Kristen RemingtonChannel 2 News
There is no shortage of smiles at an orphanage in Kenya, which to outsiders may be hard to believe. "They've witnessed a lot of bloodshed, violence, abandonment, disease, death and yet they're so happy," says Brian Williams, who founded Think Kindness, a non-profit organization that inspires random acts of kindness in northern Nevada and all around the world.
He has visited this particular orphanage a few times and each trip he brings gifts. "This is our third time going and our third time bringing shoes from the Reno area."
This year, Brian rallied Washoe County schools to donate tens of thousands of shoes. He and a team of volunteers just returned home after dropping off the shoes and physically putting them on the feet of orphans. "You can tell when they put their feet in them, they walk like they're walking on air and then the next day none of them wear them!"
Brian says the kids don't want to ruin them; a pair of shoes is a prized possession after all. They mean the potential for a future, an education, freedom. Why? Shoes are necessary to get into school. "Not receiving an education is a matter of life and death. If they don't go to school, they're going to become homeless and if they're homeless, well, a simple disease can put them in the hospital."
Brian says preventable ailments, like diarrhea, are prevalent in the impoverished region. So he is broadening the scope of his philanthropic efforts even more.
Aside from shoes, Think Kindness is now also collecting money to provide the less fortunate with straws. Not just any straws; they are called LifeStraws and one can filter up to 1,000 liters of dirty, contaminated water. You can literally use it to drink straight out of muddy ponds and streams. One straw will provide clean water for a year at the cost of just $5. Brian says you can "make a difference in a child's life for the cost of a venti, white chocolate mocha!"
He believes our community can make a big impact on lives thousands of miles away. Not just financially, but by giving African orphans a chance to walk a mile in our shoes, it just might give them hope for a brighter future ahead.
You can help support Brian's efforts through Think Kindness, by playing in a golf tournament this week, where there will be plenty of raffle prizes, including the chance to win a $50,000 car.
Kindness classic 2011
Friday, September 16
Lakeridge Golf Course
1:30 PM
$150/person or $500/team
To sign up, visit:
www.Thinkkindness.org
