Our neighbor, Haiti, is a country in crisis. Statistics label it the poorest country in the western himisphere. A recent, more definitive statistic states it is twice as poor as any country in the western hemisphere. What could a little town like Fergus do to help in a situation like that? Too often we let the big picture cast a gloomy shadow over the first, and albeit, small steps that could be taken towards a solution. The words "can't possibly" tumble quickly out of our mouths freeing us from even entertaining throughs of "I can" when we stand in the shadow of the big picture. That shadow becomes a safe zone for those of us who could help and a dead zone for those in dire need.

Liberty School For Women is our step -- our one small step ahead of the shadow that overcomes a lot of good intentions and empty words. Is it possible in our little town to raise the kind of funds necessary to construct, equip and operate a school like this in Haiti? We say "YES!" If one takes "can't" out of one's vocabulary, then solutions become the only alternative. For example: P.W.P. holds an annual walk-a-thon. On the average we have ten families participate and raise $3000 each year. It would take only eighty other groups to hold a walk-a-thon and raise the same amount of money to have all the finances in place to construct, equip and run the school for at least one year. There are over one hundred churches alone in Wellington County, not to mention all of our schools and service groups etc. I would dare to say there are probably even eighty individuals in Wellington County that could donate $3000 each without breaking a sweat. There is no guilt trip intended with these comments. They are offered simply as exciting examples of how easy it is to do really big things if we just stop saying, "can't".

If our words aren't accompanied by actions at some point, then what value do they really have? We are looking for people who are ready to cross the line, come out of the shadow, say "yes we can" and participate in our annual walk-a-thon. We are looking for folks who want to help us build Liberty School this year! If you are tired of holding court in the comfort/dead zone of life and desire to join the ranks of those of us "walking the walk", we encourage you to take the first step. How? Be the voice for the poor. Be the one to go to your church, school or group and enlist their support. Be the one to encourage them to become one link in the chain of eighty links we need for the P.W.P. annual walk. Just be the one who says, "I can!"

Call (519) 843-3444 or email: info@partnerswithpurpose for more information on how to participate.