leahorvis

"All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that." - Swami Vivekananda Primary Health Care: July 14-19, 2014 On our first day at CHAI headquarters, we were told that India is like 2 countries in 1. One country that houses the wealthy and prosperous while the other that shelters the poor and needy. It is a curious thing to be driving down the street and see a beautiful glass building that allows you to see the expensive cars for sale in it's interior right beside a row of shelters half caved in and homes made from tarps. Poverty is real. Taking the form of beggars knocking on your car window, children prancing around in costumes asking for money if you take a photo and cripples curled up on the side of ... read more

"People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centred. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you’ll ... read more

I didn't know what to expect from my journey to Ghana. Really, I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. Maybe it was the constant studying and fear of failure from my nursing studies that kept my mind preoccupied with seemingly more vital day-to-day tasks; or maybe it was the daily reminder of my bodily deformities and chronic pain that left me wondering if I would be well suited for such a physical adventure; or maybe it was the ugly blackness of depression looming over me that made me believe that I was not good enough; whatever it was, I was fully unprepared to leave the comforts of home and head to Africa - and so, expected little. In truth, Africa was never on my list of places to visit in my lifetime. ... read more

I promised a certain Dave and Wendy that I wound finish blogging about my travels in Mexico AGES ago; and to be honest, I have had a really difficult time coming up with the words that would end that chapter in my life. I returned home with mixed feelings about everything I had experienced over the previous year. In fact, I am still working through my thoughts and feelings. My foundations were rocked. My beliefs were questioned. My understandings of “self” and “community” were shifted. I came home with an unsatisfied feeling; like I had this pit in my stomach that I couldn’t get rid of but I didn’t know exactly what it was. I wanted to help; but I felt helpless. I wanted to be able to pray; but I didn’t see its effectiveness. I ... read more

Imagine like you are standing at the end of the world. Crisp air blows in your face as your toes dangle over the edge of a cliff. Civilization is miles below where you stand. There are no guard rails, no security measures, nothing stopping you from plummeting to your death…. Welcome to Hierve el Agua; literally translated to Boil the Water when, in fact, there are no boiling waters there. It is what they call a petrified waterfall but is, in fact, not a waterfall either. Hierve el Agua is a collection of natural structures called “Cascadas de Sal” or “Salt Cascades” and is formed by natural springs that run over cliffs. Since the water is saturated with calcium carbonate it crystallizes, like that of large stalactites found in caves, and creates the appearance of large ... read more