Brighter Day Podcast

High school senior, Ashis Dhakal talks about starting his non-profit Ashis Collects Clothes Foundation and his vision for providing educational opportunities for children in his native home of Napal.

Ashis was interviewed by TODAY's Hoda Kotb and challenged by "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban to collect 575 coats to give away for those in need.  

Ashis on TODAY

Ashis on Facebook

On September 19, 2017 hurricane Marie hit Puerto Rico and the next day Vickie Machaud committed herself to helping a small island city of Vieques off the mainland.

We believe, Vieques should have access to safe, sanitary and sustainable housing. We believe in giving opportunities to gain knowledge and skills to create economic development.

Our common goal is to repair 100’s of damaged homes and to construct sustainable concrete homes across the island. Focusing our efforts on supporting the elderly, bed ridden, and families with young children.

With an estimated 2,555 households on the island and 36% of individuals living below the poverty line, we’re aiming to provide a long-term strategy to establish and implement a workforce development and vocational training program. Our long term objectives are ambitious, but we believe they are achievable.

Our mission is demonstrating Gods love, building homes, communities and hope.

We invite you to join us to make this vision a reality by donating time, expertise, money, or tools in support of our work on Vieques. Hurricanes Irma and Maria wrought damage across the island and revealed the fragility of our community. Hope Builders is dedicated to hurricane recovery and to supporting the community to prosper. We work in partnership with other organizations and with hundreds of volunteers who dedicate their time and effort to bring this vision forward.

Everyone can be part of this effort.

Resources:

www.hopebuildersinc.org

Hope Builders Inc. 787-631-4500

[email protected]

Facebook link for Hope Builders Inc.

Amy Dott Harmer shares with us her passion as a "service broker" between the refugees and the local community in her work with the Utah Refugee Connection.

Mission Statement:

Create meaningful connections between refugees, the community, and public and private organizations which support refugees in developing self-sufficient and fulfilling lives.

Resources:

serverefugees.org

Serve Refugees on Facebook

Joseph Kony's reign of terror in Uganda left thousands of orphans.  Cindy Cunningham saw the deplorable condition of the children that Kony left in his wake and decided to do something about it.

Cindy Cunningham is the Founder and Director of Village of Hope Uganda. She has spent her life giving, caring and helping people all over the world. 

In 2006 Cindy took a trip to Africa which would forever change her life. She visited: Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda, and was haunted by the devastation that war, HIV/aids and poverty can have on people, especially the innocent and helpless…the children! She returned to the US asking the question we all ask ourselves: “God, what can I do?” Village of Hope was birthed out of her broken heart and compassion for the people of Africa.

Cindy resides in Dallas, Texas where she organizes and oversees Village of Hope Uganda and is committed to raising funds and awareness for orphans and widows in Africa.

Resources:

Village of Hope

Text VOHUG to 44-321 to give

On this episode, we interview Miriam Frederick of New Life Children's Home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  She shares with us the the reality of the poverty and suffering of Haiti's children.  She has spent her life serving this children with a never-ending faith and hope for a better future for these children.

New LIfe's goal is to rescuing the sick, dying and abandoned children of Haiti. They try to bring hope to areas where there is none. New Life seeks to provide adequate medical care, clean safe drinking water, weekly feeding program and establish schools in the remote area of southwest Haiti near Pestel. They are providing lifesaving food, wells, medical care in the slums of Citi Soleil. They are determined to making a change to the conditions that people suffer in every day

Resources:

newlife4kids.org

The Cheyenne River Youth Project® was founded in January 1988 to address the community’s need for more services that support struggling children and their families. Originally housed in a defunct bar on Eagle Butte’s Main Street, the organization created a safe place for children to come after school; it offered activities such as arts and crafts, intramural sports and volunteer mentorship,and it provided a healthy meal and snack each day. The volunteer-run youth center, known affectionately as “The Main,” quickly became a vital part of the Cheyenne River community. Despite its small size, and few resources for programming, the center was filled to capacity each day.

The grassroots, nonprofit youth project has come a long way since that modest beginning. In 1997, CRYP built a new youth center that would be able to support continued growth. The new Main opened its doors in May 1999, and it features a recreation room, library, family room, commercial-grade kitchen, office space, and residential quarters for long-term volunteers.

CRYP continued to expand. In 2004, with input from Cheyenne River’s young people, it began work a dedicated facility for ages 13-18. Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) opened in 2006 and is a tremendous achievement for CRYP, with more than 25,000 square feet of space and many exciting new opportunities. The teen center has a full-size gymnasium, computer lab, dance and art studios, library, and private apartment for long-term volunteers. It also is home to the Keya (Turtle) Cafe and Keya Gift Shop, as well as the Family Services program, the innovative Teen Internship program and the Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Lakota Arts Institute.

Resources:

Cheyenne River Youth Project

Lakota Youth Facebook link

Their mission is to conserve high biodiversity forest and regenerate degrading land. As the frightening realities of climate change become ever more apparent, they are committed to caring for the forests around us and ensuring their health for climate mitigation as well as biodiversity protection. Healthy forests help with erosion control, water retention, oxygen production, temperature control and habitat provision, amongst other benefits.

They are also strong believers in the health benefits of forests for people and continue to raise awareness of the energizing and wellbeing-enhancing properties of forests. They encourage people to spend time in the forests to really connect with them, to understand their value and to become conservation advocates themselves.

Resources:

The Forest Healing Foundation

Facebook Forest Healing Foundation