The Story: ...continued

    Five years ago, I was hanging out with some friends in Wilmington, NC. It was there, at a local coffee shop, that we begin to dream of this thing we call Help End Local Poverty. Our question was simple: How can we help end local poverty wherever poverty exists? How do we partner with local leaders across the globe and help them end poverty where ever they live?

    Like many dreams, life got busy and we simply did not take time to do what was necessary to launch this initiative. In the meantime, my friend Steven moved to Cape Town, SA and he began to do development work with local African leaders across the continent. He encouraged me to come and experience this thing called "extreme poverty" at first-hand. I knew if I went I would be wrecked.

    One day I was watching a DVD by Invisible Children. This DVD was a story of a boy named Emmy, it was a reminder of the dream that God placed in my heart, and it was NOW time to pursue this dream with a reckless abandon!

    Six months later I was in Cape Town, SA with my friend Steven and Amy, and three others from our church in Austin. We toured townships, spent time with local leaders and saw a faith that seemed impossible to comprehend. After spending time in Cape Town, we then made our way to Zimbabwe to spend time with some local pastor who are doing some amazing development work.

    Needless to say, we fell in love with John, Orpha and the kids they serve. But we were also haunted by the reality of Zimbabwe: The most basic necessities of life, such as food, gas and employment were almost non-existent. These beautiful people were stuck in a country they loved, but also a country that is on the brink of total chaos. Yet somehow, in the midst of all this, John and Orpha serve close to 90 orphans on a daily basis. We knew they needed help, support and encouragement.

    As we headed back to the states, I made a commitment to God to do whatever I could to serve along the side of my new-found friends in Zimbabwe. So we created an organization called Help End Local Poverty. And our hope is to spend the remainder of our lives loving and serving our friends who live in extreme poverty.

    So the question we asked ourselves was simple. Many kids in Zimbabwe live in fields, don't have proper food, clothing or shelter. So we decided to launch a global, grassroots movement called The Campaign To End Poverty. We thought to ourselves, "what would happen if our friends in the West would be willing to sell items they have and donate the proceeds to our friends in Zimbabwe?" We have so much stuff laying around that has value and we can leverage these items and serve our friends in Zimbabwe. Think about it, your unused or unwanted items you have, but are willing to sacrifice, can provide food, clothing, and shelter to 90 orphans, and, we can also help rescue the kids who have nowhere to live. This is what we call a win-win.

Will you help us end local poverty in Zimbabwe? Please go here for more info.

Thank you for your time,

Chris Marlow
Director/Advocate