A Giveaway For A Great Cause: Help The People of Tanzania (Plus Get A Chance To Win A Walmart Gift Card!)

Right now, there is a major focus on the disaster in Haiti. (If you haven't commented on my Haiti post yet, please do so! For every comment, my husband and I will donate $1 to World Vision). It's so heartbreaking to see what has happened over there, and it's amazing to see the entire world rush to their rescue.

Sadly, there are many poverty-stricken places all over the world that are desperately in need of us to rush to their rescue. Even when there is no earthquake or huge disaster, there are people dying from disease, lack of water, hunger, and malnutrition. There are people without hope, love, joy, or a vision for their lives.

One of these places is Tanzania, Africa. If any of you know me very well at all, you know that one of my greatest passions is for the people of Africa. I don't know why. I've never even been there. God simply instilled a love and passion for these people in my heart a couple of years ago, and they consume my thoughts from day to day life. I know that Haiti is in need more than ever, but if you would like an opportunity to help the people of Tanzania as well, please read on. Please.

Let me tell you a story...

My husband, Kyle, went out of town last weekend to deliver a piece of artwork to a client and friend of his in South Carolina. While there, this friend told Kyle all about his recent trip to Tanzania. He basically decided that he wanted to go to the "ends of the earth" and photograph the worst of the worst - the most poverty-stricken and horrific conditions in the world. Why? To make people aware.

He ended up in Tanzania, with the Maasai people. He talked to Kyle for hours about what he saw and experienced. Driving back home the next day, Kyle called me to tell me all about it and said he couldn't stop crying. Just one thought of the stories his friend told him caused so much heartbreak that all he could do was weep.

To avoid a super-lengthy post (oops, already blew that one), I won't go into too many details, but I will give you an idea of how the people of Tanzania live. Picture this:

• A man is on his hands and knees, digging like crazy with his bare hands. He is literally dying of thirst, and is trying to dig his way to find WATER.
• A woman takes one spoon full of rice, and gives it to her children as their daily meal...then sends them out for a 15 or 16 hour work day.
• Unemployment Rate = over 75%
• When the Maasai people get to their water hole, there are dead animals lying everywhere. The animals have died from the disease-ridden water that they drank.
• The Massai people sell their mosquito nets, because they figure they'd rather take their chances with disease than go another day without food.
• A father asks the local missionaries, "Where are all of these children coming from?" In all honesty, he does not understand the relationship between sex and reproduction. There is no education on this topic.
• A woman in her 40's looks like she is in her 80's, just because of the difficult life she has lived.

I could go on and on about the terrible stories, but that gives you an idea. These people need our help. And right now, you can help! After photographing Tanzania, None Should Perish made a calendar with photos from the trip. Each calendar is being sold for $20, and ALL PROFITS go directly to Called 2 Serve to help the local missionaries provide tangible love and help to the people of Tanzania.

Kyle and I have our calendar, and it is beautiful. I love it. Each month features a wonderful photograph that captures an aspect of their culture perfectly. The pictures that are used for the calendar are pictures of love and hope. It is also a prayer calendar. Each day has a unique prayer, asking you to pray for something very specific. The missionaries were asked to jot down 365 prayers for this calendar, and they came up with the prayers in no time at all. The need is so great...

So I'm asking if you might be able to spare $20 to purchase a beautiful calendar for yourself that can remind you to pray for these people every day of 2010. None Should Perish has a goal to sell 500 calendars by the end of February, and they are not there yet. So your help would make a huge difference!

If you go to their site and order a calendar online, leave a comment on this post. I will be giving away a $25 Walmart gift card on February 28th. It will be like all my other giveaways, where I choose at random from the comments. The only difference is that in order to be entered into this giveaway, you must purchase a calendar and leave a comment telling me that you did so!

Thank you so much for your help! This is what I'd love for you to do with that extra $20 you saved on your last grocery bill, thanks to couponing...