Elisha C. One Year Celebration
January 2015: Elisha C. One-Year Celebration
Los Angeles CA
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – An African Proverb
I never imagined how far Elisha C. would go and how much it would accomplish in its first year. But it is simply a reflection of the amazing team of people that is running alongside of me. I am tremendously blessed and humbled by the support of talented people, who are willingly sacrificing their time, resources and abilities to invest in the vision of Elisha C. – and for that I am extremely grateful.
Over a year ago, before we launched Elisha C., I knew this vision was beyond me. I could not possibly make it happen with my own two hands. Winston Bui, a respected mentor has always said, “if you can get to your vision by yourself, without needing people, than your vision is too small.” With that thought planted in me many years ago, I had built up courage to dream big and to depend on people.
With the collective efforts of a big team and generous supporters in this first year, we have accomplished great things. We put together a total of five Haiti EXPOs, each one bigger than the previous. This year it has already traveled from Southern California to the Midwest! And the impact we are making in Haiti is more than eyes can see. Through the Sponsor-A-Youth Program, we put 28 youths into schools, including 6 university students. We created a rare opportunity for young people from the villages of Haiti to go to universities in the big cities. Through another Elisha C. initiative, we launched a bakery, our first economic development project with the purpose of job creation, while empowering a young Haitian entrepreneur named Gregory. Together, we are breaking the cycle of poverty by launching the young people of this generation to the next level in which they cannot get to by themselves. By empowering and rising up young leaders, we are putting Haiti in the hands of Haitians.
The way I see the role of Elisha C. in its second year and beyond is that we are creating a well-functioning engine with different means to channel resources of this world to people in need. We cannot save the poor by ourselves, but through Elisha C. we can become a well-engineered machine that can alleviate poverty together. This is only the beginning. Through the collective efforts of you and I working together and doing our parts well, we will not only go fast but we will go far!
The best is yet to come!
Love,
Elisha