Conquering Poverty — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I saved the best for last.

If any of you read my bio you will remember that I likened myself to an orange. I have many slices that seem to co-exist even though they are often contradictory. Since I have never been one to turn down a platform as large as this, I want to talk for a minute about some of the charity issues that are near and dear to my heart. I know this seems strange after I spent the week dangling wonderful tidbits in front of your screen, things that you didn’t know you wanted to buy. Stay with me, I promise that it will be worth it. It might make you a little bit sad in the beginning, but I won’t leave you hanging in the end.

I want you all to think about raising children for a minute. Many of you reading this are raising children right now. All of us were raised by someone. I want you think for a minute about how much hard work goes into bringing our kids up to be healthy and happy.

Now imagine that you are doing it without food, without water, without a bathroom, without electricity, without a safe place to live. Is it any wonder that every day 30,000 children under the age of 5 die from poverty related issues? You read that right, 30,000. That statistic is according to UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children. That is 10 million children a year. So, this morning while you ate your breakfast and turned on the computer and checked your e mail, 30,000 children died.

Did your heart just hurt a little bit? Good. It should.

This is where you will start to believe me that I am a very contradictory individual. I love to shop. I love to see the wonderful things that Design Mom shows us every day. I love to save my pennies to buy new things. It makes me feel happy and content. I covet things I can’t afford. I enjoy the good life and strive for it at times. Yet, I am also very, very aware that this is a luxury that few people in the world get. I am aware that I possess a unique voice; that of an educated and confident woman. This doesn’t seem rare in our communities, but when you look at it in the context of the world, it is a rare voice indeed. Do you know what? If you are reading this, you possess it too. I feel compelled to use my voice to speak for those other mammas who love their kids and worry about them like do, but weren’t blessed to live in a country where education and health care are freely available. I choose to use my voice and my time and my talents to spark a change and make life, not just better, but POSSIBLE for as many people as I can. I can’t save every woman and child but I will do what I can. How do you use your voice?

(How can this exist in the same person? If I feel so strongly about helping others than how can I justify the money that I spend on clothes that I don’t need or trinkets that aren’t essential for daily life? I am not sure. I am still working that one out. Let me know if you have the answer…)

The next question you must be asking me — or shouting at me through the computer screen — is “why?” Why on earth does Rebecca Bingham need to bother dealing with things outside her front door when most of the time she can barely keep up with what is going on in her own family? I will tell you why. It is because that while I worry about how to raise my daughters to be confident and smart, I don’t worry about how to keep them fed. I worry about how hard it might be for my son to grow up a black man in this society, but I don’t worry about him being abducted and becoming a child soldier in a civil war. I worry that the choices that my husband and I made for our family regarding adoption and race will be things that my children are left to reconcile and work out, but I don’t worry that my husband and I will die and leave them with no parents, no home and no protection. I worry that Lauren is having too much responsibility placed on her as the oldest, but I don’t worry that she will be left to raise her sisters and brothers as the head of a family. I get to assume that my children will live past the age of 5. I get to assume that the police are on my side and if disaster strikes, there will be ways for me to get help. I don’t spend hours every day getting water for my family. I have a toilet that flushes. Those are the deep reasons. On a more superficial level, I worry about how to teach my children to be grateful for the things we have and to be aware of the needs of others. I can’t think of a better way to do this then for them to grow up seeing me spending time and energy engaged in issues that are important to me. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. That is why I choose to take action. Why will you?



Please believe me that this is NOT a guilt trip in any form. I am not condemning consumerism in any way. I am not trying to make anyone feel bad for not being more involved. But I do know that once we know something, we can’t just “unknow” it. I also know that knowledge sparks action. I am speaking about this because being involved in the charities that I have been has given back to me some of the spark and zest for life that I found missing once I left work and became a full time mom. That is what works for me and I really am only speaking for myself here. I have started a few micro-loan projects that I am very proud of. I did it because when I was in Africa last year on other business I saw a need and wanted to do something. I wanted to provide a way for women to have sustainable income. These are projects that provide incentives to communities and families in rural communities in Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique to take in just one more child, even though they are already stretched to the max. I feel so strongly about these issues that I'm helping to start a charity to allow my projects to be more wide reaching and more successful. Please check my personal blog for the link to this charity and a better description of the projects. Our website isn’t live yet (this week…. Cross your fingers…). You can find info on it there.

We all have value and I have a feeling that we are all searching to find our balance. I guess I just want to extend a challenge to you all today to take some time to examine what you have to offer and then just do it. Offer it to someone. There are many ways to serve and make our “woman voice” heard. I believe that there is nothing more powerful than the force of women who are helping others in need. We are a powerful entity. I know that almost all of you are already doing things that make the world around you a better place. I see so many wonderful things happening in our churches and communities. I am so proud of that because it is so important. Some of you will have time to give, some will have money. There is need for both. You don’t have to go to Africa or India. There is lot’s to be done in your own community. You don’t have to have a ton of money. Many charities have programs that cost as little as 15$ a month. For an average of 30$ a month you can sponsor a child to get the medications and food and education that they need to provide for themselves if the are lucky enough to live to adulthood. But, you can also donate time or material things to a local shelter or make soup for the Ronald McDonald house. We can all do something and the choices are endless. Just take one more step on the road. If you haven’t yet found your thing, then find it. If you are already involved, try and get others excited about the things that you do. Don’t let your voice be wasted.

Thanks for letting me share my voice here. Thank you to those of you that already use your voice. Thanks again for your time. Thanks to Design Mom for letting me post here this week. It was really fun. I learned a lot this week and want to especially thank Gabby for providing this place where we can learn to make our homes and our souls a little bit more beautiful. I am off to Mexico today to visit an orphanage and to bring some donations. We are also getting 6 new kids in that I need to interview and photograph so we can get sponsors for them…… but first I need to check out the new Design Mom picks.

Here is a list of charities that I personally have investigated, donated to or volunteer with. This is just my list, but can be a great place to start. I know that there are many of you out there that are involved. What is your platform? What charity do you love? Here is your place to brag and to tell us what is important to you. I hope this can turn into a list of “places to start” and in the future will direct any inquires I get to this post and the comments so lets fill it up.



Here are places that I love:

Volunteers for Prosperity
This shows you places that you can go on a working vacation with your family. This is often referred to as a “volunTOUR”.

Reach the Children

Care for Life

Stay Alive
HIV/ AIDS Education for children ages 8-12 in sub Saharan Africa

Heifer Project International

AHOPE for Children
This is an orphanage that cares for HIV positive children in Ethiopia. They are amazing!! Many of these children are being adopted in the US and Australia. Just a few years ago, many were dying. Grab a hankie and check this site out.

Children's Home Adoption
This is the agency that we will use for our next adoption. They have a wonderful humanitarian aid program.