Not too long ago I was visiting my mother for the afternoon. She wanted to show me a letter written by one of her dear friends about what life was like on a Navajo Reservation. The letter began with her being grateful for everything she had here at home in Utah. She had running water, electricity, heat to warm her home and somewhere to cook her food. Her letter went into quite some detail about how her mother, who still resides on the reservation, lives without running water or electricity. She went on to explain that it is quite common for those living on the reservation to not have running water, electricity or heat. How in the middle of the winter they need to walk outside in order to retrieve water for cooking or cleaning. How if you had to use the restroom you had to leave the main house and walk to the outdoor bathroom. She relayed stories of poverty I thought only existed in other countries.
After leaving my mother's home, I became determined to find out more about the reservations and what life was like for those who lived there. I learned of unemployment rates that, in some areas, are as high as 55%. I read about poor living conditions and extremely high drop-out rates in the high schools. I saw pictures of children with little less than a pair of shoes and one set of clothes. I was so ashamed that I had felt that I knew about poverty and illness around the world and had yet not been aware of the suffering of those in my backyard.
If my kids could help bring happiness to children in Haiti then why not right here in Utah. Why not help more. I wanted to be able to bring the gift of art and literature that children were so capable of creating to so many more needy children. I contacted a friend of mine who is the principal of a local elementary school and asked if it would be possible to have the children in his school participate in an exchange program with these Navajo children. He was excited about the idea and we began to work on making this exchange possible. After finding a school on the reservation that would accept our donation of books written by children for children, we enlisted my friend's school to provide the necessary books.
We are so excited to see how many books we can have donated and to see the affect of these books on others. I am so optimistic that by giving something that they have created to those in need and receiving pictures, drawings and stories back from the Navajo children, the children involved will truly be able to love and understand others.
