The genesis of One Million Thumbprints is a short , poignant letter signed by Esperance , a tiny , yet fierce Congolese woman . Belinda first learned of Esperance on a visit she made to Africa in 2012 with World Relief , a Baltimore-based non-profit whose mission is to partner with churches , other philanthropic groups and governments to bring sustainable change to the most vulnerable communities around the world . One day , while gathering wood with her husband , rebel soldiers approached and attacked the couple . The rebels killed Esperance ' s husband right before her eyes , then violently raped her , twice , using machetes . After three days lying helpless on the forest floor , Esperance was fortunately found by a group of Congolese sisters who saved her life . While Esperance cannot read or write , she asked her pastor to send a letter to Belinda that simply said “ Tell The World .” The letter was signed with her thumbprint .
Belinda was inspired by Esperance and struck by the idea that every human individual is exactly like a thumbprint : we all are unique , we are all uniquely stamped and yet we all share the common goal of wanting simply to live peaceful and secure lives and to have our children be able to do the same .
Chelsea fell in love with the vision and mission of 1MT and hoped there might be a place for her on the Mt . Kilimanjaro climb team . Belinda declined , citing Chelsea ’ s asthma and poor health . “ I realized then that my health was preventing me from doing the very things I love most ,” Chelsea says . Her fitness goals immediately changed . Getting off the couch wasn ’ t about weight loss or about being able to walk down her driveway . “ My getting off the couch became entirely about being able to do what God put me on this earth to do , which is to capture and communicate and amplify the voice of those who so desperately have something important to say .”
Chelsea put her head down and got to work . She discovered a My Peak Challenge group online called Peak Warriors . This community helped her stay the course , supported her 1MT efforts and cheered her on . Several months later , Chelsea ’ s health and fitness had drastically improved , so much so that Belinda was confident that Chelsea could handle the climb and offered her the job of Team Storyteller . “ My story ,” Chelsea recalls , “ is about me having a desire to seize control of my health and to take an active role in making my personal goals a reality . It became about writing my own story about this chapter of my life ."
After a 3 hour drive from the Rwandan border , and then another 3 hour drive inland through the Democratic Republic of Congo , the team met Esperance , other Congolese women , and village peacemakers that 1MT hoped to support . The 1MT team spent three emotionally jarring days listening to the stories , seeing the pain and also absorbing the hope of these courageous people . The women in the Congo face horrific challenges . Kidnapped from their gardens , daily chores and homes , women and small girls become victims ostracized by their own communities for circumstances completely beyond their control . Many of the women the One Million Thumbprints team met are forced to live in the same small village as their perpetrators , to raise children conceived by rape , and even to watch these same daughters be similarly forced at ages too young to imagine . The team ’ s last stop before heading to Tanzania was a fistula hospital . One of the girls at the hospital , a 5-year-old , couldn ’ t be so much as hugged because her small body had been so irreparably ravaged . The most the team could do was to hold her hand and to tell her stories of hope and love in a language she didn ’ t understand , but nevertheless smiled to hear . These conversations with villagers and patients were the fuel that would get the 1MT team up the tallest mountain in Africa .
Like Chelsea , many of us have mountains we wish to climb , stories we wish to tell , chapters of our lives we want to at least mentally write . And yet each of us faces unique and sometimes indomitable challenges . The trick to living out your most compelling , exciting and engaging life story is to have the impetus , the will — the resolution — to simply embark on your dream journey and then to embrace what comes next .
Visit Chelsea ’ s website www . chelseahudson . com for more photos of the Kilimanjaro climb and to view her portfolio . Visit http :// www . onemillionthumbprints . org / to learn more about the mission to help women in war torn countries .
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GREENBOOK | SPRING 2017