“I didn’t grow up on a farm or anything,” says Ellen Thomas, video editor at the animal advocacy company The Dodo turned animal caregiver for the Goats of Anarchy sanctuary. “I guess I had to move to New York City to find out how much I loved animals.”

Born and raised in Tennessee, Ellen had been searching for her place. She’d spent four years working in video production, but wanted something more. “I wanted to put myself in a bigger pond to see if I’d sink or swim,” she says. The next thing she knew, she was on a plane headed for New York City to interview with The Dodo. “I went without any real plan,” she remembers. “I just kind of felt that everything would be okay.”

Six hours after landing Ellen was sitting in The Dodo’s offices, demoing the video production skills that would ultimately land her the gig. At The Dodo, Ellen created video content profiling animals and their human friends, sometimes showcasing rescue organizations and sanctuaries dedicated to animal welfare. “It was wonderful to be able to use my video skills to create content that had the potential to do real good,” she says. Through her work, Ellen’s love for animals continued to grow, and she was often heartened by the almost immediate impact her videos had on The Dodo’s audience. “Sometimes just a few hours after I was finished, the video was up and people were talking and doing something about it,” she remembers.

Pro Tip: If you’re moving to a new city without a plan, check out our Idealist Careers article, How to Job Hunt in a New City Before You Live There

One video Ellen worked on featured a farm animal sanctuary in Denmark. “Their animals were being threatened (some were even poisoned) by hostile neighbors, and they needed to raise money to move the sanctuary to a new property,” she says. The sanctuary owner was also struggling, giving all he had to his animals, leaving him to live in a dilapidated building with no heating. “His dedication really struck a chord with me,” Ellen remembers. “I wanted to help, so I pitched the video, and when it got the green-light, fast-tracked it.” Within a week of the video being published, the farm animal sanctuary reached their fundraising goal. “It was incredible,” Ellen says, “to be able to make that kind of difference for animals just by doing my job.”

It was through this work that Ellen began volunteering with Goats of Anarchy, a vegan sanctuary for special-needs farm animals located in Hampton, New Jersey. “[Farm animals] often get the short end of the stick,” she says, “so I think it’s important to help them lead better lives, however we can.”

As Ellen became a regular weekend volunteer, she began to notice a shift. “I realized I was looking forward to it all week,” she remembers. Then, Goats of Anarchy founder Leanne Lauricella made Ellen an offer. “I remember Leanne asking me if I’d want to move to Goats of Anarchy and work there full-time. It felt out-of-the-blue, and I honestly thought she was joking at first — but it just felt right, so I said yes anyway!”

Ellen now lives on the sanctuary, providing care for nearly 200 animals — many of whom have special needs. Her routine begins in the early morning, equipping the goats with their prosthetic limbs and letting them out of their barn to roam and graze. While the animals are out, Ellen and her fellow staff members and volunteers clean the barn, do farm chores, and provide enrichment for the animals. When their chores are finished, it’s usually time to bring the animals back in for the night. The work can be a grind, but Ellen couldn’t be happier. “I’ve never been more physically exhausted in my life,” she says, “but I wouldn’t go back to a desk job for anything.”

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on February 5, 2020.

Inspired? Read more Idealists in Action Stories.

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Discover action opportunities in your area related to animal care.

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Work with a Purpose: From Desk Job to Animal Sanctuary was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“I would like to introduce my mother, Gitta Ryle. She is a Holocaust survivor, along with her older sister. For many years now, she has been presenting her story and her journey to forgiveness and mental well-being at schools, houses of worship, juvenile centers, and other organizations.” -Janine Ryle

As a longtime follower of Idealist and a member of the Idealists of the World Facebook group, Janine Ryle felt that her mother’s story was a perfect encapsulation of the Idealist message. “She’s an idealist because she has turned her trauma into teaching,” she says. “Teaching others how to cope with their trauma and not carry it on to the next generation. I think that’s really vital in this world. That’s exactly why I posted about her and invited her to join the group.”

Gitta Ryle was born Brigitta Spindel on April 4th, 1932, in Vienna, Austria. By the time she was 5 years old, Adolf Hitler had risen to power in Germany and moved in to occupy Austria, where the Nazis began registering Jews and enlisting the men to work in labor camps. Gitta’s father managed to sneak out into Belgium by posing as a traveling salesman. In November 1938, Nazi soldiers smashed Jewish-owned storefronts, burned synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes and cemeteries, and killed nearly 100 Jews in a pogrom later called Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass. “After we had the Kristallnacht, my mother did not hear from Dad,” Gitta recalls. “So, she had to make a decision. She would not leave Vienna because her parents were still alive, and they couldn’t get a visa to come out because of health issues.”

As blue-eyed blondes, Gitta’s mother and sister could pass as non-Jews, but Gitta’s own dark features made her too obvious a target. “I was not allowed to go out of the apartment the whole time that the Germans were there,” she remembers. “From the age of six I had to hide in the closet if anybody came to the door. I was a very anxious little kid.” However, there soon came a glimmer of hope in the darkness. Gitta’s mother had heard about a French organization called the OSE (Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants), which could offer her daughters a safe way out of Austria.

On March 22, 1939, Gitta and Renee were put on a train to France. “Mom packed a little bag and took us to the train. I don’t know what she said, but I know that I was angry and I was crying and I didn’t understand why she was letting us go, and I thought she didn’t love us-and my dad too. I felt that abandonment issue as a little girl. I was not quite 7. Renee was 10.” Terrified and confused, Gitta and her sister boarded the train not knowing if they would ever see their parents again. “The Nazis took over Paris, and as soon as that happened they trucked us to the center of France,” Gitta remembers. “There, we went to Château du Masgelier. There wasn’t much food. I remember it being cold, and we got sick a lot.”

