What are you thinking about for 2009? This week I came across a great list of "things to do in 2009," which was compiled by a social marketer named Chris Brogan. This list really impressed me not only because of the great ideas, but because the list should be helpful to just about anyone. Best wishes for 2009 from Cauzal Coffee!

6 Things to Do in 2009

1. Find a new way to improve someone's day (and determine if there’s value in it).

2. Synthesize new ideas from outside your normal circle (and make meaning from them).

3. Promote the great people out there (and and keep doing it).

4. Learn from brilliant people (and share what you learn).

5. Work on interesting projects that matter to you (and empower others to participate).

6. Discover your passions (and share them openly).

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It is great to see nonprofits across the U.S. learn about Cauzal Coffee and how they can raise funds through the OurCauze turnkey fundraiser, which allows supporters to direct money that they're already spending on coffee to the nonprofit organization instead. Here are a few examples of OurCauze fundraisers that are currently underway. Join Cauzal Coffee in supporting these important Cauzes!

410 Bridge (Alpharetta, GA) is raising $85,000 through a Cauze titled "Build a Clinic with Coffee." All over Africa people are dying of easily treatable diseases and ailments simply because clinics and hospitals are too far away to reach. 410 Bridge is building a health clinic in the Kenyan village of Ngamba.

The Student Missionary Union of Biola University (La Mirada, CA) is sending a short-term team to Hungary for two and a half weeks in January. Their goal is to raise $1,800 through a Cauze titled "Team Hungary 2009." The Biola student team will partner with Good Sports Ministry in Miskolch, Hungary to work with two orphanages and a gypsy outreach program.

Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Colorado Springs, CO) is raising $15,000 through a Cauze titled "Holy Cross Youth Missions," which will support a youth team going to work on a South Dakota Native American reservation. The youth team will be working on home repairs, painting, and building decks, and the church expects to take 300 youth on this work trip, demonstrating the outpouring of God's love in this needy community.

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Last week I wrote about the new Disaster Cauze that is focused on helping to alleviate the suffering in Congo. Cauzal Coffee is partnering with World Relief in this important endeavor, and here is a moving video introducing this new Cauze:

World Relief has recently given an encouraging update on their distribution of beans, flour, salt, vegetable oil, and soap to hundreds of families in the Rutshuru region of eastern Congo. "They were astonished to see us," said World Relief's Marcel Serubungo. "At the same time, we were surprised to see all of them alive." Hunger is the biggest challenge the local people face, as it remains unsafe for people to go into their fields to harvest crops.

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       For a child is born to us,
            a son is given to us.
       The government will rest on his shoulders.
            And he will be called:
       Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
            Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
       His government and its peace
            will never end.
       He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
            for all eternity.
       The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
            will make this happen!

 writings of the prophet Isaiah, circa 700 BC

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It seems that wherever I turn -- the radio, newspaper, television, internet, work, church, family, friends, neighbors, conversations -- people are talking about the economic crisis. Friends are out of work, cash is drying up, and the news is not good. As Reuters reports, "No Christmas cheer as recession gathers steam. ... Bah humbug. Recession, recession, recession."

Wow, this is unprecedented in my lifetime! Do you also feel like you're living through an historic event, as terrible as it is? How are you dealing with this crisis, and how are you reaching out to those in need around you? Are churches, governments, nonprofits, and businesses responding to the needs in our communities?

As I was pondering this crisis I came across a recent report from Doctors Without Borders, an international aid organization, which describes their list of the top 10 humanitarian crises of 2008. In this report they cite violence in Somalia, forced civilian displacements in eastern Congo, and neglected medical emergencies in Burma and Zimbabwe among the globe's top 10 crises. Even though these crises are horrendous and shocking in comparison to the economic crisis, the pain felt by individuals going through any of these crises can be extreme and overwhelming. My prayer for this Christmas season is that in the midst of crisis, we can bring the message of hope, love, and joy to those in need all around us, whenever and wherever we may encounter them. 

