Proud of my Eldest

As you would ALL know by now, Maddi is doing Relay for Life this year. In the matter of a week she has raised $225. I am so proud of her. She wants to make a difference, and even at the young age of 11, is setting out to do just that, one step at a time. She has so much she wants to accomplish, so many people she wants to help. She sees scouts, not only as an adventure and fun, but also a way to help those people.

At school she is a part of the Kindy peer support program, making sure that all the new starters at school are settled and have someone to turn to if they have problems in the playground, and even helps out with reading time. She is a part of the Youth Environmental Council at school, which runs initiatives like water conservation, veggie garden, litter free lunches everyday, and even a worm farm for food scraps! This is her second year doing this, and she takes her role very seriously!

For her research assignment this term, Maddi had to choose an overseas charity and present to the school council a fundraising idea. In researching some of the overseas charities she became aware of the plight of other children her own age who don't have enough to eat, don't have clean water or access to education. She could relate that to her experiences with local children when we went to Fiji, where she chatted (in somewhat broken English) to another young girl the same age as her about the differences in their lives. Their disadvantage has touched her heart, and I am sure in years to come she will be promoting all sorts of causes, trying to help people less fortunate than herself! 

She wrote a poem yesterday, written from the point of view of a young girl in Africa. It shows, I think, just how much she feels for these kids. Here it is:


One African Girl


I am a girl who travels so far
Just to get a clean drink of water
Rain hail or shine
My life is still on the line


I live in Africa where my family dies
I hate having to say so many goodbyes
Knowing tomorrow I could just die
I lay down on the ground and start to cry


With no education I don't know much
All I know is tomorrow there will be no lunch


Now this is what an African child would say
So please donate to World Vision today.


I am proud of her.