At Château du Masgelier, Gitta and Renee were suddenly reunited with their father. “I was so happy to see him I didn’t ask questions,” Gitta recalls. “Renee didn’t either, so we didn’t really know-or we forgot-what he said to us about how he had found us. But he knew about the OSE somehow.” However he’d found them, Gitta and Renee were glad to see their father and anxious to leave with him. “He took a job nearby at a retirement home, so he had a place to sleep and eat, and then on the weekends he would come and visit us. And every time I’d say, ‘Come on, take us away now.’ And he would say ‘Soon, soon.’ I don’t know what was going on, I don’t know if he was trying to get us out of there, but all of a sudden we don’t see him anymore.”

It wasn’t until much later that Gitta learned what happened. “A non-Jewish Frenchman who wanted my dad’s job at that place told the local police that he was Jewish. We heard later that he was in a local jail and then was transported to Drancy in Paris. We never saw Dad again. He died in Auschwitz, and we’ll never know how-if he was shot, or put in the gas chambers-and that’s always been something with me that will stay with me. I miss him every day.”

The Nazis continued to take over more of France, spreading through Masgelier and other towns, and thwarting any escapes the OSE tried to orchestrate for the children. “I was very angry,” Gitta says of that time. “I didn’t want to live in this kind of society where I’m running and hiding. I didn’t really understand that I was Jewish and that’s why they were trying to kill me, so it was very confusing for me.” Eventually, Nazi pursuit forced the OSE to split Gitta and Renee up with separate families in a town called Romans-sur-Isère. That is when the war reached Gitta’s doorstep, and she began to truly understand the situation she was in. “The planes were coming, and the bombs kept dropping, and they were shooting down. We were out in the fields with the goats and the sheep, and we had to rush undercover as the stuff was coming down. I was about 12, and I realized that this is what a war is.”

Despite the turmoil, Gitta and Renee survived through to the end of the war. When it was safe again the OSE brought the girls back to Paris, where they were told that they would be taken to their mother, who had escaped to England after her own parents were captured. The British had placed job ads in Austrian newspapers as a way to help Jews flee to safety, and Gitta’s mother, being a talented cook and baker, was able to secure a job in London. She remained informed about her daughters’ whereabouts through secure messages from the Red Cross of Switzerland and the OSE. Once it was safe, Gitta and Renee were put on a boat across the English Channel to join their mother.

“I forgot my German,” Gitta remembers of that reunion. “I only spoke French. Renee remembered her German, so she had to translate a little bit for me.”

After some time in London, Gitta, Renee, and their mother boarded the RMS Queen Elizabeth headed for New York City. They arrived in America on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1946, and eventually settled in Detroit, Michigan. Despite the war being over, the experience for the girls continued to be difficult. “We went to pretty much a Jewish high school, with working- and middle-class Jews, and they would be really nasty to us. The kids bullied us and they made fun of us. I remember going home to my mom, and [saying], ‘I’m done. I don’t want to live in this society. The non-Jews want to kill us, and the Jews don’t like us.’” The hardship caused both Gitta and Renee to find their own ways of coping. “I existed,” Gitta says of her time there. “I didn’t live.”

In July of 1951, Gitta moved out to California with her mother, where she eventually met and married her husband, Bob. In California, and with her husband, Gitta finally began to find some peace in her life, raising her children and attempting to put the past behind her.

“I think we always heard about it growing up,” Janine says of her mother’s story. “I think that we asked her, because we were going to temple, to religious school as kids, as part of our education, and they would talk of course about the Holocaust, and Mom would say, ‘Well, we went through that.’ I was about 12 or so when we [started] asking questions, and she started opening up, and we would get little bits and pieces about it.”

Through years of therapy and reflection, Gitta now feels she has a perspective on her story that she can offer to others. “I always tell in the story that there’s the yin and yang of life,” she says of her presentations at schools and other organizations. “Every place you go, there’s good people and bad people, and so I try and teach the students that they need to know that so that they can understand life a little differently.” Through telling her story, Gitta has found a way to turn herself and her point of view around. “Now I’m living, not existing,” she says. “There was a complete change in my personality, my allowing to let go of the negativity. I tell the kids, my way of forgiving but never forgetting is that I forgive myself for holding on to guilt, the anger, and I give it back to the perpetrators. The perpetrators-the bullies in school, or whatever-they own what they’re doing. So I feel free, now that I don’t have to hold on to that.”

For Janine, this is what makes her mother an idealist. “Just hearing what she did, and then also when she started talking about it in the schools, I realized she’s doing this talk and she’s actually changing lives. She’s spoken at juvenile centers, she’s spoken to adults, she’s spoken at Elks Lodges, she’s spoken at the Defense Language Institute with all the military brass.”

Gitta’s influence has made an even deeper impact on Janine, inspiring her to be an idealist herself and to take action to make the world a better place. “Her whole experience gave me particular empathy towards refugees and people who are struggling, and also the people who are trying to come into this country and trying to learn English. I went back to get a master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), so that’s what I do now. My goal is eventually to start working with refugees in some capacity. It also just made me aware of a lot of social justice issues, the importance of people being able to live quality lives. Everybody has the potential as long as they’re given that opportunity.”

