Inspiration

My friend, Kate Herzog, was recently featured on KSTP 5 Eyewitness News http://tiny.cc/n2ugv. She was featured because she has started a company called House of Talents, whose mission is:

“To alleviate poverty by connecting artisans from developing countries with consumer markets worldwide.” (www.houseoftalents.com)

How does one person take on the charge of alleviating poverty? It is not without sacrifice. Kate cashed in her 401K and she and her family have sacrificed ranging from what they buy at the grocery store to limiting new things for themselves and for their house. It isn’t just money, and material things that are sacrificed. It is time too. Kate works tirelessly to be available to vendors and customers, build business models and work on ways to reduce costs. Her husband dedicates his time to taking on extra child care and household duties, and still finds time to work full-time and support Kate at shows.

We all feel stress. There is too much to do, and too little time to do it. We are all juggling work, family and social obligations with our personal needs. Sometimes I get frustrated and overwhelmed with my schedule and feel the weight of my responsibilities and feel sorry for myself. Then, I think of Kate.

Imagine taking on poverty. Kate is starting one country at a time, with her home country Ghana, West Africa. She has been known to travel on 13 hour bus rides with no air conditioning, through the wild African terrain, with no fancy rest-stops or facilities with running waters. What is at the end of the 13 hour trip, with a flat tire and numerous problems? A village of basket weavers, or talented jewelry designers, or makers of soap. Kate seeks out people who are determined, looking for smart ways to empower themselves to sustain their families and with great hopes of education and bigger things. What an amazing feat.

I’ll close with a funny story. When I was working in Milwaukee, a colleague told this story about her son, who attended a Catholic school. He brought home his homework, and it was an assignment asking “What would the Lord say?” It showed a series of pictures, one of which was a boy with a broken arm. In 8 year-old writing, under the picture it said “Just be glad you have an arm”.

Next time you are feeling overwhelmed, “just be glad you have an arm”, and think of Kate, and the people she is helping. That always puts things in perspective for me.