This morning, in the tent on the roof of my shop, I placed a photo of the first 10 graduates from HereJe training center in Mali, West Africa. I want to be reminded of these brilliant young women every day.

It’s for them I’m leaving the comforts of home to live in a tent up on the roof. These young women have gone from begging to self-sufficient in 18 months. They are my inspiration about what can happen when you believe in the possible.

Picture a 13-year old girl who has been begging to stay alive since she was born. Her name is Oumou and she doesn’t smile. She holds her hand out. That’s her life. Now picture that same young woman with her head held high; a proud look on her face. Oumou grins from ear to ear as she signs her name on a scrap of teabag and slips it inside the pocket of a book bag she has just created. The look of satisfaction on her face is mirrored in Fatoumata’s face, a graduate from the previous year who is now a full-time instructor at Hereje.

These two young women are why I’m going up on the roof to live in a tent until 1 million people each send me $1. That’s right. One Million Dollars. Because my 501(c)3 Fabric of Life Foundation wants to help more Oumou’s of the world access resources to become self-sufficient.

I also hope to inspire more people to celebrate small actions they’re taking to make their world a better place. I believe every small action IS significant. Sometimes the enormity of the issues seems overwhelming. It can be discouraging. I hear people comment, “what impact can one person really have?” My response is, “a lot”.

My lifelong mentors, Jack and Selma Dublin who worked in cooperative development in Africa always said: “Do what you can do within your own capacity.”  They often reminded me that it’s many small acts combined that have the biggest impact. (Credit Union pioneer Jack Dublin passed away 4 years ago and Selma Dublin, at 90, passed away 4 months ago.)

Eleanore Roosevelt said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I believe in what can happen when we step out of the shadow of our fears. I’m 57 years old. That in itself is scary.  I’ve never blogged before. Even scarier.  I thought blogs only existed on the moors of Scotland.  It’s scary to “reveal” your inner self in public. Yet here I am. I’ve decided to follow Eleanore Roosevelt’s advice.

The idea to live on the roof of my Foundation’s fair trade store literally popped into my head one day last May. I’m often described as “crazy” when I’m introduced. Personally, I think of myself as “bold” or “gutsy”, both of which require a bit of crazy, don’t you agree?

So this is my chronicle of being UP ON THE ROOF. I have no idea how long I will live in this tent. I’m not coming down until I come down. If that statement makes sense to you then you probably understand me a little bit. I hope you’ll learn as much about yourself from this journey as I am about to learn about myself.

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