Possible Dreams International

In 2005, somewhere in the green Lebombo mountains of Swaziland, I first met a group of individuals who have changed my life in ways past telling. While a sea of deep, visceral pain swelled around the hamlet of Siteki, we found in each other kindred spirits who believed that change was possible.

Swaziland is a country where 42% of the population are infected with HIV/AIDS. That’s almost one in two people. As I have written before on these pages, in Siteki there are more coffin salesmen than grocery stores; 75 % of people live on less than one dollar a day;
10% of the population are orphaned children; And there are well over 15,000 orphan led households.

Yet in the context of this despair, we discovered to our surprise that it is eminently possible to bring enduring hope, through the provision of food, water, clothing, education and housing. The things which most of us take for granted and name ‘the bare necessities’ of life.







For the people we served in Swaziland, these provisions were not seen as ‘necessities’ but luxuries. We were awed to see the power that these little gifts of hope had to change the trajectory of a persons life.



Since our first meeting in 2005 we have worked extensively as a team to find ways of addressing the urgent crises facing Subsaharan Africa.

And today, on this first day of September, I am humbled and delighted to announce the launch of our new non profit organisation.




Possible Dreams International, Inc aims to bring tangible hope into the lives of those afflicted by extreme poverty, HIV AIDS, malnutrition and endemic disease.

We hope to achieve this goal by:

- Raising Funds for and Assisting in the organisation of projects within communities, designed to empower and engage community members as they walk the road to self-sufficiency and freedom from preventable disease.

- Increasing awareness of issues facing the developing world such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, extreme poverty, malnutrition and endemic disease.

-Building bridges of understanding and compassion to overcome divisions of nationality, ethnicity, religion and social status.

What is more, we would like to invite all of you to become part of our dream for the world. To become an 'ambassador of the possible'. It does not require great wealth or special skills. It simply requires a willingness to allow the immediacy of human need to enter the bounds of your awareness. An ambassador for PDI might raise awareness, or funds, or simply spread the message of the urgent crises facing Subsaharan Africa to friends and family.

At our website http://www.possibledreamsinternational.org/ you can learn more about us, the work we’ve done, and ways in which you can help by becoming an ambassador of the possible.

We also have a blog at our website where 5 of the most incredible humanitarians I have ever known will share their stories of the gracious, beautiful people of Swaziland and the joys and sorrows which this work brings. In the spirit of community I hope you will engage with us by commenting on our new blog and via email. That you will always feel welcome to share your thoughts, ideas and feelings with us as we walk this broken road together.

You can also find us:

Here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Possible-Dreams-International/119742974805?ref=ts

And here http://twitter.com/pdiwecan

And here http://www.flickr.com/photos/possibledreamsinternational



There have been angels in my life.

They have never arrived with a clamour of wings or clothed in raiments of light, yet I have known them just the same.

They come to me in the lonely hours. In the time before the dawn. When my strength is at its ebb and I feel I can not go on.

Offering me wounded hands, imperfect words, unfinished love.

Yet somehow, what these human angels have offered has always been enough.

Always just what I needed in moments of despair. That stranger who says “How can I help you?” who reminds me that I am not alone.

I read somewhere that the word angel means ‘messenger.’


I know that we can be the messengers of love to the people of Swaziland and the developing world. What is more, I know without question, that these beautiful people are our angels. They teach us about the grace that walks on blistered feet. That the human heart is stronger and more resilient than we could ever imagine. They teach us that the most important prayer is thank you and that love is grander and deeper than even the bonds of hunger and disease.

We come here together, on the pulse of a new day. Wealthy and impoverished, black and white, accepted and marginalised. We who have been disillusioned time and again by the indifference of human beings to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in forgotten corners of this wounded world. … We come here together and start to build a bridge.

A bridge across whose mighty arms we might send a message to those who are struggling in the fray of life…

A message written in a simple tangible language of food, water, clothing, housing, education,…

A message which says clearly, gently, without fear or condescension….

“Its Possible.”

Love the world into change.


Maithri