It fills souls faster than Soup!

Power of One: My African Mother

My mother said to me, “Courtney, you are my daughter and I love you. There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for you because you and your friends brought love into this place. May you always remember the strength of your own heart and of love—it fills souls faster than soup.”

My mother’s education didn’t go beyond eighth grade. She works as a seamstress and makes about $8 for a full day of work. When she comes home, she makes dinner for our family and usually several neighbors who she invites over if she senses they are struggling. She sings, dances, encourages my brother Duncan with his homework, and starts a fire so we can all stay warm. The financial burdens she feels are never exposed. She stands strong and resilient, as if we are the richest family in the world, which to her, we are—we have each other.

Her faith and spirit keeps me warm even when the fire dies. Her love fills my stomach even when the food couldn’t come close. Her wisdom gives me clarity, even though nothing around me makes sense. 

I met my mother on June 15, 2009. I spent 24 hour with her and when I left she said to me, “Courtney, you are my daughter and I love you. There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for you because you and your friends brought love into this place. May you always remember the strength of your own heart and of love—it fills souls faster than soup.”

Courtney Doran is the Global L.E.A.D. Director of Operations.  She trekked across Africa for 100 days from Kenya to Cape Town, lived in the Marshall Islands through a program at Harvard, and can return any email in under an hour–from any continent on Earth.  She is the glue that makes Global L.E.A.D. stick and as Coach Vince Dooley says…you can “Count on Court”