These days, Gitta devotes her time to sharing her story and helping others, however she can. “The people that I see that stay in their past and have all of the angst, I try and help if they allow me to help them,” she says. “I teach the kids about forgiving yourself, but never forgetting, and I also tell them that the reason I do this is because I’m alive. I lived through World War II and the Holocaust as a child, and they’re my ambassadors and my messengers. That’s really my purpose now.”

The main thing, for Gitta, is gratitude. “I’m so full of joy now,” she says, “and delighted that I’m alive. Whatever time I have left in this world, I’m enjoying every day. I do my gratitudes in the morning, I greet my husband and my parents, because I have pictures in my bedroom of them, and I just [give thanks] that they gave me life.”

“Life brings us unusual things,” she adds, “and we just have to embrace what’s good and let go of the bad.”

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on January 27, 2020.

Gitta Ryle, Holocaust Survivor, Turns Trauma into Teaching was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Long before launching an initiative to plant 4,000 moringa trees in Malawi, Susanne Friedrich’s life was very different. On paper, she should have been content. She had a stable job as an industrial engineer and project manager for aircraft development in her home country of Germany, but something just wasn’t right. “I worked a lot because I was not happy,” she remembers. “I worked for 3 projects: one in the north of Germany, two in the south, so I traveled a lot.” The grind was meant to keep Susanne busy, to help her avoid that feeling bubbling up inside of her. But it persisted, and the moment she stopped to take a breather, it became impossible to ignore. “I went to a festival with friends, and when I had to get back to work, I couldn’t.” In that moment, Susanne had hit a wall and realized she couldn’t carry on as she was. “I was like, ‘Woah, what’s going on?’ It wasn’t a physical thing. It was that, mentally, I was blocked. And that’s when my life changed. I turned it upside down.”

“I quit my job and I spent half a year just looking at the world around me, trying to see the bigger picture.” Susanne recalls. “I spent quite a while to actually find a place to volunteer with. It was challenging, because all these ‘voluntourism’ opportunities come up, where you pay thousands of dollars for just one or two weeks of volunteering, [and] where the money doesn’t actually end up with the project.” Susanne eventually joined with Greenpop, an organization dedicated to planting trees and promoting sustainable urban greening and forest restoration. “It was a really great time,” Susanne says. “Very motivational and inspiring. And I really admired the founders of that organization. I was like, ‘Wow, how did they come up with that idea, and how did they come that far?’”

“I quit my job and I spent half a year just looking at the world around me, trying to see the bigger picture.”

Susanne later spent three months volunteering in Malawi, where the first flickers of her future endeavors began to show. “I really lived in the community, a rural town,” Susanne remembers. “The government had a project where they got funding from the U.N. to involve the youth in tree planting, but they just came and just planted some trees. They did not tell [the people in the village] how to actually propagate their own seedlings.” Susanne knew there was a better way, but she still couldn’t quite see it. She returned to Germany to save up money and began looking for partnerships. Then, she got a phone call from Alex Ndipo.

Alex, a Malawian native and community activist, had met Susanne during her time volunteering in Malawi. “He is very into growing the community, improving the community, and sparking change,” Susanne says. “Alex called me and said, ‘Weren’t you telling me something about tree planting in the past?’ [He told] me about this village head man’s interest in tree planting, and so I told him about my idea and my approach.”

Together, Susanne and Alex began formulating a plan for how to improve the lives of Malawans using sustainable methods, beginning with tree planting. The result was Green Spark, an initiative designed with sustainability in mind, combining green trends from industrialized countries with African wisdom and tradition to create environmentally healthy and economically productive lives for all people. “I want to start small initiatives and projects to showcase what is possible and sustainable,” Susanne says, “green ways of doing things, really by living in a community.”

Susanne knew that one major avenue toward her goal with Green Spark is through planting trees. “The African continent is swamped with genetically modified seeds,” she explains, “and so-called ‘development help,’ where they say, ‘Oh, here, we’ll give you seeds for free,’ when there’s a big famine or disaster happening. Then it turns out that you can’t use the seeds that come out of those plants to grow new plants next year. You have to save money to buy new seeds [by selling] some of your harvest, which comes from a garden designed to feed only your own family.” Among other long-term goals, Susanne wants to use Green Spark to counteract this trend and give more control back to these farmers. “I have a lot of ideas for projects,” she says, “but for now we want to focus on strengthening the community through promoting moringa.”

Moringa, or Moringa Oleifera, are Himalayan tree crops that can thrive in a wide variety of soils and weather conditions, making them very easy to cultivate. Nearly every part of the moringa can be eaten, and its leaves, seeds, and pods also have myriad medicinal applications, making the moringa an extremely valuable commodity in developing areas. By helping Malawans plant and grow moringa, Susanne hopes to reintroduce agricultural autonomy to these rural communities. “What many projects do is they just set up a farm and then grow the moringa and sell it to the community,” she says. “That’s not what I want to do. We will really involve a lot of people, because I think they have to see it themselves, grow it themselves, and profit themselves. That’s empowerment, and that’s what we’re going to do: to plant moringa with the families, at the families’ houses, to teach them how to use the moringa.”

Though Green Spark is still in its nascent stages, Susanne and Alex are aiming to start very big, and very strong. “Our pilot will be with one community, consisting of 15 villages and roughly 1,700 families,” she explains of her upcoming mass-planting project, set to take place in December 2019. “We said, ‘Ok, let’s equip them with at least two trees each,’ but some have already asked, ‘Oh, what if we want to plant more?’ because they have heard already from other sources about the benefits of moringa.” Green Spark plans to guide villagers through every step of the cultivation process, and has been organizing for months to make sure it all goes off without a hitch. “We will set up nurseries in each village, and from each village we have four ambassadors that are volunteering. We will train them on how to set up the nursery, how to grow the seeds, how to harvest the moringa, how to process them, so that we then hopefully will have at least 4,000 seedlings ready for planting in December.”

