This is so beautiful:

My friend Cori does incredible things. Years ago I was going to go to Africa with her to help restock a medical facility or build a school or something super-important like that, but instead I sent them my father’s laptop and started working for Mind of Mencia. I will probably never recover from the Karmic debt I created with that decision. But I can keep trying.

From Cori:

I’m so proud to announce that Lovetta Conto, our first Strongheart Fellow, is a finalist for the International Children’s Peace Prize! It’s an incredible honor, given through an organization called KidsRight, with the support of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

It was two years ago this past week that she bravely boarded a plane in Ghana and flew alone to the US to begin her fellowship. While she was here, she designed an exquisite necklace from bullet casings from the Liberian civil war as part of her Strongheart requirement to create a “for benefit” business to help herself, her peers, and her community. That project resulted in www.akawelle.com.

Lovetta is back in Liberia but has a new goal – to sell 1500 pieces of jewelry to help open Strongheart House, our home and learning community for gifted and talented young people from developing countries.

We’re trying to help her reach this goal – please take a moment to look at her jewelry (which has been featured on Daily Candy and has attracted interest from Barney’s) and read her story. Each piece is made with an actual bullet casing that was used in a war that affected Lovetta very directly – but she’s chosen to transform them into symbols of peace and life. It’s a remarkable story and worth sharing.

For ALL of you who helped me bring her here two years ago – who have supported the bridges, the schools, the heart surgeries, the children who needed books or clothes or flights – THANK YOU. Thank you for always believing in me, in her, in Strongheart, and in what we can accomplish together. Lovetta’s nomination is a recognition of all of the people who have donated, boarded a plane to Africa for one of our projects, opened your homes, raised money for us, forwarded our updates, or simply cheered us on or sent a kind word over the years.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

All My Appreciation,

Cori

[To learn more about the Strongheart Fellowship Program, or to make a donation, click here.]