It’s hard to fathom all that has happened since I first set foot in Ethiopia in September 2004. That trip changed my life. That much I know. It’s changed a lot of lives. I know that too. (Feel free to read about it if you’d like…www.youthnoise.com/save) In two days, I will be going back, not alone, but with eight young leaders and a few wonderful adults, all of whom have drunk a little bit of the YouthInkwell kool-aid so to speak. I mean really. I know I’m a little crazy. Who else would break up with her boyfriend the night before Valentine’s Day and say, “I’m going to pour every last dime I have into starting a company for young writers to change the world” — all in an hour’s time?! 1399 days later… I have come to see just how contagious craziness can be — and I mean that in the very best of ways. So here we have it — a small band of folk (one only 12-years-old) who have agreed to get all sorts of shots just to miss the holiday season, spend thirty hours traveling, and tramp with me through a virtually unmapped area of a country more than half a globe away — all with the notion of tackling a water crisis of global proportions. Let’s face it though. This world we live in is a mess, and I think a little bit of crazy is just what it needs to get back on track. So, this blog will chronicle the travels of a group of crazy people. And as a writer, I suspect that that alone will make it great reading.
I think it’s fair to say that every one of us has different expectations, hopes, and fears. Some of these kids are leaving their families behind, all are leaving their creature comforts. None have traveled where we are about to go. Herein you will find the details of our trip. I am hopeful that this will be an experience that you can all share in — in one way or another. The world has a lot to teach us all. Perhaps through the eyes of some fabulous kids, we can learn even more.
For now… I’m off to pack. Wish us well.
