The Good Guys Wear White Hats

The good guys wear white hats. The short, squat woman from the Calgary tourist office gave them to the youth group at the conference I was attending. I know, I know, I am not in that category, but I was covering this session for my news service. Despite my years, I was given the hat, taught how to put it on and bonk the top to set it in place just like the others. I took the Calgary pledge.

This is the sixth time I have covered this micro-finance organization’s conference, in places like Ireland, Poland, Italy, France and now Canada. It provides my greatest source of hope for the world when I hear about their work in the developing world to bring hope and independence to the have-less as the previous CEO of the group described. A live feed from Afghanistan where they are running a successful project even if they need bullet proof vests while working reminded me of how lucky I am to be living the life I am living.

Covering credit unions is my way of spreading the word that there is a better way than uncontrolled capitalism and putting money in the hands of the poor does more than a dictator squirreling it away in a Swiss bank.

Listening to other stories about how to protect the unprotected, giving them the means to care for themselves in all countries, always revs me up as balance Over the years I have seen the staff turn over, and this year it was almost a totally new staff in the press department. Each of them expressed how lucky they felt to be able to work for an organization that was making the world better. I met a lot of people this week that make the world better. They wear white hats even when their heads are bare