This Week’s Inspiration

Last Thursday evening, I was lucky enough to tune into CNN Heroes, the network’s annual gala event honouring ten people whose communities around the world nominated them as everyday heroes. This program is something I’ve come to look forward to since its inaugural broadcast in 2007. The stories told are absolutely amazing, portraying individual feats of humanity that exemplify what it means to contribute to the world at large.

As the show went on, each Hero’s story became more amazing than the one before it. From a man whose volunteer vacation in Africa led to a life dedicated to building footbridges for villagers in Kenya, to a woman living and working in murder-capital Juarez, Mexico whose free hospital provides moms-to-be with a safe, caring and clean space in which to give birth, every featured story had me reaching for the Kleenex box.

The selected 2010 Hero of the Year was Anuradha Koirala, whose organization, Maiti Nepal, rescues young girls trafficked into sex slavery across the India-Nepal border. Her cause is truly amazing, as the video included above depicts (just click on the photo!). During CNN’s presentation of Koirala’s work, a young woman residing at Maiti Nepal stated in her interview, “My mother just gave birth to me. Anuradha gave me everything else.” Talk about inspiring…check out all the Heroes here, and if you caught the show and felt connected to a particular story, I’d love to know which one spoke to you in the way Anuradha’s spoke to me.

~Cecily