Giving on Faith

By Carri Hulet

My voluntary job with WWHI is to raise money. We need it, and someone's gotta do it, so I'm thankful for a truly amazing group of volunteers that have rallied to make it happen. But it's hard at first. We are getting off the ground and I freely admit that I dream of the day when we will have years of evidence and experience behind us to show that WWHI's efforts actually do decrease maternal mortality in the most dire circumstances. I know that will happen, and someday we will have to do less begging and cajoling, less "leveraging" of friendships, and with any luck we will have more to offer our supporters than the proverbial warm fuzzies and a virtual bear hug.

Perhaps. Perhaps there will be some things that get easier. But even as I play out my fantasies of fatter times ahead, I can't help but be grateful for the privilege of being one of the first to ask when the giver has no less noble motivation than sheer generosity and kindness. When we ask someone to help us do something we can't prove we will do, the offering in return is nothing short of sacred.

Today, we feel the weight of every donated coin; the sacrifice of every volunteer hour. As we plan out our research efforts this summer, then look ahead in the future to building a school, recruiting trainers, and educating and supporting the student practitioners, we feel bound to spend every dollar in a way that does honor to the hope with which it was given.

In a way, I feel our donors are showing the same kind of faith and confidence in us that every mother shows as she invests early in the potential of her children. Thanks moms. And thanks donors. We'll do you proud.