My friend Michael has done something extraordinary: he's committed himself to traveling around the world for nine months, "visualizing social change." And, happily for the rest of us, he's started a blog where he will post pictures and thoughts during the journey.His first few posts have been about Sri Lanka, where he is documenting the work of Dr. Ariyaratne, the founder of Sarvodaya.
Sarvodaya began 50 years ago as a small group of volunteers dedicated to helping rural villages organize and work together to improve their living conditions. They helped communities join together to build roads and dig wells. And through the hard work and collaboration, the communities and individuals themselves grew stronger. Today, Sarvodaya has served over 15,000 villages, helping them create and bring improvements like clean water, libraries, health centers, and peace into their lives.
In his blog, Michael writes,
As I travel and work with Sarvodaya, I am blown away by the scale of what they have been able to achieve with modest means...I am humbled by how comprehensive, how holistic, Sarvodaya's approach is to their work. They create a family where those who otherwise fall through cracks of society find a home.To learn more about Sarvodaya, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit their website.
Here is a video about Sarvodaya's work (8 minutes):
