Your Mark On The World
Your Mark On The World combines inspiring stories of ordinary people doing remarkable things to make the world a better place with practical advice to empower anyone to give more to a cause (charity, non-profit or social venture) without giving up a career or family.
The inspiring stories include: Botevy’s life and death struggle through Pol Pot’s killing fields that led her ultimately to create an orphanage in Phnom Penh. Rick’s personal crusade to cure cystic fibrosis to ensure that his two afflicted grandchildren will attend his funeral and not the other way around. The eight-member Smith family’s world service tour. David’s decision to walk away from a successful career as an international executive to volunteer to care for victims of leprosy in rural India. These stories are combined with practical financial advice to empower you to give more to a cause without giving up your family or your career. The book answers these questions: How do I get out of debt and stay out of debt? Which charity or cause do I choose to make my donation? How do I decide where to volunteer? How can our family plan a volunteer vacation? How can I save money for retirement? How much should I contribute to my 401k? Can I use Mint to manage my budget? How to retire early enough to devote healthy years to volunteering? This must-read book provides an overview of philanthropy in America and around the world, providing you with a clear picture of charity and its fruits. You’ll learn the ability to leave your mark on the world.
Excerpt
Your Mark On The World
Chapter 7
Raising a Pig in the Apartment
Before the night Pol Pot’s men came and began killing the people in her small Cambodian village apparently at random, Botevy’s father—a colonel in the King’s army—warned her and the family to hide their valuables and take cover. When the gunshots rang out, ten-year-old Botevy led her family, except her father, running for the pond to hide in the bamboo. Botevy’s mother, with her youngest son just six months old in her arms, came last, calling to Botevy, “Avy! Where are you?” Botevy coaxed her toward the seeming shelter of the bamboo. More shots rang out, followed by the cry of her mother, “Help, Help me! I’ve been shot!” By now, about ten people from the village were hiding in the bamboo. One of the men volunteered to crawl out to rescue her mother as Botevy’s grandfather hushed the children. Botevy, in desperation, quieted the youngest by covering their mouths with her hand. Once her mother arrived in the bamboo sanctuary they determined that her wound was relatively minor; she’d been shot through the palm of her hand and the same bullet had torn through her brother’s tiny calf. Both would clearly survive. In the morning, her father helped to get the wounded to the hospital. Then he warned the villagers that the fighting to come would be much worse than the night before. Following their father’s advice, they fled to the central part of the province of Svay Rieng. There, life took on a semblance of normalcy. Botevy attended school and even
competed on the basketball team. But normalcy was limited; people lived in constant fear as the Khmer Rouge tightened its grip on the province. Shelling made everyday life dangerous; families slept together, terrorized, in bunkers. As the Khmer Rouge victory became apparent, Botevy’s family, led by her father, moved to Phnom Penh. Once the Khmer Rouge declared victory, however, they announced
that everyone must leave the city for their “home land” for three days. Everyone took their valuables but otherwise packed light, expecting—or at least hoping—to return within a few days. Botevy’s family had a small car; they loaded it full of their belongings. The family walked beside it. They couldn’t even get the car out of the city due to the throngs of people attempting to leave. Ultimately, something between chaos and anarchy developed. The Khmer Rouge were killing people indiscriminately, fires broke out and panic erupted.
Devin D. Thorpe
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