A Very Special Re-Launch

Since January I have had the date July 27, 2013 circled in red on my calendar. The date is special to me on a personal level and after our BLOOM Africa quarterly board meeting in January, it become even more special. At the meeting we selected the date of our BLOOM Africa re-launch event – July 27, 2013 – therein commencing the big red mark making on my calendar. By the way, red is my favorite color, so when I use it, it means something special.

Saturday IS a special day – the BLOOM Africa re-launch event. We will be unveiling a new brand, announcing our relocation to Chicago and sharing with attendees the new and exciting steps we are securing to fully fund our new Community Learning Centers (CLC) in Lesotho. Although BLOOM Africa has been working hard completing projects since its first official launch in April 2010, recently we have picked up momentum thanks to three successful golf benefits, two proactive trips by Andrew and William to Lesotho and the support of generous donors. This re-launch event will expand the notion of what a small group of passionate and compassionate individuals can do to make a difference on a global level. I have been amazed at the persistent growth of BLOOM Africa as I have been able to have a special perspective as a founding board member. As an organization run strictly by volunteers – not a single executive or board member is paid a single itty-bitty cent – to be preparing to establish our first CLC after three years of planning, friend-raising, fundraising and promoting, is impressive.

Sometimes it is hard to relate the loving passion for Lesotho that I have – that each of us with BLOOM Africa have – and I understand that for many people without a first-hand experience it’s hard to grasp the importance of our work with the Basotho. However, the growth of BLOOM Africa and the continual story-telling of how we have impacted and can impart growth of the orphaned and vulnerable children there has proven that our hearts can be read and our emotions can be translated. If you haven’t taken a lot of time to understand what BLOOM Africa is doing, now is a terrific time to get informed. Talk to a board member, a team member, a volunteer or our founder and just listen to the loving fire that ignites as you hear about a personal exchange with a Masotho child or a Basotho family. One story into the conversation I am certain you will be convinced that the work BLOOM Africa is doing is genuine, sustainable and meaningful. These stories will be one thing that is NOT new at the re-launch; these are the stories that have stuck in our vivid memories since the moment we interacted with the beautiful people of Lesotho.

BLOOM Africa truly does plant seeds of hope – hope for a better future free of HIV/AIDS, full of empowered and courageous young adults and firmly united in a global sense of sister and brotherhood.

-Sarah Jurewicz

Sarah has been a Board Member at BLOOM Africa since it's founding in 2010 and currently resides in Springfield, Ohio.