It’s an ambitious project, and Susanne has had to return to her job as an industrial engineer in Germany in order to fund it. However, the stress that had once paralyzed her is gone. For Susanne, the difference is that her work has a larger purpose, and through Green Spark, she can see the bigger picture.And now that she has committed, she is going all the way. “I try to not just do something by half,” she says. “I’m a 100% person, which is sometimes quite challenging for myself and for the people I work with, but I try to do my best and inspire others. That’s why I called it Green Spark: really to spark ideas and, hopefully, initiate change.”

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on November 6, 2019.

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Learn more about Green Spark, like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.

A Green Spark: Promoting Sustainability in Malawi By Planting Moringa Trees was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Aisha Boukhriss (in Boujdor), Teresa Mora (in the USA)

Boujdour, Morocco

Member of the Idealists of the World Facebook group since February 2019

“In the USA my name is a Christian name. When I came to Boujdour my husband gave me a Muslim name so I could be absorbed into the Saharawi culture. My husband is a member of the original Saharan people.”

What does it mean to be an idealist?

It means promoting the ideal of peace and equality for all mankind. To work together to make the world a better place.

What is one simple thing anyone can do to have an impact in the world?

Smile. When you smile at someone, they pass it on to someone else, who passes it on to others. A smile is contagious in a very good way.

What do you think we could accomplish together if more people in the world realized they were idealists?

The obvious answer to that is to bring about the end of prejudice in the world. That’s what causes so many of the conflicts that we have today. This group of people doesn’t like that group of people, that group of people doesn’t like this group of people, and it perpetuates. There’s so much genocide going on, wars being fought it the name of God, too much greed and coveting over what others have.

What’s one thing you’ve done—big or small—that you are most proud of?

Giving up my life in the USA to travel to the African Continent to become a missionary in Boujdour, Morocco. It has brought me more gratification than anything in my life ever has. When I was in Catholic School at the age of 7, I told my teachers that I am going to Africa to be a missionary. The nuns said, “You’ll never make it,” and yet 55 years later, here I am, in Africa, a missionary. My dream came true.

Of course, being a nurse all my life was very gratifying. I couldn’t have made a better career choice than that. It was divine that I chose to be a nurse.

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on October 30, 2019.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

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5 Questions for Idealists: Aisha Boukhriss was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In June of 2019, a fire broke out in a depressed residential area of Quezon City in the Philippines, ravaging the homes of nearly 100 families. Two weeks later, on Idealist Day 7/7, the Idealists of the Philippines, led by Mario M. Aloba, visited the site to provide supplies, financial assistance, and moral support to the victims. Though their situation had significantly worsened as a result of the fire, life for these families has always been difficult. “It’s a depressed area-and when I say ‘depressed’ it’s really depressed,” Mario says. “Very poor people living in shanties, squatting on the land that they do not own. Narrow streets, dirty alleys, so many extended families-grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren-all living in one small room. I cannot imagine how life would be to live in that place.”

Though the government had promised aid and, eventually, to allow these displaced families to legally live on the land they had been occupying, these benefits would not be a reality for a very long time. Mario and his fellow idealists, however, were up to the task of helping, in whatever minor way they could. “In two days, I mobilized the group to visit the victims,” he says, “and we brought along some food and some cash that each one of us donated for the purpose.” It’s only a temporary solution, and Mario knows that, but he still feels the effort is worth making. “I can see the urgency of the need,” he says. “What they really need is shelter to live with their extended family. 100 families. They grew up in that place for so many years. So, a few relief goods will help for the time being, but not for long.”

“Small acts in a given place, when you put them together worldwide, it makes a lot of difference. You’re not alone. The impact is stronger when we’re doing it simultaneously.”

Mario joined the Idealists of the Philippines in August 2018, eventually being elected President of the group the following January. “I’m proud to be the leader,” he says, “because when you say ‘Idealist,’ it’s not a local organization but an international one. I’m proud of that, and it makes me motivated to do more.” A retired banking professional, Mario has now devoted his time to charitable activity. “When I retired from the bank,” he says, “I started to think, ‘What are the things I’m going to do in my retirement?’ So I thought of rekindling my interest in charity works, and I found that in Idealists of the Philippines.” Through Idealist Days, Mario also found a real method for connecting with others and impacting his community in a more powerful way. “Small acts in a given place,” he says, “when you put them together worldwide, it makes a lot of difference. You’re not alone. The impact is stronger when we’re doing it simultaneously, and that’s the good thing about idealism. It will inspire all of us to contribute, in our own small way, to the people around us.”

The Idealists of the Philippines again put this into action in January of 2019, when they visited the San Lorenzo Ruiz Home for the Elderlyin Pasay City, Manila, to donate food and provide company and moral support to the often lonely elders there. “It was a nice experience,” Mario remembers. “You just see many people who are hungry for people like us to pay a visit to them. You can see their spirits are high to see people taking care of them, people close to them who are ready to listen to them.” For Mario, this human connection is what it’s all about. “Somehow I feel that I can contribute to these people who are in need by way of talking to them, listening to their problems. You can feel the happiness in their eyes.”

Mario also made it a point to foster these human connections within the Idealists group. On Idealist Day 5/5, members of the Idealists of the Philippines convened in Manila to share a meal and foster a deeper bond with one another. The members chat regularly through messenger apps, discussing their plans and future meetings, but due to the physical distance between them, these personal meetings are few and far between. “[It was] a perfect time for us to get to know each other,” Mario says, “because we are divided by distance. We came from different places. So we [did that] by meeting in one place and meeting each other and having those bonding moments over dinner.”

