Almost four years ago, I met a baby boy named Tyler in the infant/toddler room at the daycare I was working in. Today, I was working in the preschool room at that same daycare and Tyler and I were reacquainted. I asked Tyler if he remembered me and he nodded “yes”. I don’t know if he consciously remembers me but we were close back in the day and I believe he felt that closeness today, somehow, in his own little way.

He has come so far. It was amazing to hear him speaking, see him writing and spelling words out. It was even more amazing to watch him interact with the other children. The quiet, timid toddler I once knew is now the leader and the one everyone goes to for help. He is kind and generous, self confident and very aware of his surroundings.

Tyler needed so much in his early years – emotionally and physically. Seeing him today, the person he has become, let’s me know that my best, our best (R,S, J & I) was good enough. Also – no matter what a child goes through in their first year on this planet – love, guidance and friendship can heal and provide them with the strength they need to make it in this world.

Photographer: Yeondoo Jung. I CAN’T wait to try this!

Happy 3rd Birthday to the Swissmiss Blog — I am constantly being inspired by what Tina chooses to share with us, Mr. Jung is just one example. Cheers to many more!

“TOMS Shoes business plan is simple – for every shoe you purchase, they send a pair of shoes to a child in need. Since 2006, they have given 10,000 pairs to children in Argentina and 50,000 pairs in South Africa. This year alone, they plan on giving 200,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world.”

Here is a clip of an actual shoe drop in Argentina back in 2006.

“Anybody who is starting a small company, everybody who has an idea…
INCORPORATE GIVING IN WHAT YOU DO!”

via minor details

Photo by Stephanie Cogdon Barnes

“1. Children are our most precious natural resource. 2. The solution to poverty, peace and environment is education. 3. Teaching is one but not the only way to achieve learning.”

“Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Laboratory, describes how the One Laptop Per Child project will build and distribute the “$100 laptop.”

“Why you should listen to him:

A pioneer in the field of computer-aided design, Negroponte is perhaps best known for founding and directing MIT’s Media Lab, which helped drive the multimedia revolution and now houses more than 500 researchers and staff. An original investor in WIRED (and the magazine’s “patron saint”), for five years he penned a column exploring the frontiers of technology — ideas that he expanded into his 1995 best-selling book Being Digital. An angel investor extraordinaire, he’s funded more than 40 startups, and served on the boards of companies such as Motorola and Ambient Devices.

But his latest effort, the One Laptop Per Child project, may prove his most ambitious. The organization is manufacturing the XO (the “$100 laptop”), a wireless Internet-enabled, pedal-powered computer costing roughly $100. Negroponte hopes to put the first devices in the hands of the children in the developing world by the end of 2007, expanding to millions more by 2010.”

One Laptop Per Child