Simple Needs, One Solution

For SML resident Steve Huff, helping people is not just one way to live life – it’s the only way.

            Huff, a professor at Virginia Western Community College and head of its Communication Design program, founded a non-profit organization called World Relief Now in October 2005.

            After traveling with wife Stacey to northern African in 2003 and seeing first-hand the poor conditions in which people live, Huff realized he needed to help, though he had no idea where to begin.

“Naiveté and the desire to do something make a great combination because you don’t know what’s impossible,” he said. “If you know the road blocks ahead of time, you might not do something.”

            Since 2005, Huff has made several trips to Third World countries, most often to those in Africa, to deliver supplies to villages. He estimated that the organization’s efforts have helped improve life for tens of thousands of people. Projects have included delivering mosquito nets, multivitamins for children, medical supplies, vaccines and adhesive bandages to remote villages. The group has also helped fund classrooms to promote children’s education.

            Huff said he is especially proud of a project in which Keen Footwear donated 1,000 pairs of new shoes to a remote village in Senegal. Huff said the Oregon-based company asked for nothing in return for the $50,000 worth of shoes.

            WRN also delivers “life straws” to villages with poor water quality. The personal water filters, which are designed to prevent water-born illness, cost $5 each and work for up to two years.

            Huff is even working on putting together coloring books, which will be delivered to children along with packs of crayons.

            “They’re ethnic-themed for each village, so we’re designing them with words in specific languages. The pictures will show clean sanitation habits, simple things like washing your hands to prevent diseases. It’s a simple, yet effective, way to reinforce the message of practicing sanitary habits,” he said.

            Huff calls his work with WRN a labor of love. He personally oversees every project and uses his vacation days from work to travel to other countries for field work. WRN has no paid employees, and Huff emphasized that every penny donated to the organization goes toward projects that help those in need. The group works from project to project instead of saving money for the future. Huff said that although it may not be a good model for a traditional business, it works for WRN and it seems to make people more willing to give to the cause.

            WRN lives and dies off donations, Huff said. Some product donations, such as clothes, aren’t accepted by foreign governments because they can put local shops out of business, so the best way to help is by donating time, money or services. It can cost thousands of dollars to deliver goods overseas, so WRN is always looking for money to cover shipping costs.

            “A lot of people say, ‘If you do the project, we’ll fund it,’” he said. “This is a grassroots initiative, so it helps just to be aware of what we’re doing and spread the word about it. We can always use help at rallies or events, like people running information booths, or we could use someone donating their translation services for our Web site or printing services for the coloring books. Everyone can contribute.”

            Although Huff said the work is tiring and difficult, it’s rewarding to know it’s making a positive change in other people’s lives, he added. Life is for living, he said, and he tries to live as quality a life as possible by helping others.

            “When I turn 80, I want to look back and say, ‘Remember when we did that?’ not, ‘I wish we had done that,’” he said.

For more information on World Relief Now, visit worldreliefnow.org.