Just in Threes?

They say good things happen in threes. Right now, I'm thinking they're right.

The first email I opened this morning was from a lady I've been in contact with from Kolkata, India. We've been emailing since around last spring, but I haven't heard from her in about a month. So receiving the email was a much-anticipated event, which just so happens to make it the third good thing that's happened to me this week. The reason I've been in contact with this lady from Kolkata, India is because she and I are planning on starting a small business together.

Why the heck would I hook up with a woman half-way around the globe to start a business? Simple. To distribute and sell handmade items made by the women she is rescuing from slavery so they can live free and independent lives.

For years I've wanted to do something to help stop the exploitation of women, specifically those forced into slavery. About a year ago, I started seriously thinking about what I could do, besides just sending money to legitimate organizations that are on the ground and in the trenches. Sending money is important, yes, but for me, personally, I feel the need to do something more; to become more personally involved. That need eventually helped me decide to start a business that would sell handcrafted items made by rescued women so they can earn an income and become independent; so they have a way out of the situation they've been forced into.

But, living in Canada, how would I get these items? I don't have the money to hop a plane and spend time in another country collecting these things. I would have to find someone, on the ground on the other side of the globe, who had a similar idea and would be willing to partner with me. But, again, how would I do that?

Research.

So I started researching. And, with even more intensity than when I research a novel, I contacted countless organizations who might be able to direct me to the right individual, or individuals. And, after months and months, the work paid off, as hard work always does.

So that's what finally led to the exciting email I got this morning. Things in India are shaping up. She has 4-6 women who are serious about getting out of the trade and she is going to start training them in April! Nothing else could have made my day like reading those words! It's really happening!

So, I guess they're not completely right. Good things don't just happen in threes - they happen in four-to-sixes...