One of the satisfying feelings in life is the feeling that we can effect change, leave a mark–a legacy–on our way through this life, rather than only “existing”.

Recently a friend of mine, Jessica Roberts, lent me a book which is broadening my horizons as to the significance of what I’m doing and what others are accomplishing through helping me do it.

I’ve come to realize that I and those who are helping me are “social entrepreneurs”. We are involved in the grass-roots process of transforming society from the bottom up – the only way that enduring change can realistically occur. We are showing that problems can be solved.

We are singlehandedly recreating society’s capacity to address problems in a certain specific area.

On the part of each of you who is helping Project “Sanando Corazones”, this translates into an investment in the transformation of society.

Any investment gives profits.  Einstein said: “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts”.

In social entrepreneurship, creative efforts translate into dollar terms, based on outcomes that are directly linked to the organizations purpose.

Einstein said something else very interesting about not relying on knowledge at the expense of feeling. He said,” We must take care not to make intellect our god. It has powerful muscles, but no personality. It cannot rule, only serve”

That leads us to the part the “counts but cannot be counted”.

I was amazed as I checked through my files and saw the project goals, which we had written up last year (I’ve been so busy that I’d forgotten about them).

To my pleasant surprise Project Sanando Corazones is specifically on target, right down to the details of the goals for stage II. What’s surprising is that a lot of what has been falling into place in stage II have been things which are totally out of our control.

That sends a chill up my spine, to realize that things are being set in motion by God Himself, making all of us part of something much bigger and more transcendental.

Then there’s the emotionally satisfying feeling that comes from meeting others ‘face to face’ and ‘heart to heart’.

When I arrived back (after a little over a year) in “Un Lugar Necesitado” write-up, one of the mothers came running up to me and said, “We knew you’d return! We knew you wouldn’t just abandon us – not you!”

That “you” refers to a team – all of us working together.

I returned because I was invited by the county of Coltauco to carry out a pilot project in 2013 (with teacher training beginning in Dec. 2012 so the entire course will have to be prepared by then!).

The project will be a resilience training course for children, called “Building Our Future”. In Coltauco the course will be given in 6 schools in the county. Those schools have a very high rate of trauma and stress among the children because of abuse issues, domestic violence issues, alcohol, and drug abuse issues. Many times those issues are also coupled with lasting fear issues from the earth quake and tsunami.

Considering the fact that more extensive damage (both socially and physically) exists in the other two regions, we are trying to get pilot projects going in the other two regions also. As the Ministry of Education sees the results of the resiliency course in the lives of the children, they will be prompted to include the course in all of the vulnerable schools in each of the regions.

The bottom line of all of this is that each of us should feel privileged that we are able to participate and contribute to something that has such far reaching possibilities in helping children to overcome obstacles and forge out satisfying lives, despite their situations.

We must press on and carry things through to the victory!