After the fire in Quezon City and the group’s first visit to the victims there, Mario knows there’s much more to be done. “I don’t know how they will protect themselves from rain-especially typhoons,” he worries. “What they need right now are construction materials to protect themselves from the heat of the sun and, of course, from the rain. They need medicine, they need clothing, hygiene kits, and financial assistance.” not all of it is within their capacity. Still, Mario knows the victims of the fire appreciate what little they were able to provide on their first visit, particularly the human connections made through their simply coming to help. He is also determined to do whatever he can. “I can see that in a few months, people will get sick, and so we are thinking of conducting a regular mission. We will form a team. We are going to return to that place with more assistance,” he promises, “and a medical mission to address possible outbreaks of disease or sickness in the area.”

As the Idealists of the Philippines grows, Mario has plans for expanding and extending its reach. “Since we’re all scattered all over the Philippines,” he says, “I’m planning on honing different sectors.” The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Mindanao, where Mario and many of his fellow idealists are headquartered; Luzon, and Visayas. “I was thinking of setting up a Luzon group and a Visayas group to minimize expense in traveling to and from our office here in Metro Manila.” Mario is excited about these long term goals, and about discussing it with his fellow Idealists of the Philippines.

“Idealism is very timely,” Mario says. “It opens the eyes of those around us that, ‘Hey, we’re not living alone on this Earth. We have company. We have brothers and sisters who have their own share of problems, and I think we should share in those problems. We should look into [giving] them back their dignity, their freedom.”

“What I mean is, let’s get involved.”

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on October 23, 2019.

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Small Acts: Idealists of the Philippines Aid Fire Victims in Quezon City was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Amy Giddon

Larchmont, New York, USA

Member of the Idealists of the World Facebook group since November 2018

What does it mean to be an idealist?

I believe that being an idealist means faith in humankind’s capacity for kindness and altruism. It’s also the ability to imagine what’s possible and to not lose hope if the current state and the imagined state seem far apart.

What is one simple thing anyone can do to have an impact in the world?

One simple thing anyone can do to have an impact on the world is to leave every person, place, and thing a little better off than how you found them/it. We interact with so many people and places in our days and in our lives that this simple act will touch multitudes, and ripple out into the world.

What keeps you optimistic, hopeful, and motivated?

What keeps me optimistic, hopeful, and motivated are all the amazing humans who are optimistic, hopeful, and motivated. You don’t have to look far to see incredible acts of bravery, generosity, and kindness. We are bombarded with negative messages and images that can easily lead one to believe that they represent the state of the world and more importantly the state of our hearts. We can challenge that one-sided messaging by shining a light on the goodness and compassion all around us. This will bolster the faith of all the latent idealists!

Do you believe idealism is learned or is it inside of everyone?

I believe that idealists are inside of everyone and if we scratch beneath the (sometimes hardened and scarred) surface of every individual, we wouldn’t have to go far to find their idealist hopes and dreams. Watching children play is such a beautiful reminder of our innate desire for a beautiful world that everyone gets to share in. I think one opportunity is to expand people’s scope of idealism-from their own “in-group” to an expanded view of connectedness and abundance.

What’s one thing you’ve done — big or small — that you are most proud of?

I’m most proud of the mobile app, Daily Haloha, that I created and just launched. It embodies my idealist vision of rekindling our sense of shared humanity. I’m proud of this accomplishment because I had no idea how to do this! I was led by my vision and my values to create something uplifting and connecting into the world where everyone belongs and where our full humanity is welcomed. It’s an incredible feeling to now see Daily Haloha out in the world! I would love to see the Idealist community using the Daily Haloha app (it’s free!). The Idealist community, and their thoughts and feelings as expressed in the app would enrich the Daily Haloha community and my hope would be that the app would be uplifting and inspirational to idealists every day, everywhere.

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on October 16, 2019.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

Learn more about Idealist Days and discover volunteer opportunities in your area.

Connect with Amy and many others by joining the Idealists of the World and We Are Idealists Facebook Groups.

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5 Questions for Idealists: Amy Giddon was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The community was Memiriwa, near the town of Obuasi, in Ghana’s central region. Seated around a decorated outdoor table, surrounded by curious neighborhood children peeking in through the alleyway, were the elders and community chiefs of Memiriwa, who had gathered that May afternoon on the topic of education. Leading the discussion was a visitor, Solomon Kwabena Gyimah, an idealist, teacher, and education advocate from Eastern Ghana. “I meet chiefs because they are the opinion leaders in their society,” Solomon explains. “They have a say in matters related to the welfare and wellbeing of their community. So whenever I get an opportunity, I address to them how they should make education an integral part of their lives.” The elders listened intently and were ready to take action. “Education is a basic tenet, a basic problem. Though the government is trying to make it free, they struggle to [make it happen], so [the community chiefs] appealed to us to help them.”

The “us” who Solomon mentioned is the Rural Education Assistance Project (REAP), a non-profit organization he founded, which is dedicated to ensuring the health, education, and welfare of people living in deprived communities. The seed for REAP was planted in 2014, when Solomon was posted as a teacher to the village of Siawkrom by the Ghana Education Service. “When I was posted to this community,” Solomon recalls, “I got to know that children and people living in the rural areas are encountering problems.” After a year of observing, Solomon took action. “I started REAP, which seeks to bridge the poverty gap between rural and urban folks.” As far as Solomon is concerned, there is only one way that gap can be bridged. “We think education is the only way that you can use to transform society. Children are the generational leaders. They are going to take our seed to the next generation, so reaching out to them, helping out in their education, will propel their hopes and see them at the forefront of all leadership positions.”

