We're getting more people with teaspoons all the time...

DeCo-OptationForTheNation
PeopleVille


A while ago I wrote a post about a fantastic interview Pete Seeger gave to DIY progressive journalist extraordinare Amy Goodman.

Now, first off, let me say that ever since I came out of my callow shell some time ago, I have had the greatest admiration for Mr. Seeger.

Both because of all that he has done, and because of all that he still believes we can do:

"I honestly believe that the future is going to be millions of little things saving us. I imagine a big seesaw, and at one end of this seesaw is on the ground with a basket half-full of big rocks in it. The other end of the seesaw is up in the air. It's got a basket one-quarter full of sand. And some of us got teaspoons, and we're trying to fill up sand.

A lot of people are laughing at us, and they say, "Ah, people like you have been trying to do that for thousands of years, and it's leaking out as fast as you're putting it in." But we're saying, "We're getting more people with teaspoons all the time." And we think, "One of these years, you'll see that whole seesaw go zooop in the other direction." And people will say, "Gee, how did it happen so suddenly?"

Now the fact that the government of Gordon Campbell is designed to take away as many teaspoons from people as possible is the reason that I took great exception to the following statement in the Canadian Press earlier this week that was made without a trace of irony:

(Mr. Campbell) said he'd always wanted to learn the banjo and the guitar, having been inspired by the legendary folk singer Pete Seeger."

So, rather than recount specific examples of programs that I have seen dismantled by Mr. Campbell's bean counters who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, I thought I would instead point you towards a project that is helping fill those teaspoons.

It's the Al Gerwing Foundation the link to which you can find on the Honourable Roll on the sidebar:

The Foundation is really a local charity as all of the directors are Al's relatives and volunteer their services. As a result there is no 'bureaucracy' and all of the earnings go directly to the designated projects decided upon by Al and the directors of Rainbow of Hope for Children. They include continued work on behalf of street children and the landless poor in northeastern Brazil and recently, a teacher education centre in Guatemala to help allow the Mayans to educate their children in their native language and culture in addition to Spanish.

There's lots of great stuff there and, yes, donations are tax deductible.

And here's a quote buried deep within the site that I found pretty darned inspiring, maybe even for those who think, for whatever reason, ideological or not, that their own worldly wealth is all there is:

"When you die, the only things you can take with you are what you've given away"

- Esther Gerwing"

OK?

.