Hello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson.

In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick.

In this episode I sit down with my wife Holiday Reinhorn and dear friend Kathryn Adams to talk about LIDÈ, a not-for-profit educational initiative the three of us started. LIDÈ, which means both “Leader” and “Idea” in Haitian Kreyol, uses the arts and literacy to build resilience and empower at-risk adolescent girls in rural Haiti, helping them to transition into academic or vocational education.

The three of us share our experiences and talk about how the devastating effects of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti not only decimated the nation, but also uncovered the need for educating and empowering adolescent girls. We discuss the need and importance of hope; the importance of not only education, but why specifically the education of women is paramount. We also talk about the idea of adopting a "grassroots-up" approach to development work rather than a "top-down" approach, and we touch on 'accompaniment' and how each one of us has a gem within us which needs to be mined. We discuss the importance of trust and having faith; what a “tap-tap” is, and how LIDÈ's program for kids with disabilities came to life.

I hope you enjoy this conversation, and if you'd like to find out more about LIDÈ and how you can support its programs, go to lidehaiti.org.

Please also check out some of the wonderful organizations we mention in the podcast, like The Mona Foundation (www.monafoundation.org), Sean Penn's charity JPHRO (jphro.org), and also the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (www.smallholderfarmersalliance.org).

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Thanks for listening!

-Rainn Wilson