Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

Recently in my inbox, I received a fundraising email from Opportunity International. I get many of these appeals, as many of us do. However, this one stayed with me. Not because of the ask, but because of the insight it offered.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his/her point of view. Until you climb into his/her skin and walk around in it."

— Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Opportunity International is a nonprofit organization working to break the cycle of poverty through microfinance and community investment. Their appeal began with a deep human challenge: “Imagine standing in your home with just a few dollars left in your hand. You must choose between buying food for your children or sending them to school.” This was not a hypothetical situation. It was a real dilemma that I now faced.

Opportunity International created an interactive experience called Impossible Decisions.  It invites you step into the shoes of Miriam, mother of three in Northern Ghana. As Miriam, you are asked to make a series of painful choices. Difficult choices in which every option carries a cost. With each decision, you see the consequences, not in abstract terms, but in deep personal, human ones.

The experience does not last long, but it is powerful. You are no longer just an observer of poverty or injustice. For a few minutes, you are the person living it. This brief experience reminded me that for many, the choices agonized over are not between good and bad, but between two bad options. Walking in Mariam’s shoes left me more aware, more humbled, and hopefully, more compassionate.

"When you understand the suffering of another person, that understanding brings compassion and the desire to help."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

If you're looking for a meaningful way to broaden your perspective today, I encourage you to take a few minutes and walk through Impossible Decisions. It will not take long, but I predict it will leave a mark. https://opportunityinternational.ca/impossible-decisions/

You will walk away not just more informed, but more connected. And maybe, like me, with a fuller heart.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Image: Saulo Meza/Unsplash

International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8 to recognize the importance of literacy as part of the fundamental right to education. The day also is an opportunity to remind the world that literacy is the foundation for lifelong learning, empowerment, health and wellbeing, and gender equality.

CODE is Canada’s leading international development agency dedicated to education and literacy. At CODE, we believe in the transformative power of the written word. Since our founding in 1959, our programming has expanded from shipping books overseas. We are grateful to the countless foundations, community groups and donors who have made it all possible.

In collaboration with our in-country partners, our programs emphasize teacher training and the creation of high-quality, locally authored children’s books, because literacy only blossoms when children can see themselves reflected in what they read.

Our impact is deep and measurable. Between 2019 and 2025, CODE empowered 1.6 million students, distributed 1.6 million culturally relevant books, and trained 25,000 educators.

We see this work realized in the Grade 1 classroom of Children’s Hope Elementary School, Liberia, where the classroom is filled with culturally appropriate and locally designed wall posters with letters of the alphabet and blended sounds. Bookshelves line the class filled with anthologies that have been developed by Liberian authors and published by Liberian publishers. The teacher – Mrs. Blaki – moves around the classroom providing support to groups of children working on literacy activities. A young girl, Aminata, is huddled together over a storybook and sounding out words.

As we mark International Literacy Day, we reflect on our vision: a world where every young person, like Aminata, can pursue literacy, through quality teaching and learning.

At this time, 9 out 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa are suffering from what the World Bank terms “learning poverty,” which is defined by the inability to read and understand a simple text by age 10. And so, we know the work at CODE must continue and with partners such yourselves, we can work towards establishing literacy programs; develop local books; and work with teachers.

Together, we can write a brighter future—one child, one book, one teacher at a time.

-Sara McGinty, Director of International Programs and Partnership

Image: Aleks M/Unsplash