One Thriving Village

When I was a freshman in high school, I designed t-shirts that suggested we should always look at the world in different ways. Being "unCONVENTional" was a play on the name of our school and also a reminder that we shouldn't always act and think as others have.

It caught on. The administration even allowed the t-shirt to be worn as accepted uniform, and i was able to raise money from the sales. However, when it came time to do something with the money, I didn't have a cause that I felt personally connected to. It wasn't enough to just send the money across the world, I wanted to see how my work affected the community. 

My trip with Rustic Pathways to Nasivikoso, a poor village in the center of Fiji, changed that for me. I was able to build part of the school that my fundraising would help, and lived with the children who would benefit from my fundraising!

The village needed more money for school desks and chairs than the t-shirt sales had made, and later, during a college visit, I talked to a few students about a campaign*. With their initial guidance, I launched a fund-raising campaign on Indiegogo. The word got around and the campaign quickly hit it's goal. 

As did Rustic Pathways, my high school asked me to speak to the student body about my experience and campaign. Apparently the athletic advisor was inspired and committed to donating rugby jerseys to the Nasivikoso team. 

Then I got lucky (again). The Wall Street Journal mentioned the campaign in their Marketwatch, and while my campaign was over, I realized that I had hit on something. Others could do this, too!

Just as the college students had guided me, I want to help others achieve the same type of experience. So I created One Thriving Village.

You can help the world by finding a village you want to support. And when you find one, I'll share what I've learned.

-- Paloma Palmer

*Shout outs to Shree Pandya and Nora Studholme!