Shamrock - 13.1

Last year I was in an ORPHANetwork meeting addressing about 15 people who were interested in going to Nicaragua that summer to somehow make an impact in the lives of orphan children. My friend Joe and I were going over the different needs of the children and what the conditions are like in a third world country like Nicaragua (2nd poorest Spanish speaking country in the world).

I remember specifically talking about the core needs of people who are in such desparate conditions. Their outlook on daily life is very different than ours. They must SURVIVE every day.

A child that is poor in one of the poorest countries in the world must focus on staying alive for that day. They must eat something (even if it very little), they must drink and they have to have somewhere they can sleep. All the other stuff (education, love/support, safety, hygiene and just having fun) has to take a back seat.

Back at the meeting I was on Double Duty because my wife Arleyne wasn't with me so I was watching my two girls - Jordyn and Kensington. They were mainly occupied in a side room coloring and drawing. It was then that my 3 year old Kensington brought everything into focus for me in an instant.

We were almost done with the meeting and they had been waiting for daddy for awhile. She simply walked over to me while Joe was talking and said,

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

It hit my like a ton of bricks! My daughter knew that she could come to her daddy and tell me she needed food. She also knew that I would quickly figure out a way to get her something (even a snack before we could eat lunch). But what happens when you are an orphan? When you have no daddy. No mommy. No one who understands that you haven't eaten in two days. No one to turn to and tell them "I'm hungry".

Well, that moment wrecked me. I had to explain to the group why I was suddenly in tears. And that one question from my daughter completely changed my perspective.

Our Team Goal for the Shamrock is to FEED 200 CHILDREN for an entire year! It only takes $15 to feed one child for a month. So, if you do the math that is $36,000. We raised over $18,000 last year and rescued 9 children off the streets into a ORPHANetwork orphanage.

Well, last year I raised $8,363 so I'm stretching myself with a goal of $9.000. I also ran the 8K (5 miles) last year in 44:50 (9 min average). So, I'm going to stretch myself again. I'm running the half marathon (13.1 miles) which I've never done. My goal is finish under 1 hour 40 minutes (7.5 min avg)!

I hope you can be a part of this journey! J. Balam