The Girl Effect

The other day I saw the Oprah show on Half the Sky, which I wrote about below.  It was amazing. It was heart-wrenching-horrible.  It was moving. It was powerful. I have a thought in my mind, on a daily basis, "what could I do to help someone, somewhere."  And yet, I continue to do nothing.
I am busy raising my family and scurrying about trying to get here and there on time.  Trying to keep a house clean, keep up with the laundry, keep up on the dishes, get a work-out in at some point in the day, spend quality time with each of my children, get homework done, squeeze in a shower and possibly make-up; get errands done, and sometimes a decent dinner.  If I'm lucky, I get a little time on the computer late at night, but I always regret staying up late, because the next day, it all starts over again, and I'm going to have another day of running around, trying to keep up.
Yet, there is some woman, somewhere in the world, who is just concerned with survival.  This woman is trying to just survive the cruelty and horror of her reality.  For some reason, I am here and she is there.  It seams so unfair, so horrible that anyone should have to endure the cruelty that is prevalent in Africa, China, the Middle East, etc.  Why does this have to be? I doubt I will ever understand. 
I KNOW, as a woman, I am so blessed to be an American, and I couldn't be more grateful that my daughter is born here and can have such security and blessings and opportunities. I also know there is a season in every life, and right now my season is to raise my beautiful children.  I am so very grateful that I have the blessing of this season.  Someday, because I have been blessed with so much, I'd like to dedicate more time and effort to helping other women.  For now, I can only do so much.  But, I want to do something!  There is power in helping....
I believe there is power in helping a girl.  Just one little girl can make such a difference in some far off land or even here at home.  Raising strong, educated, aware, and kind girls can also have a powerful effect. That is why I love this video clip, THE GIRL EFFECT, on Oprah's website.  Watch. And then go here to see all the little things we can all do to help just a little...it will do a lot!