I found out today that Betty Swann of Betty Swann Ministries, who took a simple idea -- pick up pennies discarded on the street -- and collect enough to feed hungry people in Africa. Her Pennies From Heaven project has feed thousands of children. It's a project that's subtitled "Feeding the World on What America Throws Away." And its simplicity captured the imagination of Amarillo schoolchildren, who have held penny drives to help Betty's ministry. She tried to bring the project back home to the USA, concentating on a Native American reservation, but the money she's been able to collect goes a lot longer in Third World countries than in the U.S., no matter how hard she tried.
Betty's now expanded her ministry into villages in Pakistan and even made a foray into the country's capital city, Islamabad. While this is probably her most-dangerous attempt to feed the hungry, it's also her bravest.
Why I titled this blog "Amarillo's loss" is that, in addition to the news of her expansion into Pakistan, she let us know that she and her husband Bill will soon be leaving Amarillo for a 1-2 year relocation to New York. Bill's a veterinarian here and has titled the move an "extended leave of absence." So, not are we losing Betty, we're also losing one of the more compassionate vets I've met since becoming a cat owner four times over.
I hope they come back inside that two-year period. We need both of them back in Amarillo to continue the good works they perform here.