Sweet Potato Kale Hash Recipe (2024)

Last update: March 6, 2018 By Alice Currah 23 Comments

While rummaging through old boxes for baby photos of my daughter’s school project, I found pictures from my early twenties volunteering abroad in South and Central America. Working in remote areas serving the poorest of the poor in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, I realized very quickly that part of my life mission would be dedicated to fighting extreme global poverty. While living one summer in Bolivia I mainly volunteered in an elementary school doing whatever it was that needed to be done including administering routine lice checks. One of my most favorite things to do was to make home visits to the families of some of the students. Most of the families lived in corrugated metal shacks with dirt floors and no running water, bathroom, or kitchen amenities. Yet, these were some of the most content joyous people I have ever met. My hair was cut in a pixie style and that one summer living abroad would impact my global perspective on the importance of living a life beyond me. When I returned to the US, I made a decision to move abroad permanently with the intent of working in a third world country. As I was figuring out the logistics of making this happen, I decided to volunteer in a teen homeless shelter in Seattle. This is where I met my husband. Sharing the same passion and vision, together we would go to Guatemala and Nicaragua multiple times with teams of people to assist indigenous people impacted by civil war through sustainable agriculture and community building. The non-profit agency we partnered with specialized in purchasing land in remote mountainous areas throughout Latin America and would help these families become self sustaining through agriculture and craft driven businesses. Since then, my desire has always been to get involved with non-profit organizations focused on compassion, justice, and advocacy in global regions of extreme poverty.

During this last year I’ve been discussing with my husband my desire to go abroad in short-term spurts again. Not knowing how and when it would happen, I was thrilled when I was invited to go to Ethiopia with ONE.org, a non-profit (and non-partisan) organization, backed by 3 million people and dedicated to fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease through advocacy. I will be going with a group of 10 influential women from across the globe as part of the ONE Moms team. The purpose of our trip is to meet with women, families, and farmers to listen to (and share their) stories as they share glimpses of their lives with us. We will also be visiting health clinics to better understand the health care needs and struggles among the people in the area.

ONE.org is not about raising funds through awareness. Instead, ONE (and ONE Moms) is an advocacy group seeking your VOICE to work towards policy changes at government levels.

My travel immunizations are up-to-date and I have malaria medicine sitting on my nightstand ready to be packed. I cut my hair slightly longer than pixie which was inspired by the photos I found from Bolivia. I leave next week knowing I will not return to the States the same. I’m looking forward to emerging myself in Ethiopian culture and experiencing an adventure of a lifetime.