Motherless

It's Mother's Day weekend. I'm so lucky. Not only am I a mom, but I have one, too. A wonderful one. One who comforted me in my little girl sorrows, and cheered me on in my victories. One that taught me kindness and selflessness. I was lucky, and I still am.

But so so many on this planet are not so lucky. Not only do they not have a wonderful mother like I have...they have no mother at all. Over 143 million children in the world right now are motherless. My goal in life is to bring this number down as low as possible. I know I'm one person and I may as well be trying to spin straw into gold, but I know that just one less orphan in the world is a step in the right direction. One more child in a family is worth a million rooms of spun gold.

Many of you know I am acting as a representative for Project 143. With founder Tammy Cannon, I have been trying to see a host program developed in the Kemerovo Region. Although it has been a long, slow road, there is still hope. When I head over to Kemerovo in a few weeks, I will be meeting with the DOE to see if an August Program is a possibility. Still, there are many children waiting right now on Project 143's photolisting. Children who dream of a family. Children who would be happy to just spend a few weeks with you this summer to experience family life first-hand. Children like Ent:

Or sisters like Sanita and Linda - --bright girls just needing a chance

Or Lyubov, age 12, who is described by her caretakers as 'merry' and kind and sweet:

These are just three. Boys are often overlooked, as are sibling groups and older children. And yet the gift of their presence in a family should mean people knocking themselves out trying to host kids like these. Can you host? Even if you can't host, you can donate, you can advocate, you can make a difference just by spreading the word.

Last year when I hosted, I was so sad that so many children did not get picked. I advocated for them online, I talked about them, posted their photos on facebook, and thought I had not made one bit of difference. But you know what? Months later, I had no less than three families tell me they had hosted because of my postings. And one of these families has since adopted the boy they hosted! All because I took 2 minutes out of my day to post on my blog about these kids.

A child in a home. What is more wonderful than that? A motherless one now in the arms of a loving mother. How do you possibly beat that? You do it by being an advocate yourself and helping to get the word out. Will you?

Here's Vlad. Will you help him, against all odds, to find a family for the summer?

What amazing things might this little boy teach you? What light might he bring into your world? What life lessons might you learn through him? Spread the word. On this Mother's Day weekend, let the world know about the motherless. You can make a difference. You can be part of the road that brings them home.