Danielle and Diyana

A Word from Lil' O about Danielle:

Danielle was the first friend I made in Los Angeles 10 years ago - in many ways I feel as though we have grown eachother up. She's a rare combination - equal parts beauty and silliness. She's a complex woman who inspires me and pushes me to be a better person, friend, and human. Here's the letter she wrote to the organization she donated the $20 to~

Danielle's Story:

I have been donating $25 monthly to a little boy through Plan USA for the past 8 years or so and have always wanted to donate to a little girl.

What inspired me to take action was my best fried Kalimba who started a "pay-it-forward" type of experiment.
Basically she gave 6 of her closest friends $20 each and challenged us to see just how far that $20 could go in making a positive change in life of someone in need. She also recently visited Cambodia Thailand and Laos. She met some very special children in great need out there and has collected money to help these children pay for food, supplies and schooling. She inspires me greatly.

And so I have finally took action on something I have been "saying" I wanted to do for quite some time. I had heard another incredible out reach program (much like Kalimba's) helping woman and children in Africa called "Healing Bridges" which was started by a dynamic and soulful woman named Zebiba. Healing Bridges was founded to help women and children in the poverty stricken and war torn African nation of Eritrea. Their mission is to create jobs in Africa for women to support themselves and their families.
Their sponsorship program will provide individual children with a U.S. sponsor to facilitate health, education, family support and a chance to succeed.

I choose Diyana because my mother's name is Diana and I just found her demure and shy spirit in this photograph to be all together sweet and heart-breaking at the same time. I feel that my two monthly sponsored children hold the spirit of the 2 children I plan on having one day.