To help get REAP off the ground, Solomon reached out to other organizations for assistance. “I was able to contact The Samaritan’s Place, who came to our aid, and other individuals and organizations, and it has really been helpful.” Another affiliated organization is the Global Socio-Economic and Financial Evolution Network (GSFEN), a startup based in Lagos, Nigeria, of which Solomon is now the West African President. “We have a common objective of reaching out to children in disadvantaged areas,” he says. Through REAP and its partnerships, Solomon and his team have been able to collect donations of school supplies and deliver them to disadvantaged children in rural areas. “I wanted to expand, to reach out to people who could also help,” Solomon remembers of his first few months with REAP. “So I was surfing through the net to see if there was any other way I could help to expand my scope.”

That’s when Solomon discovered Idealist, and a post from founder Ami Dar that inspired him to join the Idealists of the Worldgroup on Facebook. “The post was about the mission and vision of Idealist,” he remembers. “Linking people together, helping in our own small way, in our various communities, bringing changes. The slogan alone motivated me: Imagine, Connect, Act. So I’ve been able to imagine, by coming up with REAP, I’ve been able to connect to you, and I have been acting according to the principles and tenets of REAP and Idealist.”

“Children are the generational leaders. They are going to take our seed to the next generation, so reaching out to them, helping out in their education, will propel their hopes and see them at the forefront of all leadership positions.”

Solomon soon began coordinating his REAP events and activities with Idealist Days. On 2/2 in 2019, he distributed educational materials to schoolchildren in a nearby village. On 3/3, Solomon organized a cleanup activity with his students in Siawkrom. Similar events followed in observation of 4/4 and 5/5, including a Mother’s Day celebration where food and gifts were distributed as tokens of appreciation. “I was very glad seeing 60-year-old women, 70, having a meal,” he remembers. “It was my happiest moment.”

Also, “Most of the rural communities lack libraries, and reading is the only way we can use to change the world, together with education,” he says. “So I wrote to The Bookfeeding Project…and I was given six boxes of books to begin a community library in one of the rural districts.” On 6/6, the books were delivered. “It was all joy when the school received the books,” Solomon shared in a post in the Idealists of the World Facebook group, “because they have longed for books for a decade.”

While his events have been successes, Solomon is well-aware of how much is still needed. “The needs are very demanding,” he says. “Children here in Ghana are very vulnerable. Most of their parents live below the poverty line, and they struggle.” But Solomon remains hopeful, and even these small victories mean everything. “It makes me feel happy because doing unto others, giving back to society is all that I have been dreaming of in my own small, little way. If I see people happy, I’m also happy.”

As for his plans moving forward, Solomon will continue to address community elders, donate school supplies, and move as many projects forward as he can in his mission to transform society through education. “I have a lot in mind,” he says. “Day in and day out, the welfare, the well-being of society is on my mind, thinking about how people can excel. That is always what I’m dreaming of.”

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on October 9, 2019.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

Learn more about Idealist Days and discover volunteer opportunities in your area.

Join the Idealists of the World and We Are Idealists Facebook Groups.

Learn more about the Rural Education Assistance Project (REAP) and the Global Socio-Economic and Financial Evolution Network (GSFEN).

REAP the Future: The Rural Education Assistance Project, Transforming Communities in Ghana was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jillene Moore

Loveland, Colorado, USA

Member of the Idealists of the World Facebook group since February 2017

What does it mean to be an idealist?

An idealist is a visionary, seeing how the world might be improved.

An idealist is practical and knows what must be done to make things better.

An idealist is a doer, getting out there and taking action.

An idealist is a networker, helping to connect people to each other and to resources.

An idealist is a lover—of the world, of people, of all Creation.

An idealist knows herself to be both a drop in the great Ocean of Life, and the Ocean Itself.

When did you realize that you were an idealist? What moment or event sparked your desire to make the world a better place?

Perhaps my earliest memory is from age 7. My father’s job at the time was putting vinyl coatings onto wood floors in dairy barns, making them more sanitary. One day he brought home two calves, one for me and one for my younger sister. We fed them with bottles, then buckets of grain. When I learned that all this care was going into my beloved calf so that it could be slaughtered, I never ate meat again. I am now fully vegan—because I love animals, because I want good health, because I care about our planet, and because I want less violence in the world.

What keeps you optimistic, hopeful, and motivated?

The strength of my own will, as well as time in nature, keep me optimistic, hopeful, and motivated. I am disabled with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, a pretty awful disease. I have no family anywhere, just my dog. Right now I’m packing up everything I own, because I have to move for the second time in two months. Still, I do little happy dances throughout the day. Even when I am in pain or can barely move, I smile to myself — allowing happiness to spread across my face, causing my eyes to sparkle — just to feel how my entire physiology is improved by that action. Today I found a waterfall and just sat by it. Right now I’m holding my 75-lb. dog, speaking to him in soothing tones because it’s thundering outside and it frightens him. When others get discouraged, I remind them of how much power they have over making the world better. Surrendering to how things are is sometimes necessary, but giving up is never an option.

Do you believe idealism is learned or is it inside of everyone?

I think idealism is innate. Children are so fresh from the Creator, and they themselves know how to create beauty, peace, kindness. Sadly we are too likely to be taught hatred and destruction, but even these things can be unlearned when we remember who we really are: Sparks of the Oneness.

