Mothers’ Day Movement Gratitude

The light from the sun is just beginning to remove the shadows of darkness. I can see the fence and trees through my back window and the birds are slowly waking up. Pepper, my cat, is nearby resting on the blanket on the ottoman. And I am in my favorite spot – the “cozy corner” of my couch, wrapped in my blanket, a warm cup of coffee next to me. Life is good. I have a lot to be grateful for.

Thinking about the Mothers’ Day Movement brings more gratitude to my heart. A small group of women read a book, Half the Sky, about the atrocities women were suffering around the world because of lack of education, poverty, lack of clean water or other resources. Sex trafficking, child brides, fistulas caused by unattended childbirth, genital mutilation. This small group of women, led by Eva Hausman and her daughter, Kim Hausman Athan, decided they wanted to help; no, they decided they HAD to help. They started the Mothers’ Day Movement.

Each year they partner with a small charity with the goal of redirecting some of the $25 Billion dollars spent on Mother’s Day gifts here in the US, to better the lives of mothers and their children. I am grateful for the inspiration of their story. It reminds us that we all can make a difference, no matter who we are, who we know or how much money we have. If we find something we are passionate about and find the strength to believe in ourselves and build a community of support, we can all do good in the world.

I am grateful for the mothers they have helped through the charities they have supported.

• Circle of Health International (COHI)
• Edesia Nutrition
• We Care Solar
• Nurse Family Partnership
• More Than Me
• Free The Slaves
• Clearwater Initiative/Lifeline Fund
• Fistula Foundation
• Saving Mothers
• Shining Hope for Communities – Shofco

This year the charity they have partnered with is DigDeep. The mission of DigDeep is to bring clean running water to the 2.2 million Americans who do not have it!

There is a parable about starfish that Kim Athan shared with us that explains what their support means to the women and organizations they have helped.

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean for exercise.

One day, the old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked, he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. 

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the boy replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

This Mother’s Day, please think about making a gift to DigDeep through the Mothers’ Day Movement in honor of, or in memory of, your mother. You can make a difference, one woman, one child, one family at a time.