Doing Good - No Watches Involved!

As you probably know, here at Tempus Fugit we are very big fans of "do-gooders".  Today, quite by accident, I came across a group of them right here in my own backyard -

http://www.howinternational.org

It is a pretty simple story - but also remarkably complex in the number of different groups involved and how they have all worked together to try and solve an unsolvable problem.

Here are the basics:

1.  John Mullen and Douglas Bowman were in Mozambique doing a story about landmines when they came across a young woman named Florencia.  






Florencia had stepped on a landmine while out gathering fire wood.  She lost her left leg and the left side of her body was burned very badly.  This had happened to her as a young mother.  When John and Douglas met her she was only 16, and struggling to care for her children while maneuvering on crutches.

Mozambique, unfortunately, has many more "Florencias".  They could never hope to be able to pay for one prosthetic limb.  If only one was enough, as they will need a new limb every five years.

This is the rest, in the words of How International -

The need is well known in Mozambique, but the lack of resources is leaving a tragic scar on the nation. Douglas and John decided they could not merely write about Florencia and her 10,000 amputee ‘friends’; they needed to do something about it.

2.  John and Douglas discovered a non-profit in India -  Jaipur Foot

http://jaipurfoot.org

Essentially, they provide prosthetics for ANYONE who needs them - free of charge!

They worked to raise the funds so that Florencia could travel to Jaipur and be given a new prosthetic leg.

3.  They then took it to the streets to see who else might be interested in helping and the good people at Cal Poly threw their hats in the ring -

And now a team of some of the best and the brightest on the central coast are working towards developing - "an ultra low-cost prosthetic which provides an affordable alternative for Third World countries as well as the United States." 

4.  But it didn't stop there!  Enter the MAD ACADEMY (Multimedia, Arts, and Design) Academy at Santa Barbara High School. Together with mentors and local professionals they worked to promote the effort and see it through.

So the good news short term - they succeeded!  Florencia got her leg and is now walking again.  But as I said earlier, there are a LOT of Florencias out there.  

So now the goal has grown, and here it is in the words of HOW -

BY PARTNERING WITH JAIPUR AND A LOCAL AGENCY IN MOZAMBIQUE, AS WELL AS RECEIVING THE SUPPORT OF OTHER CARING COMMUNITIES, JOHN AND DOUGLAS ARE WORKING TOWARDS FUNDING A MOVEMENT THAT WILL LEAD TO A PERMANENT CLINIC IN MOZAMBIQUE.

We hope to raise $250,000 in the next 60 days which will both enable Florencia to be a forerunner of the movement, as well as allow us to establish training in India for Mozambicans who will become prosthetic technicians and provide free prosthetics to fellow citizens of their country. Some of the money raised will also be used to purchase materials and hire a National Director of the organization in Mozambique.

THIS PROSTHETIC CLINIC WILL LOVE AND SERVE THESE COURAGEOUS SURVIVORS FOR THEIR WHOLE LIVES, WHILE EMPLOYING THEM AND EDUCATING THEIR CHILDREN.

Here at Tempus Fugit we will of course make a donation and look for ways to publicize.  And we hope to encourage some watch brands out there to possibly participate - and we will keep you posted.

For those of you who want to do something on your own, here is a link:

http://www.howinternational.org

Stay tuned, and thank you for your time!