Meeting of the Board

While our family was together we convened a meeting of the board (all 27 of us) of our little Family Trust. Our goal was to decide how our family humanitarian funds would be spent for this year. Every member of the family had the opportunity to propose a project, and all the ideas were discussed. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously approved to support two proposals: Half of our funds will go to the National Tourette Syndrome Association to be used for research. The other half will be used to build a green house in our little Peruvian village of Chifya, where in previous years we have built a little one-room school, a public bathroom, and a small medical facility. Growing vegetables oudoors in the high Andes is extremely difficult. The altitude and cold during winter months create a situation where the villagers exist on a limited diet of potatoes and maize. A simple green house opens the door to greatly improved nutrition.

While it is a good feeling to think that you might be able to improve the quality of someone's life, there is no greater experience than to sit with your grandchildren and listen to them discuss their feelings about whether wheelchairs would be better than a library, or whether medical research would be more helpful than sewing machines. It's gratifying to see them become more aware of the world around us, the desperate needs of others, and the great bounty of our lives. The opportunities for helping are endless. But for this year, our hope is that a green house might give this little child (who is dying of malnutrition) a better chance of survival.