In our “Make A Difference Mondays,” we bring you news of people doing good in our community. But this evening, 'the good' goes much further. KIDY’s Senora Scott joins us with the story.
We've all been influenced by one person or another in our lifetimes. A local man took some parting words from one of his role models to heart. What he did with them started a ripple effect that will no doubt, keep making waves.
"When she passed away about 10 years ago she said, 'do the most good for the most people,’" Terry Mikeska said. The words of Eva Comunez Tucker stuck out to her caregiver of many years, Terry Mikeska. He put her advice into action and began sponsoring a family from Nepal. "It just happened to be out of all the countries in the world that I could have hosted children, it was the most devastated last year when they had the earthquake,” Mikeska said. Devastation he saw firsthand via his skype conversations with two brothers he's helping put through school. "I saw stacks of burning rubble in the background and I said 'wow, y'all had fire also?' and they said, 'no those are bodies,” Mikeska said. Those images stayed with Terry. But instead of scaring him away, he was only inspired to do more. "So I decided, I'm gonna go to Nepal,” Mikeska said. He enlisted the help of the brothers and told them to search for the areas hit the hardest by the earthquakes. They did. When they reported back, Terry asked them what the greatest need was. They said: "It crushed their one thing they use every day and I said what is that and they said, it's the rice pot. I decided that's gonna be my first mission, fill the rice pot,” Mikeska said. So, Terry began raising money and collecting supplies. He didn't necessarily want to go public with his mission...but people started asking...and contributing. When the time came to board the plane to Nepal, terry and his dozens of bags, were ready. But when it came time to pay the extra fees for so much luggage...
"The generosity poured out from the ticket counter agents and they waved all the baggage fees,” Mikeska said. Terry's planned another mission and will go later this year. He says generosity from donors have made it possible, and the duo from Nepal will help once again...but even with all the support, his place will always be on the front lines. "I'm going by myself once again and that way I know, that every dollar will go to these villages,” Mikeska said.
Source: http://www.myfoxzone.com/story/32212494/makeadifferencemonday-missions-in-nepal