All The Miles

"I looked to my right and took this last picture of the trip--
a beautiful way to end a beautiful experience."

-Quote from July 4, 2009 post

As I sit here reflecting on the miles I have traveled this year, I am reminded of my fortuitous birth. Simply by being born to two wonderful parents in Austin, Texas rather than in a place like, say, Ayacucho, Peru or San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, I was given opportunities that millions of people will never see. I am lucky. I am so very lucky. Not that I, nor my parents, have not worked hard for what we have, but simply by location of birth, I was given a lot.

However, also as a result of my birth, and perhaps as equally fortuitous, I am charged with responsibilities to these less fortunate people.

Shortly after returning to the United States, I was wondering to myself how I could best address these vast needs. As if on some cosmic cue, I received a phone call from a friend of 16 years, Pat. Another friend we had grown up with started a foundation to help promote education in Latin America and they wanted me to be a part of it! Noah set up the Rockway Foundation to raise funds, create programs, and sponsor projects based on mutual interest and mutual respect for education. What a perfect project for me to be involved in! It has been fun to work with them and I am looking forward to seeing the foundation grow.

I also reflect on the warm people and wonderful experiences I had in Peru this last summer. I think about the Cross Cultural Solutions Ayacucho staff. Marisol and Pancho. Rudy, Paulina and Alejandro. I think about the women and children in the prison I visited every Friday. What about the girls of Mercedes school? I wonder too, if they ever think of me. It doesn't really matter though. While I was trying to do good for them, mostly, they did good for me...without even know it.

All The Miles, Django Walker