On Fishing and Happiness

“Give someone a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach someone to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Meet Helina, a 6-year-old girl who lives in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia, the newest member of our family. No, she's not related to us by blood or marriage or adoption or friendship. But she is going to hold a special place in our hearts from now on, because we are going to help her get a good education. Through the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund, we will be paying for Helina's school tuition through the 12th grade.

3Po, CleanBoy and The Pea are excited to have a new friend halfway around the world whom they can write letters to and send photos and little presents to. The Pea is especially excited because Helina is the same age that she is; she loves imagining that Helina must like the same things that she does -- dolls, dresses -- and must be learning many of the same things at school.

For our part, Alfie and I are encouraged by the enthusiasm our children are showing, and happy that Helina and her family value education as we do, and excited that we can make a difference in one girl's life. As parents, it gives us pleasure to imagine the happiness that Helina's parents must feel -- it would be like someone offering to pay our kids' tuition to Harvard! And we are all looking forward to the day when we can travel to Ethiopia, meet Helina and her parents and take them all out for ice-cream.

Helina has already made our family happier, and we haven't even met her yet. Victor Hugo was right when he said, "As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled".