It is said that a journey begins with a single step. On Tuesday, July 6, that journey to Laos began when I met Mike Yap, who introduced me to the Adopt a Village project. Having always been fascinated by other cultures, I was immediately captivated by the concept.
In mid-August I visited Port Hope, where Mike and his partner, Steve Rutledge, who is the other half of the driving force behind this humanitarian effort, reside. That weekend I listened to Steve talk with great enthusiasm about their work. I became more and more intrigued.
On Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I visited them again. On that Saturday night, I had the honour of attending their presentation/fundraiser for the Adopt a Village in Laos project at the beautifully restored Capitol Theatre in downtown Port Hope, Ontario. Having never had their presentation/fundraisers captured on video before, I volunteered to record this event with my iPhone. When I returned home, I would edit it and then upload it to YouTube in hopes of raising awareness of their work to a larger audience.
From that weekend I came away glowing inside with a wonderfully positive energy. Inspired, I made a commitment to myself and to Mike and Steve that I would join them in and help them with their endeavours in Laos in December 2011. I'm not sure how I'm going to get there, but knowing myself I will find a way to attain that goal.
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