Rugiatu Neneh Turay

It is no secret that the social injustices in Africa are growing daily. We often hear of ways we can help, by sending monetary aid or going on mission trips, but Rugiatu Neneh Turay took fighting the injustices to a higher level.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure that more that 130 million women have undergone. It is viewed as an ititiation ritual in many African cultures, even though in international aid and rights groups it is seen to be a massive human rights violation. The procedure is often done in extremely unsanitary conditions, with unsterilized tools, which has potential to spread the AIDS virus.

Turay was born in Seirra Leone 26 years ago, and underwent FGM when she was thirteen years old. After the death of her cousin, she knew she had to take action. She formed the Amazonian Initiative Movement. The organizations focus is on raising awareness of the dangers of FGM. Since performing this ritual is a huge source of income in such poor areas, AIM must also face the challenge of not only convincing people to stop doing the "surgery" but provide them with other options for providing for their families.

Turay is more than qualified for this job because after she fell victim to this terrible ritual, she continued on to perform it on twenty three other women. She says that at that point in her life it was the only way for her to feed her children.

Since starting AIM the orgaization has registered over 1,2oo practitioners who have agreed to stop practicing if given a different means of income.


Sorry I dont have a picture... I'll keep looking for one!

Katie Powell

Katie is another person who is inspiring to me. There isn't anything published about her, but who cares, shes still amazing! I first met her in junior high at summer camp but didn't get to know her until our freshman year of high school. She and I attended the same church, and grew up near each other. It wasn't until a few years later that I found out about where Katie came from.

When she was nine years old she was adopted from Russia.

One night at camp a few years later she told me the whole story... from the very beginning. Her mother was a teenager, and a drug addict. Soon after having Katie, her mother, most likely strung out, put her in a dumpster and left her there. If it weren't for a policeman patrolling the area that heard the newborns cries, she would never have been a part of my life. She spent years in and out of different orphanages and foster homes, before an American family made her theirs.

Katie is one of the most loving, happy, and crazy people I know. She has overcome huge obstacles and become a true testament to God's love. I am grateful her Katie's friendship, and grateful that she is a part of my life.

Rachel J. Scott

We all remember the Columbine High School massacre that took the innocent lives of several students. Probably the most famous of them was Cassie Bernall. But not many of us have heard of Rachel Scott. She was a remarkable young lady with an even more remarkable faith. After her death her mother published her journals featuring prayers, poems and thoughts from her parents. The book is targeted toward a younger teen audience, but her message and story is thought provoking for all ages.


She is an inspiring girl who will never be forgotten. We can all take a lesson from her example and faith.

Take a look at these links and see why Rachel was so extraordinary and ordinary at the same time.

Article 1
Article 2

Norine V. Rathbone

I am proud to start this blog with one of my personal inspirations in life. She was my mother's best friend growing up and now is my "aunt".

Norine Rathbone isn't your average woman, she's stronger and has a bigger story to tell. I've known Norine since the day I was born, and she has changed my life as well as the lives of countless others around her. She has a big personality, you'd know that by spending all of 30 seconds with her, but in that 30 seconds you'd know that she has an even bigger heart. (Fyi, that's her
and I in the picture...)

A passion for baseball is in her blood. She played g rowing up so it seems only natural that she would be the first female to break into the Men's Senior Baseball League, and even more natural that she could prove to the men that she deserved to be there just as much as they did. In 2001, however, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and fought every day to survive. She endured a double mastectomy, and the loss of her hair from the chemothearpy. She kept on with her life, bald head and all. She is a testament to the strength a person can have amist huge adversity, and through her struggle she found ways to lend her help and experience to others. Through a set of circumstances she formed an internet freinship with a woman named Motoko in Japan, who was dying of cancer. Norine went to her to help her "sister" in her time of great need, and to be a shoulder to a woman suffering in a country where illness is not widely accepted. Although Motoko has passed, Norine still remians in contact with her husband and young son.

Norine has always been one to be open about her life and struggles, if for no other reason than to let people know that no matter what you look like, where you come from, or whatever difficulty life may throw at you, it is not at all out of God's hands.

She currently works as a photographer and lives with her husband of 30 years, Ed, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I encourage you to explore the links I've provided and read for yourself why Norine is such an extraordinary, ordinary woman.


Other links about Norine:
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