Excerpt

Introduction

I was asked to write an introduction to my journals, to explain how my journals came to be, why my life took this direction, and why I decided to start it.

As I try to find the answers, I am sure of one thing: I am forever changed. I am so grateful I took this path in my life, thankful that I met these amazing people and had this incredible experience.

I honestly believe that if we were all aware, we would all be compelled to act.

So the question is not how or why I would do this with my life. The question is, how could I not?

Many nights I sat awake reading stories and statistics about national and international tragedies.

I read about UNHCR:

• More than twenty million refugees exist today.
• One-sixth of the world's population lives on less than one dollar a day.
• 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
• One-third of the world has no electricity.
• More than 100 million children are out of school.
• One in six children in Africa dies before the age of five.

I read about different organizations that do humanitarian work. I had been reading about Sierra Leone when I was in England. When I got back to the States it was difficult to follow the stories, so I called USA for UNHCR and asked if they could help me understand the situation there and similar situations elsewhere in the world. Three weeks later I was in Sierra Leone.

I don't know how this will be as a book, how readers will find it. I am not a writer. These are just my journals. They are just a glimpse into a world that I am just beginning to understand, a world I could never really explain in words.