What’s one thing you’ve done — big or small — that you are most proud of?

I’ve remained alive. I encountered so much neglect and abuse as a child that I’ve had suicidal thoughts since age 11, but have never attempted. Even without the support of family, however, I’ve sought out people who were more like me, found my own little pockets of “family” or “tribe,” excelled at many things, and grown into an ever-deepening strength. I’ve accomplished many things in my work life, and I once completed 2/3 of the coursework for a Ph.D. in two years while working full-time. But none of my other accomplishments mean nearly as much as my ongoing, steadfast refusal to give up on myself. Perhaps this translates into not giving up on others, too. That’s another thing that makes me happy and proud!

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

Learn more about Idealist Days and discover volunteer opportunities in your area.

Connect with Jillene and many others by joining the Idealists of the World and We Are Idealists Facebook Groups.

5 Questions for Idealists: Jillene Moore was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“To me, being an idealist means being able to connect. You connect, and you’re able to act,” says Silver Owori, an idealist in Uganda, whose Idealist Day 5/5 Marathon for Safe Motherhood brought together 1,000 runners to raise money to prevent maternal mortality. “You look at a problem in a given society, assess it, get together as a team, and then maybe you are able to find a lasting solution to that problem.” That spirit has been the motivating engine for Silver, pushing him to organize a variety of efforts to tackle social issues in his community and beyond. From starting a group to help young Ugandans secure economic stability to distributing Christmas gifts, clothes, and toiletries at a women’s prison in his hometown of Tororo, Silver’s goal is to do whatever he can to bring his community up and out of the difficult situations they often find themselves in. The list of problems may be very long, but Silver knows full well that effecting change is a marathon of its own.

Silver joined the Idealists of the World Facebook group in June of 2018, and since then has been coordinating his efforts with Idealist Days and with a group of fellow idealists in Uganda. This Uganda group was particularly active around 12/12, 2018, collectively planning a series of events, including a visit to the women’s prison in Tororo, donating exercise books and toys to the Zion Children’s Foundation, holding a book drive in Kampala, giving out Christmas gifts to those with disabilities in Wakiso, and Silver’s own project, organizing inter-zonal youth football tournaments in the Tororo district.

“I decided that each of the zones raises a football team, and the 14 zones compete for a prize,” Silver remembers. The country of Uganda is divided into districts, which are subdivided into parishes, which are then further divided into zones. Silver used these preset divisions as a way to organize a tournament for youths across Tororo. “Each zone contributes a small amount: 10,000 Uganda shillings (about $3). That money is sometimes used to support things like getting them first aid and refreshments, and also the balls.” More than just providing good fun between young people in his community, Silver hopes the organization of these tournaments, along with the dedication and connections they bring about for the youth in Tororo, will have lasting and meaningful effects. “I use them because it helps me to keep the youth out of this thinking of drugs, early marriages, and all that,” Silver says. “It helps a lot. That time they would have used to fight in bars, they now use it on the football pitch. That’s the advantage I’m looking at with that kind of stuff.”

“I love the spirit of Ugandans. They always come out to support genuine causes.”

Another way Silver plans his community outreach is through meetings at the Teso Convention, a gathering in Uganda’s Teso district for members of the Iteso tribe, to which Silver belongs. “It’s a meeting, but we use it much more for planning,” Silver says. “We identify the problems that are in the region, then we look at the possible solutions, and then how to get the necessary funding to enable those kinds of things to succeed.” It was during these planning meetings that the topic of maternal mortality rates in Uganda was raised. “There has been a challenge whereby women find that hospitals are not fully equipped,” Silver says. “Women sometimes die while giving birth because they can’t afford this and the other, or maybe because this and the other is not in the hospital.” The meeting then shifted to ways the group can help, beginning with the Teso region. “If we identify that there’s a problem like the high mortality rate among women,” Silver says, “we brainstorm on the solutions, and then we come up with ways to raise the necessary funds. We can use drives, we can use festivals…we can use marathons.”

The idea quickly began to pick up steam, with Silver facilitating the necessary connections with local organizations to make the marathon happen. The protocol for Silver and his team at this point is standard. “We start lobbying for the necessary support,” he says. “We reach out to telecom companies and see if they can help us do the publicity, and then we reach out to the media houses. We reach out to our honorable Members of Parliament. We reach out to the government. We go to NGO’s, we go to CBO’s, we approach almost each and every one, and say ‘This is a genuine cause, but our hands our short.’ So if they buy the idea they come in and support us.” Silver and his team managed to secure a local factory to provide water for runners, as well as a local radio station to run the whole event and promote it on the air. “At the end of it all, we had a committee that was able to handle the marathon and run everything on that day.” All that was left was to appeal to the people and get them motivated enough to participate.

This, however, Silver was not worried about. “I love the spirit of Ugandans,” he says. “They always come out to support genuine causes. It is a marathon to do something about what they know is a big problem and really affecting the country, and they are always coming.” Silver was right. The Marathon for Safe Motherhood brought in 1,000 participants, securing nearly all of the funding Silver and his team were aiming for. “It was a success, I must say. We didn’t achieve all that we needed, but we scored around 80%.” The money raised goes toward a budget to provide things such as beds and medical supplies for hospitals in the Teso region, ensuring that they are well-equipped to handle the needs of women during childbirth and minimize the risk of maternal mortality. This, however, is just the start. Though the turnout was huge, the money raised by the marathon was enough to service only four of the Teso region’s eleven districts. “The seven that are left is now what we are focusing on,” says Silver. “We are still calling for more support because we have to roll it out to the entire region, then maybe with time we can start rolling it out to the entire country.”

