Dear Women of Vision Partners and Friends,
Everything about celebrations is so fun: looking forward to them, keeping them a surprise (sometimes), and creating memories that last a lifetime.
One celebration will always be in my heart. It was June 2020 when my husband, Tom, and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. In anticipation, we planned our overseas trip a year ahead. We also thought about having a family gathering. But you all know what happened next…..Covid hit! All the plans we looked forward to were cancelled. We needed to live very cautiously, and we were so disappointed.
A month before our anniversary, Tom and I were talking about the important pieces of our lives together, and our conclusion was family and friends. We decided to contact people who were special in our lives and ask them to send us their picture. We just wanted to see their faces. What happened next was a surprise! People sent us their picture but also included stories and special notes. For the whole month around our special day, these kept coming. We got to celebrate for a whole month!
I'm writing this story on the International Day of the Girl Child—October 11, 2022. This day was declared by the United Nations ten years ago to honor and respect girls all over the world. This day is relatively new to me, and I wondered how I could celebrate something like this. Sometimes it calls for the simple things we can do. Does it all have to happen on one day? No, it can happen all month long!
Try one of these ideas this year and add to it next year in October.
Ideas I try to embrace in October in honor of girls around the world:
- Write to your World Vision sponsored girls. Encourage them as they go to school and help their families.
- Write to your World Vision sponsored boys and tell them about this day and why we celebrate it to make life better for girls and boys.
- Text your daughter, granddaughter, or special girl in your life and encourage her in her life.
- As you gather at meetings or with friends, share with them about the day and about a project that our Chapter supports that directly affects the girls. (Kenya Big Dream, Central America Faith Development, and Global Emergency Response all prioritize protection and safety for girls.)
International Day of the Girl Child gives us a way to honor girls around the world and also here at home. There is still time to carry out one of these ideas this month. Or add your own idea! Would you email me and share your ideas?
Have fun celebrating!
Ann Zelenka
Chapter Co-Chair
PS: Our daughter-in-law, Leah, made a smaller version of our delicious banana wedding cake for us on our anniversary. So fun!
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