World Water Day

Today is World Water Day. According to charity:water, right now, 785 million people live without access to clean and safe water. It’s a reality that steals time, health, and opportunity from 1 in 10 people worldwide.

There are three things that I personally hold as non negotiable for humans - water, shelter and freedom. It is why I love SOL Collaborative. Our mission is to help people help themselves find freedom. And days like World Water Day are important times to remind us of the challenges too many people have meeting basic needs like something we take so for granted, water.

photo credit: charitywater.org

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On 22 March, 2021, World Water Day will be celebrated in an online event. The World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the global water crisis, and a core focus of the observance is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water. The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 is to ensure water and sanitation for all. Without a comprehensive understanding of water’s true, multidimensional value, we will be unable to safeguard this critical resource for the benefit of everyone.

What does water mean to you? When was the last time you considered the amount of water you used, or possibly mis-used? Let’s take some time today and lean into our own usage, our own thoughts and practices around water and how it impacts us all. Perhaps spend some time with your kids discussing with them ways we can all be better stewards of this precious resource as well as seeing how we can help get more engaged in helping others gain access to it in reasonable and meaningful ways.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day and this year the focus is on women in leadership.

This is a topic that I’ve become passionate about. Being self employeed myself and working with multiple women growing in their personal development and effort to become leaders in their own fields of expertise has been amazing to watch and be a part of. I am fortunate enough to work in a field where women are honored.

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What I have witnessed is that women are underrated in their brilliance when it comes to the typical workforce and leadership positions. Historically women are under utilized and under paid for similar education and ability, and although there is a shift happening, I wonder if it may be time to step up more in both our recognition and opportunity for women’s equality and allow for the talents of more women to come forth to bless the world. With so much contention throughout it, we know what’s been done hasn’t been working. According to the United Nations, “involving women in peace processes is likely to make peace agreements last much longer.” It’s time for our voices to be heard and for our influence to be felt. So let’s bring in the input of these brilliant women and work together bringing the best we all have to the table to bless this beautiful planet we call home.

International Social Justice Day

For International Social Justice day this year the UN is focusing on the disparities of access to the work force which have increased as a result of the pandemic. 

It is more important than ever to focus developmental support on creating more access to the internet and opportunities for training in developing areas of the world. 

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This pandemic has been very challenging for me as a mom of 4 kids, monitoring their online education, supporting their mental health and keeping them in shoes that fit, all while holding down a full time job and trying to maintain my own mental health. Life is challenging for everyone at the moment however I am privileged to have had the opportunity and access to an education along with a secure internet connection to make all this possible. 

Next month we will be launching a fundraiser to support a computer vocational training center in Burundi where the most vulnerable women will have the opportunity to learn computer skills and work into their own career. 

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The gap of the haves and the have nots seems very daunting and insurmountable. It isn’t. There are so many ways we can help close the gap and level the playing field. 

On this day of Social Justice let’s take a moment to focus on the things we can do. Investing in infrastructure that provides access to the internet. Creating opportunities for education and training while supporting the mothers of the world as we all work together to raise a kinder, smarter next generation. 

International Day of Women and Girls In Science

At Sol Collaborative one of our stated missions is empowering women. As the father of 6 daughters this is an area that is also equally important to me personally. Women and Girls are vastly underrepresented in the sciences, With today being the International Day of Women and Girls in Science our intention was to highlight some leaders in various fields of scientific study. However, an internet search for ‘women leaders in science’ brings up more dead scientists than living. And the living ones referenced in many cases are decades old discoveries. This simply isn’t acceptable and it isn’t an accurate representation of the impact women are having in these fields today.

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As stated by the United Nations, with Sustainable Development Goal 9, part of the Global Goals that world leaders agreed to in 2015 with a deadline of 2030, countries around the world have pledged to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.”

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let's change this narrative. Join us in celebrating women and girls, who are leading innovation and call for actions to remove all barriers that hold them back. 

