Last week my local paper interviewed me and printed an article about my race!
Taking a Giant Step for Children
WORCESTER – A good chunk of people who saw the 2008 movie “Slumdog Millionare”
probably left the theater with dreams of traveling to India to work with
poor children there.
Elaina Rogers of Worcester was one of those viewers who saw the
movie, which focused on penniless youths trying to get out of the slums
of Mumbai, and wanted to help. And she’s actually going to get the
chance, as part of a program she’s participating in.
movie, which focused on penniless youths trying to get out of the slums
of Mumbai, and wanted to help. And she’s actually going to get the
chance, as part of a program she’s participating in.
Ms. Rogers, 29, will likely be celebrating her 30th birthday
camping out overnight in India as part of The World Race, a
Christian-based organization that holds an annual 11-month “race” around
the world. According to the organization, participants live out of a
backpack, survive on a limited budget and partner with existing
missionaries and ministries to do community service projects.
For Ms. Rogers, children’s pastor at First Assembly of God Church on
Tyler Prentice Road, the journey will give her a chance to see the world
while helping people. She said she was inspired after spending her
summer in South Africa helping run soccer camps while the World Cup
soccer tournament was going on. She said she worked with dozens of
children there who had nowhere to go. Many were orphaned by AIDS, she
said.
“There are so many kids who need so much help and have no one in this world,” Ms. Rogers said.
She’s raising money right now to help defray the $14,000 cost of the trip, which starts in January.
“For the next year of my life, I’ll get to help people, see the
world, and give back,” Ms. Rogers said. “Most people wouldn’t get the
opportunity to set aside a year of their life just to help people.”
She said she’ll be traveling with about 50 other young adults, and the group will be broken down into teams.
“We’ll be doing all kinds of stuff,” Ms. Rogers said. “Teaching
English, helping the homeless, working in orphanages. We’ll be in 11
different countries, and each country will have different needs.”
The World Race will make stops in several countries, including
India, Nepal, Romania and Australia. Participants will need to live on a few dollars a day, she said.
“We hear that and say that it’s just crazy,” Ms. Rogers said.
“But it’s really just the abandonment of the comforts we have in
America. We just take everything for granted.”
Much of the experience will be eye-opening, but Ms. Rogers said
she does have experience working with children through her work at First
Assembly of God.
“We work a lot in Great Brook Valley with inner-city kids,” Ms.
Rogers said. “We spend a lot of time ministering to low-income
residents, and we work a lot with kids in general. So it’s not going to
be a huge step.”
While most 29-year-olds planning their 30th birthdays might
expect to go out with friends or to a fancy restaurant, Ms. Rogers
envisions that she’ll probably be sleeping under the stars in a tent
somewhere in India. “I would hope I would look back and think I was doing something meaningful,” Ms. Rogers said.
Ms. Rogers said anyone who wants to know more about her trip or wants to donate to help pay for her trip can visit http://elainarogers.theworldrace.org
