Service Springing from Compassion: the Foundation of Leadership

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Evergreen School in Silver Spring, Maryland to present Amman Imman to a class of 6 - 9 year old students.   I find that the energy and impact of a presentation and my ability connect with an audience is influenced by their openness.  In this case, these young students were right with me. They sat in rapt attention as I shared photos with them of children in the Azawak getting water from contaminated marshes.  Their empathy was ignited upon hearing stories of how kids a little older than themselves travel horrendous distances to reach a well when the muddy marshes dry up.  Upon hearing how they can help through our Wells of Love program, they wanted to get involved.

It is so moving for me personally to reach the caring spirits of students.  I always experience that when their hearts and minds are touched, they want to help.

I've come to the realization that service springing from a heart of compassion is the foundation of leadership.

Here's an excerpt from the March 21 edition of Evergreen's newsletter:

We visited two countries in Africa this past week: Niger and Sierra Leone.  Well, we didn’t actually go there but those countries came to us through two wonderful presentations. The first presentation was from Debra Kahn, the director of the Wells of Love program of nonprofit organization Amman Imman: Water is Life. Amman Imman has a mission to dig wells and bring water to the thirsty men, women, and children of the Azawak.  The children learned about the life and culture of the Azawak Nomads and imagined and saw what life is like without an accessible water source. The presentation was fascinating and the children were inspired to help. Amman Imman will be having their annual walk in May and we would like to participate. More information on how to participate will arrive in the next few weeks.