Gifts That Give Back #8

For over 30 years Mercy Corp has been helping millions of individuals, families, and communities turn crisis into opportunities for sustainable, positive change. They have over 30 programs through which they work from economic development and agriculture to education and youth empowerment. They work globally, including communities right here in the United States.
There are so many ways through which you can give to this organization...through feeding a child, outfitting a classroom, buying a goat for a family, vaccinations, buying a soccer ball, and so much more. The one I am most partial to naturally, is giving the gift of yoga to youth in need.

While food, water, and medicine are crucial...knowing the power of yoga, giving them tools they can use in the present moment and for the rest of their lives is also crucial. Yoga classes can help young people recover from trauma and violence by increasing their confidence, focus, and sense of well being physically and mentally. The video below shows a class in Columbia where Mercy Corps incorporates yoga into its youth programs where decades of conflict have uprooted millions of people from the countryside to the urban neighborhoods.