Room in my heart

Contemplating my grown-up gap year in December 2008, I knew I wanted to do several things: Study a language, travel, and "give back", in some yet to be determined manner. Language study was easily sorted, as the options are endless, a trek in the Nepalese Himalaya took care of the travel bit, but the giving back required more careful thought. I wanted to do something meaningful but was not sure what.

I know people give back in many ways: Volunteer, donate money, clothes, etc. Some can create foundations, like Bill Gates; others give in more individual and emotionally enduring ways. I have a friend who many years ago adopted a failure to thrive little girl. One day over lunch, he explained to me why he and his wife had decided to do this. Both were a bit older, already had children by previous marriages, so there was no pressing need to adopt. But as he explained to me, after he learned about this little girl, he and his wife felt strongly: "We had room in our home for her...and room in our hearts."

Room in our hearts. That phrase has reverberated in me for years. How do we know if we have sufficient room in our hearts for something as hard as raising a troubled child? Caring for a sick parent? Easing someone's pain? Perhaps the oft-quoted, tired, but still relevant Beatles song: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" provides some guidance? Or maybe we can't know for sure. But we move forward and do our best.

As a start, a year ago, I volunteered for a charity in the UK, a woman's shelter that was in need of help getting its business in order. The program used a team-based approach, where I was teamed with three other business professionals assigned to this charity. This approach worked well, as everyone brought something different to the table. It was a great experience: I learned a bit about how charities run in the UK, I met other like-minded business people giving their time and expertise, and I helped (I think) the charity tackle some strategy challenges. Also, this was clearly the right direction for me.

So back to the question of how to give back during this time away from work? I knew I enjoyed helping charities in need of business skills but lacking funds to hire expensive consultants. As the time approached when I needed to commit to a volunteer project, serendipity led me to Cambodia. At the time I was merely gathering information, surfing the web researching my options, talking to different people, when the perfect opportunity landed in my lap. And, no fool, I took it.

And so has begun an extensive study of a country about which before I knew very little (sadly, as Cambodia is often eclipsed by its neighbor Vietnam in the minds of many Americans). And so too has begun a mental preparation for several months living in Phnom Penh, helping an organization that aids young girls, kids really, to leave the brothels and start better lives. I leave in two weeks, am ready to go, have already packed to within an inch of my life--my North Face bag is bursting at the seams. But there is plenty of room in my heart.