My friends Daryl and Stephanie live in Westgrove, Pennsylvania which is a small town not far from Kennette Square, Pa which happens to be the mushroom capital of the world. Growing mushrooms requires things that are rotting and lots of fertilizer both of which smell horrible.
Chido Govera (which means passion and desire) is a young woman who lives in a poverty-stricken community in Zimbabwe. When she was seven her mother died and she was forced to quit school to provide for her younger brother and blind grandmother (and you thought you had it rough). She tried framing a variety of foods but nothing worked. But at age 11 she was introduced to mushroom farming using waste from failed crops.
The money she was able to earn from growing and selling mushrooms fed her family, and Chido has turned her talent for it into an opportunity to educate people throughout Africa and beyond.
Watch a short video about her story here.
If a seven year old orphan, from one of the poorest places on Earth can use mushrooms to better her life and the lives of others around the world what can you do with your laptop, your talent, the money in your bank account, the connections you have, etc.
Now when I visit my friends Daryl and Stephanie the stench of mushroom farming will remind me of Chido, and what passion and desire can do for a person, family, community, and world.