This past week I had the chance to speak with Anjelica and Ariel of the budding nonprofit, One is Greater Than None. These two girls, along with six others, started a organization at age 14 to raise money to save trafficked children in Ghana, Africa. After discovering it would require approximately $4,300 to save just one child, the enterprising young ladies decided to craft bracelets attached to cards that would educate people about the troubles in the African nation. There also were T-shirts, emblazoned with their logo, “1>0,” complete with the tag line “Be Part of the Equation.” Since their humble beginnings in 2007, the girls have raised over $100,000 and helped 48 children.

The girls, now 16, are moving on to help people in rural parts of the U.S. with Remote Area Medical (RAM), an organization supplying free medical care to rural areas. The mission is to motivate people by showing that even the smallest amount can help change the world.

Before seeing the Oprah episode “The Boy Oprah Couldn’t Forget,” what made you girls want to start a charity?

Ariel: Well, we all come from fairly comfortable backgrounds and families that involved us in charitable things since we were young.

Anjelica: We wanted to do something fun with our friends.

Who are some of the people the One is Greater Than None girls look up to?

Ariel: Oprah! Ah, Pam Cope who started Touch a Life. She helps orphanages around the world. She’s like a saint ― honestly the most amazing person! Eric Peasah from the International Organization for Migration. Oh, and Taylor Swift!

Anjelica: Yes!

Unison: TAYLOR SWIFT!

Ariel: We are in love with Taylor Swift! She knows who she is and she’s just a great role model.

Anjelica: We blast her music in the car when we’re all headed somewhere together and sing along!

 

 

The simplicity of this organization and the amount of impact it has is inspiring. Is there a lot of planning? What is a typical week for the girls like?

Ariel: Every Sunday there’s a meeting with all eight girls and sometimes the moms. Everyone is in charge of a certain something. We get help from parents on things we can’t do because of our age.

Anjelica: We usually do one charity a week. It’s great having eight girls because two girls can go here and two girls go there.

So much has happened with One is Greater Than None in the last two years. Are you overwhelmed with the amount people have given?

Ariel: I’m in shock that this is even happening, that we’ve been able to do so much in such a short time. People give so much!

How do you balance school, running a life-saving nonprofit and a personal life?

Ariel: Time management! It’s sort of like: Alright, Sundays ― make 20 bracelets; Saturday ― do all my homework in the morning then go hang out with friends.

Anjelica: I’ve learned how to manage time from being in the charity.

Ariel: Yeah, there’s not as much room for procrastination.

You ladies have accomplished so much at such a young age. In the midst of everything do you feel put together?

Ariel: I’m confident but am still learning who I am. As far as school and social life, I’m still learning how to feel put together.

Anjelica: This charity has helped shape who I am today. I’m a more mature person, more put together than if I hadn’t done this.

Your mission statement says that “any contribution, no matter how small, has value.” How can people be part of the equation daily, weekly, monthly or yearly?

Ariel: As far as helping the charity, you can donate, buy jewelry and spread the word. Organize something at school for us. We LOVE speaking at middle schools and high schools because students are so impacted by our message! For the world, any random acts of kindness. Just try to make the world a better place. There are so many different ways to help and get involved.

Anjelica: Definitely volunteer your time.

To donate to One is Greater Than None, purchase jewelry or clothing please visit Oneisgreaterthannonoe.org.

And remember, “Any contribution, no matter how small, has value.”

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Surfing isn’t just for ocean waves and the Worldwide Web anymore. In fact, in the world of the serious traveler, couch surfing not only facilitates matching free accommodations of a lone traveler with a willing host, but also serves as an international network of people hoping to seek and create a deeper sense of cultural understanding.

This is the mission of Couchsurfing.org, an online community connecting people with others around the globe by providing a sort-of matchmaking service for the true wanderer. The initial appeal of couch surfing may very well be the absence of a bill slipped under your door in the morning. But after scrolling through the testimonials and statistics of “positive experiences” on Couchsurfing.org, it seems that once you crash on the couch of a welcoming local in far-off places like Poland, Ghana or Jamaica, you may never opt to stay in a centrally-located, expensive hotel again.

Couchsurfing.org is the non-profit brainchild of 28 year-old Casey Fenton, whose full-time job is now keeping the Web site and its thousands of members up and traveling. As a registered member of Fenton’s site, you can request accommodations according to your planned travel route — much like requesting a friend on Facebook — and then, if offered a couch, a bed or even a whole room, you can connect with your host and secure your accommodations. You are under no obligation to host if you surf. Don’t feel like riding the couch? Then just register solely as a host. You can even simply support Couchsurfing.org as a project without offering up any space in your home.

Membership is on the rise among young, independent globetrotters who hope to experience more than the typical tourist list of things-to-do. These new set of explorers also are looking to stretch their travel budget. The art of couch surfing seems to have manifested into an underground culture of its own, complete with its own lingo, set of rules and a strict adherence to etiquette, gratefulness and most of all, adventure.

In a way, couch surfing represents a commitment to the human spirit by encouraging people to interact, share and learn from each other. It brings travelers closer to the real experience of a place so that they can reflect, understand and ultimately appreciate the true dynamic of their destination.

photo by ryan jesena

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Living in a refugee camp in Ghana, Lovetta Conto struggled to get food, water and an education. She still believed, however, beauty could grow even in the darkest surroundings.

She may be a bit younger than our typical That Girl (at sixteen) but she is no less inspirational. Lovetta has her own line of jewelry, called Akawelle (“also known as love”), where pieces are fashioned from discarded bullets from the Liberian Civil War. “Life” is inscribed into the leaf pendant made from melting and molding the top part of the bullet. The bottom is wrapped with gold-filled wire to hang alongside the leaf. Constructed of copper and zinc, the bullets will tarnish but Lovetta feels this only enhances the splendor.

“Even something as ugly as a bullet that was fired in a war can be made beautiful if you are willing to work to change it into something else,” Lovetta explains.

Lovetta’s dedication was recognized by Cori Stern, founder of the Strongheart Fellowship. The fellowship stresses development through enterprise, encouraging participants to create projects that “combine commerce and compassion” by benefiting peers, the community and the Fellow. The proceeds from Conto’s jewelry line are going to help construct the Strongheart House in the now peaceful Liberia.

Like her jewelry, Lovetta also has managed to take her situation and turn it into a stunning reminder of the power of hope. She struggled to build a future for herself in the refugee camp. Education is not free in most of Africa, so Lovetta’s father worked very hard to pay for her education.

“I am finally getting the education my father dreamed of for me,” she writes. “That is why I say I am not ashamed of my past. It has made me who I am.”

photos courtesy of strongheart fellowship

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