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We need to do better. And the reality is that we can. I want to invite you to empower your daughters and sisters and wives and friends to chase after their dreams. To encourage them to do whatever they want, including careers and avenues of study within the fields of science, regardless of upper limits, the least of which should be gender. I believe that when we know better, we do better, as Maya Angelou said. That puts the responsibility on us to learn how. Resources like the UN website, or financially supporting organizations like SOL Collaborative are first steps. You get to decide what the next step for you will be.

Human Rights

Have you read the book, or seen the movie Hotel Rwanda? Today is International Human Rights Day. We can all agree that the human rights violations that occurred in Rwanda were atrocious and should never be allowed to occur again. Yet genocides continue around the world, these are large scale issues we can see when the media finds them important enough to cover.

But what about the smaller Human Rights Violations?

Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda, who saved countless lives through his selfless sacrifices during the Rwandan Genocide has been detained in Rwanda. He was kidnapped and taken by extraordinary rendition and wrongfully arrested by the Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has been known to bring false charges against political dissidents and rivals.

Paul has been known to speak out against the Human Right Violations of the Rwandan government and for that he has been detained and left to fight for his life being cut off from communication from his family.

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

Elenore Roosevelt was the leading chairperson of the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

What can we do to help Paul, the man who saved so many?

Call the White House switchboard 202-456-1414 and ask President Trump to step in to save Rusesabagina.

Call your Senators, Members of Parliament, and ask them to put international diplomatic pressure on Rusesabagina’s release.

Share this post and other posts using #freerusesabagina to publicly call on President Kagame to release Rusesabagina.

“International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. “ – https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day

Let’s work together to create a world of tolerance and love, where each human can live their life without the fear of it being unjustly upended.

SERVICE

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

— Mahatma Ghandi

December 5 - International Volunteer Day #VolunteerDay

Service is the rent you pay for your place on earth. I’m not sure who said it first, but I heard it from a friend and mentor of mine a few years back. Service has been a through line for me in my adult life. In the careers that I have had and in my personal choices. It is, I believe, what we are here for. We are created to create, and that creation is often if not always, in the service of others.

Whether it is to solve a problem through innovation or to create solutions that empower others to pay it forward, the service of others is, in fact, how we love each other. It is how we fulfill our purpose. Some of us do those things for profit - most commercial transactions are really just an exchange of money for the solution to some problem. Where service has the most power is in serving others without reward.

Or, I should say the expectation or demand for a reward. The truth is that you will always receive a reward in return for your service. But it will be an intangible reward, one that will fill your cup as much, if not more than those you serve. Regardless of how you choose to serve others I would challenge you today to look forward to 2021 and see where you can volunteer. It’s easy to write a check or click a link and put in a credit card number. And that act has value. If you want to truly understand the impact however, you need to get close. You need to give of your time.

Habitat for Humanity, Las Vegas, NV Gregory Street Houses

You see, time is an asset that once given, you can’t get back. I can grow food. I can make money. I cannot grow time, create time, or manipulate time in my favor. So once I’ve given you an hour, a day, a week. It is gone. And the impacts of those experiences within that hour, that day or that week, will be ones that will reward you most.

So let me also take a moment to say thank you to the volunteers out there today doing the work and getting their hands dirty. You know more than anyone how impactful it has been on your community and how much it has filled your cup.

FREEDOM

““Last year alone, 243 million women and girls experienced sexual or physical violence from their partner. This year, reports of increased domestic violence, cyberbullying, child marriages, sexual harassment and sexual violence have flooded in.””

— Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the U.N. Women Agency

Freedom, it’s the thing that speaks to my soul more than any other. The freedom to choose, to speak, to play, and to create.

Luckily I was born in a place that for the most part I have been afforded many of those opportunities without fear of being criticized or hurt. Where I have had an equal voice not only as a person, but as a woman. Not every woman has that opportunity. Not every woman can walk down the street without fear of being raped or beaten or even mutilated.

This is not okay and it must STOP! It is time for both men and women to take a stand against violence, to break the chains of dysfunctional dogma and fight for the freedom of every person on this planet. It’s at that point we will have the opportunity to share in the creations that those in bondage are yearning to express. It’s at this point that the healing of this planet can take place. Where hurt people stop hurting people and humanity can be one. 

#EndViolenceAgainstWomen