I Will Be a Humming Bird

Have you ever had a chance to watch this amazing animated video clip of the humming bird story as told by Wangari Maathai?

Only this morning i came across a quote by Leonardo da Vinci on his conviction that people of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things. I guess that is exactly what Wangari Maathai is saying in this clip- we must happen to things and therefore make things happen. We must do the very best that we can. And really, that is all there is to it.

Take Zachary Kimotho, 44. An ordinary guy who became extraordinary because he dared himself to happen to things.

You know i can only imagine what a strenuously difficult endeavor the whole Bring Zack Back Home campaign was or still is for him. From the onset, it must have appeared as the fire did to the animals of the forest in the humming bird story- insurmountable, unstoppable. Regardless, putting to test his sheer will, he personified the humming bird, taking flight and doing the little he could, the best he could. As i write this, Zack is back home having raised a whooping 73million in the first 60 days of the campaign. He is still on course to raise the 177million difference.

Come August 25th ’12, we will be hosting Kenya’s first craft party in honor and support of a man who has achieved more than a few good men put together. We as Craft Afrika are supporting Zack and the campaign because crafts are a natural entry point for marginalized communities worldwide- whether you are talking about People Living With HIV&AIDS, refugees, women, the disabled. The sector has that special and unpretentious characteristic of allowing marginalized groups assert themselves back into society. And so by hosting the craft party, we are not only fundraising for the spinal cord rehabilitation center, but also bringing into focus the inextricable link between crafts and emotional healing, crafts and economic empowerment and crafts and social inclusion.

August 25th is the day we celebrate the humming bird that Zack has become as well as take up the challenge to do the very best that we can, regardless of who we are or what we have in possession.