gracias Foundation. Find out why she runs and what this run taught her below:

Standing at the start line of the Grand to Grand Ultra I had a feeling of trepidation.  I was about to run 273km completing 6 stages over a mix of desert and other terrain. I knew I could go the distance but I was scared of the sand running. Living in a land-locked country I did not manage to do specific sand training and was worried how I would cope with this.   

(Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

“It’s a treat for your soul." This is how Olga described her experience volunteering at Gracias’ partner organization in Ethiopia a local children's home in Addis Ababa. She was speaking by live video from London at the “Celebrating Volunteering” event, ably hosted by Chris Reichenbach, to an audience at eBay Bern.