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As many of us are making last minute preparations for Christmas, hundreds of thousands of Congolese continue to suffer from war and injustice. Last week the UN Secretary General said that the UN has opened investigations into possible war crimes committed in eastern Congo, where more than 1.35 million people are now displaced. He said that there is alarming evidence of targeted killings and possibly civilian massacres. (Read more news here.) 

Cauzal Coffee recently created a new Disaster Cauze that is focused on helping to alleviate the suffering in Congo. When you visit the Cauzal Coffee Shop and buy Cauzal's award-winning coffee, Cauzal Coffee will send 25% of the purchase price to World Relief for the provision of vital supplies to uprooted families in eastern Congo. What better gift can you give this Christmas?

At Cauzal Coffee we have a lot of fun working with great nonprofits and helping them raise funds for their activities! One such group is "Mission Kids", which is working to help parents and their children engage in meaningful and creative opportunities to learn, love, and serve others.

Mission Kids is partnering with the World Relief NEXT project to educate American school-aged children about the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their goal is to raise $8,000 by the end of December. Join in this exciting cauze by purchasing Cauzal coffee through this link: www.cauzal.com/ourcauze1256.    

 

Cauzal Coffee partners with International Justice Mission (IJM) in our human trafficking cauze. My personal experience with IJM was in Rwanda, where I was able to give some assistance to IJM as they began setting up their program in this small central African country. I was particularly impressed by IJM’s methodology of working through the existing public justice systems, helping to ensure that victims of abuse and oppression are given the full protection of the law in their own countries. Often, the existing legal system is not equitably applied, and IJM lawyers and investigators work with local officials to make public justice systems work for victims of abuse and oppression who urgently need the protection of the law.

The following video is an NBC Nightly News feature on IJM's work in Cambodia:

Part of the buzz of web 2.0 is that information flow on the internet is much more viral, spreading quickly and exponentially in new and exciting ways. If you want to read a great piece on how this relates to blogging, Seth Godin has web-published a cool booklet titled "Seth Godin's Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web."

So I was excited yesterday when I saw that World Magazine is blogging about Cauzal Coffee and how 25% of every coffee sale goes to a humanitarian cause. If you're a blogger, if you send emails, or if you participate in a social network (e.g., facebook), become part of the viral infection that is Cauzal Coffee!

 

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12-year-old Rhonda was walking through a familiar field on the way home to her grandmother. As the pathway turned the corner of an abandoned shed, a man grabbed her, threw her down in the shrubs and raped her. When he was finished he put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, then left her bleeding and alone, tossed aside like a piece of trash in the field. The man had pulled Rhonda’s right leg so violently that it came out of its socket and Rhonda could not walk. She crawled on her hands and knees to the roadside where she collapsed, covered in dirt and blood. A friend found Rhonda on her way back from school, carried her home and washed her.

Rhonda could not hide the pain from her grandmother, who thought she was sick, but never told about the incident. For Rhonda, all was hidden in fear and embarrassment. She tried walking her usual mile to school but soon the pain became unbearable and the silence impossible. Despite overwhelming fears from the perpetrator’s threats, she told a teacher what happened in the field. When Rhonda’s grandmother learned that her granddaughter’s pain was more than a serious stomach flu she began pleading with police to investigate and spent her entire savings on Rhonda’s preliminary medical exam. She prayed to God for rescue, asking why He had left them to suffer alone. Her pleas to officials fell on deaf ears until a magistrate told her to see the staff from International Justice Mission (IJM).

IJM Kenya staff listened to Rhonda, documented her case and, with local authorities have taken action against the rapist to ensure he will never abuse another child. In May 2004, the perpetrator was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In their dirt-floor shanty, Rhonda’s grandmother offered a prayer, “Lord, I am worthless before the world but You are worthy. I am meaningless but You are our help.” And with the same voice of confidence she tells us, “He answered my prayers by sending you.” Rhonda is now receiving proper medical attention and continues to heal. IJM continues to stand with Rhonda and her grandmother, bringing hope where there was silence. 

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