Frank the Businessman

Bottom line up front: I’m raising money for the man in this photo, so that he can jumpstart his business ideas andwork his way out of poverty. 

This is Frank and he’s 25.

I met Frank a few weeks ago when I hiked Kilimanjaro and he was assigned to be my porter; his day to day job is to haul 44lbs through sun, snow and rain for a mere $8 a day (on average). 

One day I saw him shining his boots, which was humorous to me because we were all covered in filth from hiking and no one had showered in a week; it didn’t seem like the ideal time to care about appearances. 

He looked at me and said, “Johannah, one day I’m going to be a businessman; I might be only a porter now, but I’m not going to let myself look like it.” 

I asked him to tell me more. He told me that he’s working 2-3 jobs to save as much money as possible so that he can start his first business within two years. His speech wasn’t filled with just wishful thinking.

No, I was listening to a man with a carefully vetted and viable plan to work his way out of poverty and in that moment I knew I wanted to do all I could to help him get there (and get there as soon as possible). 

Do you remember your first, “big break”? I remember mine; Three women named Laura Rich, Shannon Maxwell and Diana Harris gave me a helping hand when I was 20 years old that forever changed the trajectory of my life.

Not everyone is so lucky to “have friends in high places” or to have “been in the right place at the right time.” In fact, some people are very unlucky and although they are 10 times the people we’ll ever be they won’t amount to 1/2 as much simply because they don’t have access to the same resources. 

It’s a very unfair world we live in and I know I can’t change the whole world, but I do know that collectively we can change Frank’s life.

With a few thousand dollars Frank could launch his business of reselling clothing for profit and employing others. And who knows, maybe in a few years he will turn around and offer someone else a helping hand - offer someone else their “big break”. 

I know this is a scary time for everyone financially (myself included since that stock market dip!), so please don't feel obligated to give, but for those who can afford to and who are stirred in their heart by this mission, will you join me in this?