BlogHer - World's on Fire: Bucket Brigade - Comments

Trickle Up

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:44:53 -0500

Thank you so much for this inspiring link. I've seen great things happen with micro loans and I'm a big fan.

Rachelle Mee-Chapman
http://www.magpie-girl.com
http://twitter.com/magpiegirl

Sari Bari

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:43:41 -0500

Those are so beautiful! Thanks for the link!

Rachelle Mee-Chapman
http://www.magpie-girl.com
http://twitter.com/magpiegirl

Sari Bari

Bitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:49:07 -0500

I love Sari Bari - beautiful blankets made from old saris using a traditional stitch, by women who used to be in the sex trade in India. I actually have one on my lap at work right now. This business is allowing women to support their families without the denigrating work of the sex trade.

www.saribari.blogspot.com.

I support a program called

the farmers wife — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:28:09 -0500

I support a program called <a href="http://www.trickleup.org">Trickle Up</a> which provide small business loans to women in third world countries. The loans are very small by western standards, most are only $50, but it provides the opportunity for these women to effect change in their lives and the lives of their children.

They must write a business plan (with the help of advisors) and repay the loan which is then thrown back into the fund.

Trickle Up was started years ago by a New York teacher, who worked out the idea on her kitchen table. They are creating successes from the bottom up.

BTW, I have a hand painted sign in my office that reads, "Chicken Little was Right". The world's on fire? Yes, and it has been since the beginning of time.

Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

A more basic level...

nelle2nelle — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:36:34 -0500

at one time I'd be right out there looking for ways to do something. At one time. Oh, I'm still so inclined, but over half a decade have come to realise the roots of change start within.

Here was someone - me - with all these issues inside, and instead it was focused on rescuing... how could I have any problems, aside from the obvious one I've yakked on for a goodly amount of time?

And now... it took a long time, it took desperation to send me searching - and embracing reiki, a pathway that teaches one the importance of self-healing along with reaching out to others. And so that long neglected soul - my own - is getting attention it never got before. It has changed my outlook on so many things.

So my goals now are more modest. My statements are less an expression of outrage, and more an expression of building bridges. I like what BlogHer does here, what is offered here - the power of congregation and pooled effort. That... along with the little things we do each day could change a world.

nelle

World's on Fire: Bucket Brigade

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:44:48 -0500

The world is on fire. This is always the case. There are forever wars and rumors of war, famine and strife, brother turning against brother -- and sometimes all of them happen at once.

This week, with the floods, and the fires, and the political upheavals, my heart has been heavy. I've wanted alternately to act and to hide, to write checks and to dive under the blankets.

But the blankets are no place for revolution, and if you don't at least carry the water you have been given, the flames will never dissolve.

Every spiritual path calls us to extend love into the world -- to pass the plate, to spread out the bounty. If we miss this step....well, let's not find out what happens, shall we?

Today in the aftermath of floods in the American Midwest and fires in on the western shores; in the face on unspeakable horrors in Zimbabwe; in the unending reality of war in Iraq, we can take action. Our sisters and brothers are showing us the way. We can join them, each with our small effort, our cup of water, our metal bucket. Where they lead us, we can follow--and maybe instead of flames of destruction, we create the cleansing heat of love.

Jennifer at Cooking in the 'Cuse shows us how to turn a shovelful and feed a neighborhood.
Jen Lemen works on cows and small business in Africa.
Professor Kim is starting a conversation about creative solutions.
Monkfish Abbey reminds us two ways to pray, and how to remember.
Mike Todd give us shoes on the path to peace.
Bob Carlton points us to two celebrities who inspire us towards change.

Who is helping you figure out how to be a part of the bucket brigade today? Your recommendation in the comments could be the one thing that sparks someone's passion for change!

Rachelle Mee-Chapman blogs as Magpie Girl. She'll send you helpful things and updates if you follower her on Twitter.