Impact

"First with the head, then with the heart."
Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One

Impact.  We may not know it, but we experience it every single day of our lives.  In our jobs, in our relationships....we constantly strive to have an impact on someone or something outside of ourselves.  But what does it mean to have impact?  For the international organizations that I consult with, the goal is simple: to have a more effective and lasting impact in the lives of the people with disabilities that they serve.

Yet the more I live and work internationally, the more I find that having such an impact is easier said than done.  Over the past year, I have had to regularly wrestle with the fact that making a lasting impact is a process that requires good planning, enduring patience, and tenacious determination.

At Mission to Ukraine, we are currently planning for more growth and greater impact in the lives of Zhitomir's children and youth with disabilities.  After many days of meetings and discussions, we have created a strategic plan of action for making this impact a reality.  Following our changes in programming, one of our action steps for the Disability Department is to build a Model of Care.  By defining the scope of MTU's treatment, this Model of Care will serve as a fundamental roadmap for delivering effective and lasting rehabilitative care to Ukraine's children and youth with disabilities. 

In order to make a greater impact on the world, a collision must happen. Crash!  Bang!  Smash!  Sometimes, we must thrust ourselves into the heart of the problem with every ounce of strength we have so that the collision will strike a spark.  And, if we're lucky, that spark will set off a flame of impact that will last for a lifetime.