Here we are at the end of a 2nd challenging year, and if you read the news it is exhausting. I was raised an optimist – a “glass-half-full” girl. In my twenties when I started to travel around the world, and had several in-depth experiences in slums, it made me realize how lucky I was to be an educated American. It also was the start of a burning question – what can I do to help the people who are stuck in poverty in these slums?
There are many who simply look away when they pass by slums, but when I was 22 I was assigned to a contract job at a factory in the New Territories in Hong Kong. I had to take the train to a station that came up in the middle of a slum. During those weeks I befriended the children who lived among the shanty houses and open sewers…the little children who slept on slabs of cardboard. One week one of my little friends was missing, and someone finally told me he had died. That was a searing shock.
No, I didn’t go off and join the Peace Corps at that point, but I continued to work and travel, and instead of looking away, I looked deeply into these communities. Over the years I’ve walked into slums in South & East Asia, Africa, South & Central America and yes in the US. However the worst ones were not here, and the things I saw are burned into my heart and soul.
So the context of my optimism is this backdrop, and I am grateful that together we have been able to make such a difference for children, for mothers, for families who have suffered unimaginable losses. Truly we are so fortunate, and for myself, I feel an obligation to do something. In a year like 2021….it is a matter of perspective.
There is great beauty in the world as well. There is the natural beauty of the oceans and the wild mountains, there is the breathtaking beauty of the other living things who share the planet with us, and there is the great artistic and cultural beauty that humans have created over centuries. However the beauty of each human being we meet – the beauty in the heart of everyone we encounter – is something to celebrate every day. When the world feels overwhelming and we feel like looking away, we can start by looking at the beauty in our own hearts, and slowly expand from there.
As we come to the end of 2021, and wonder what 2022 will bring, I again feel so blessed to be part of a community that stitches together the art of fabric, the beauty of the creative heart, and the compassion for those who have nothing. With your support, we have now raised over $1.85 million for our list of charities, and we will reach $1.9M next year. This means that $2M is on the visible horizon, which was incomprehensible when we started this pledge to give 2% of all sales to charity. My gratitude to all of you cannot be put into words, but now I simply ask us to join hands and hearts and celebrate what we have accomplished together, as we face the dawn of another strange year. We are SO blessed, aren’t we? Thank you for being our friends, our customers, and our partners.
…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul
p.s. Today the 53″ trailer that Mission of Love filled up with humanitarian supplies, reached its destination in Bowling Green Kentucky. Food, clothing, mattresses and other basic needs were given to those who lost everything in the recent 2 tornadoes. eQuilter contributed to this effort, and you are a part of this. Thank you!
