RSSPresident's Column
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My Christmas came early this year . . . with the gift of a bowlful of eggs.
I want to tell you the story of how it happened, because it illustrates so movingly how your support for Episcopal Relief & Development is helping people the world over build a community of shared abundance . . . and how the true spirit of Christmas can exist anytime and anywhere people choose.
Last June, I was in northern Ghana, where I visited six villages that are benefiting greatly from our program partnerships in the region.
At our last stop, I heard moving testimonials about the profound impact our malaria prevention efforts were having on the community. Just as I was gathering my hat and camera to leave, the village headman asked me to wait because he had a presentation to make. So I sat back down.
He announced that the community had a gift to give to me, but they were embarrassed because it was so small and poor. He told me they wanted to give me an elephant since that was the only gift they could imagine was grand enough to match the joy that you, through Episcopal Relief & Development, have brought to their community. However, they were embarrassed to tell me that they could not afford an elephant. (I was trying to imagine how I could bring it back!)
Instead, they decided that the most valuable gift they could give to show their gratitude was to collect all of the eggs laid in the village that day and present them to me in a bowl.
The eggs represented the entire village’s wealth for that day and while it wasn’t very much, it was everything they had. They had painted the bowl in vibrant colors and included a picture of a flower growing out of a pot of soil. The flower represented the abundant life which Episcopal Relief & Development and NetsforLife® had brought to their village. The village chief asked that I bring the bowl back to the United States and show it as a sign of their love for us and our partnership.
Today, that bowl sits proudly on my desk. Every day, I have the great fortune of seeing the symbols of birth, hope and the growth of human potential that it so poignantly exemplifies.
This Christmas, I hope you’ll think of that bowl, too. I hope it will bring the same smile to your face as it does to mine, reflecting how we have helped make transformative change possible.
I hope you’ll think about the lives saved through a simple insecticide-treated net in Africa . . . the empowerment created by a micro-credit loan in Asia . . . the health and nutrition improved by our clean water and agricultural programs in Central and South America . . . and also the gift of Ducks and Geese which provide eggs, a continuous source of protein and income helping people create an abundant life all around the globe.
Wishing you and your family a joyous and blessed Christmas.
Yours faithfully,
Robert W. Radtke
President