Like a marathoner, Silver has trouble standing still, especially when there is so much to do for the betterment of his community. He is always on the lookout for ways he can be helpful, and always has ideas for issues to tackle. For years he had been concerned about the living conditions of the growing number of Sudanese refugees fleeing their civil war for Uganda. Silver organized a few donations to send out but hasn’t been able to physically get to Bidibidi—one of the largest refugee settlements on Earth, holding more than 270,000 South Sudanese asylum seekers. “I plan to go there,” Silver says. “I need to see how to maybe raise a charity, kind of a fundraiser, and see how to reach out to these refugees because there is a scarcity of food in the camps, which is really sad. So I’m trying to see if I can reach out to a few individuals who can support the cause.”

In February of 2019, Silver moved to South Sudan to try and help the situation by bringing together idealists from within. “When I came here, my major task was to try to establish the Idealists of South Sudan,” he says. “It’s a gradual process. We’re just trying to win idealists, but the number is still growing.” Given the dangerous political conditions, it can be difficult to communicate with Sudanese locals, who are often in fear for their lives. “It’s not like Uganda,” Silver says, “where you can talk to people freely. Here, people may mistake information for other things.” However, Silver is undaunted. “I’m winning,” he says. “So far we have around 25 members.” Like so many issues Silver is tackling, this one promises to be a long haul—but he is getting quite used to marathons by now.

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on September 25, 2019.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

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A Marathon for Safe Motherhood: Preventing Maternal Mortality in Uganda, One Step at a Time was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Nancy Molledo

Hollywood, Florida, USA

Member of the Idealists of the World Facebook group since June 2018

When did you realize that you were an idealist? What moment or event sparked your desire to make the world a better place?

I never thought about whether or not I was an idealist until a former colleague invited me to join Idealists of the World.

As far back as I can remember I wanted the world to be a better place. Born in 1938, my earliest memories were of The War. Fortunately for me, I was in New Jersey. We had blackouts and air raid wardens. Searchlights swept the sky. My uncle and cousins went off to war. In school, we collected newspapers and tin cans.

All the people I knew were united in the war effort. How different from the divisions that exist today! In union there is strength (Idealists!).

But I was spared from living the horrors I saw in the newsreels at the movies. I was afraid for, and worried about, the people who were in those places.

Things got better as I got older, but I had new concerns. The Cold War, atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, radiation. The Earth and its people were threatened by poisons and pollution. Some species were in danger of extinction. But there were hopeful events, too. Catalytic converters, the use of tobacco went way down, polio was conquered, recycling became popular. We became aware of how Nature was being abused, and how we need to protect the Earth and its inhabitants.

What is one simple thing anyone can do to have an impact in the world?

BE KIND TO EVERYONE.

Promote and foster empathy in yourself and others, instill it in your children and any children you can influence. “Walk a mile in the other guy’s shoes.” Learn about other cultures through social studies, anthropology, and travel. See what life looks like from different perspectives. Kindness comes from being able to relate to all people.

Have patience. People will irritate you, stress you, mistreat you, make you angry. Cut them some slack. They may be having a horrible day. Responding with kindness could hit their Reset button and turn things around.

What keeps you optimistic, hopeful, and motivated?

It’s the way I was raised. My parents and big brother were cheerful and optimistic. Our home was a place of laughter and singing. We were taught to see the bright side.

Do you believe idealism is learned or is it inside of everyone?

I spent a lot of time pondering this question. I would like to be able to say every baby arrives as a blank slate, but there are certain traits that are inherited with the DNA. Some traits are more positive than others. That said, I don’t accept that anyone is born inherently evil! Just that some people will come to idealism more easily than others, by nature.

So my answer would be idealism is learned. I believe it can be learned by anyone who is fortunate enough to have good mentors early in life; be they parents, teachers, friends, or others they admire enough to emulate.

There is the problem of inherited negative traits being reinforced by the family members from whom they were inherited. An example of such negative reinforcement: I have a great grandchild in preschool who is being bullied by a boy in her class. Her mother spoke to the teacher and the boy’s mother. The mother’s answer was “He does that because his big brother does it to him.”

We idealists should see this as a challenge! We may counteract negative traits in children by positive intervention. We can try to be the good mentor and have a positive effect on the path of that child’s life. If we succeed that child will have a happier life, and so will countless others that boy will deal with in the course of his life.

What’s one thing you’ve done — big or small — that you are most proud of?

The big thing is the good people our children grew up to be, but that was not something I did alone, so I will go with the small thing:

In 8th grade, at the junior high completion ceremony, I was awarded the DAR Good Citizenship Medal. I was stunned when they called my name! I had no idea (and I never found out) what I had done to come to the attention of the nominating committee. In fact, I wasn’t even aware there was such a medal. But I was profoundly honored to walk to the stage and accept it.

I still wonder why they chose me. What did I do to be selected? Anyway, I think not knowing was a good thing. To this day I strive to be a good citizen of the world, however I can. I don’t know what I did that brought me the honor I am so proud of (“grateful” is a word that applies as well) for the influence it had on my life. It is a good thing to give a child a self image he or she can be proud of and live up to.

Originally published at https://www.idealist.org on September 18, 2019.

Inspired? Read more Idealists of the World Stories.

Learn more about Idealist Days and discover volunteer opportunities in your area.

Connect with Nancy and many others by joining the Idealists of the World and We Are Idealists Facebook Groups.

5 Questions for Idealists: Nancy Molledo was originally published in Idealists in Action on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.