Let me tell you about my friend Lillian.....

Lillian and I met on a bus during my trip to Uganda in January 2009. I had just finished serving in a medical clinic in her community and my team members and I decided to give some of the area kids a ride home in our bus. We quickly began talking about the usual girly things (hair and clothes), but I wanted to know more about what a typical day looks like for a 13 year old girl living in Kampala, Uganda.

She told me how she wakes-up at about 4:30am to help her grandmother cook breakfast and to do various chores around her home including fetching water. After her chores are finished she gets ready for school and walks about 5 miles to arrive there by 6am. She performs more chores at school, mostly cleaning, before the other students arrive. Her school day begins at 7am and lasts until about 5pm. After school she walks back home and helps cook dinner, does her homework, more chores, washes her uniform (the only one she has!) and shines her shoes. She finally goes to bed by 11pm. Then she gets up and does it all over again the next day! She does it all with a joyful and greatful heart because she knows she's one of the "lucky ones" who gets to attend school.

I'm running 26.2 miles for children like Lillian knowing I could never handle the "marathon" she goes through each day. Won't you consider giving to World Vision to help more children like Lillian become one of the "lucky ones"? Even a small gift can make a huge impact!!

World Vision works to tackle the root causes of poverty by working with children, families, and their communities to provide things like clean water, health care, nutritious food, education, and economic opportunities.

You can support my efforts through Team World Vision by making a one-time tax-deductible donation.