One Action, One Person

Never underestimate the power of your influence.  

Some say it just isn’t enough and it isn’t worth the effort. We are just one drop of water in the ocean, one grain of sand on the shore. How far can one person really go in creating significant change? Can the tide of need be reversed, or the consuming flame of poverty ever be quenched? Good questions, not enough answers. 

“One action, one person—actually, one idea—can start a war, or end one, or subvert an entire power structure. One discovery can cure a disease or spawn new technology to benefit…the human race.” (Iris Chang, 1998)  

These words carry the power of initiative to motivate and unleash vision. One small action has the potential to invite an enormous tailwind to unite with any type of positive momentum. For any momentum to occur, however, it MUST start with one small action. 

One Small Action

Last year, in preparation for our visit to Kanjaocha in rural Kenya, one retired nutrition PhD professor from Brigham Young University, Dr. Lora Beth Brown, and a committee of volunteers submitted a well-developed and researched gardening plan through CHOICE Humanitarian that considered local needs, natural resources, and appropriate crops for successful planting. The plan gave special consideration to the two-year drought that was making planting anything in this region almost impossible.  

When we arrived five months later in the summer of 2022, the villagers had not only organized themselves into a cooperative, but they had taken this simple plan and implemented it on their own initiative with very little water available to them. Their efforts were already producing crops with the potential of not only feeding their community but boosting nutrition significantly. Dr. Lora Beth Brown was visibly touched by their gardening efforts. 

Based on the dedication of the village cooperative, CHOICE Humanitarian invested in the enhancement of this gardening project. Upon our return one year later to the village of Kanjaocha in July 2023, we saw the results of this enterprise. As we unloaded from the van to visit the garden, we were met by one of the members of the cooperative who was assigned to watch over and protect the gardening plot and equipment from disruption. 

Dr. Lora Beth Brown visiting Kanjaocha

The very large garden plot sits adjacent to and downhill from a large source of water. A newly installed water cistern with a solar pump sits on the hill between the watering hole and the garden. Water is pumped from the water source up to the holding cistern using solar power where it can flow below using gravity to provide irrigation through an elaborate drip system upon demand.  

The beauty of this system is that the crops will be assured adequate water regardless of the amount of rain received in the region. This garden has the potential to become the salad bowl of the entire area and improve overall nutrition substantially, which will ultimately reduce disease and illness for many men, women, and children. 

This garden, that has the potential to change lives and unlock new opportunities for the community of Kanjaocha, all came from one simple idea. While it was small in its concept, it has been mighty in results.  

Believe in Your Power 

What would have happened if Dr. Brown and her team had decided that their idea was too small? That this concept wouldn’t work? What if the villagers had decided that it wasn’t worth the effort?  

Like any concept, one idea can’t begin without the momentum and support of others. That, my friend, is sustainable change! And that is what CHOICE Humanitarian is all about.  

The next time you’re about to click “Donate Now” and think, “Is it worth the effort? What will my donation do?”, I want you to remember Dr. Lora Beth and the community of Kanjaocha. Your donation, your seat at the gala, your Village membership could mean the difference between a project’s success or failure.  

You can make the difference.