I’ve been told that it’s bad to meet people online. I suppose that could be true, but that has not been my experience.
When I decided to take this trip, it was suggested to me by family and friends that I should write about it so that they could come along in spirit. I thought that was a great idea, it would allow me to process my feelings while also documenting my journey. In trying to decide the best way to raise money for Jay’s Shelter, the idea of this blog was born.
What type of website did I want to build? Well, I wanted an online space where all I had to do was tell stories and post photos or videos. This seemed like an easy job for someone, so long as that someone wasn’t me. For financial reasons I was tempted to take this project on myself. I got as far as creating a domain and a WordPress account before realizing that I had enough knowledge and skill to program myself into a very messy, disorganized corner. I decided to put on the brakes and find someone who had the skill to do it.
I posted a rather basic Ad at UpWork. I really only shared a few details of my trip and what I was hoping to accomplish and that I needed to contract with someone to create it for me.
Enter Sayhi Tammen from Tunisia, Africa. Africa seemed a bit far and so many of the scammy emails over the years have come from some “Nigerian prince” who has promised to send me billions if I’ll simply deposit his check into my American bank account.
Sayhi’s response to my ad said he liked what I was doing. I read his reviews, liked the samples he sent, liked that *he* liked what I was doing and we agreed to work together on this project.
It not only seemed like a good fit at the time of this decision, it turned out to be the perfect fit. After agreeing that it should take around 10 hours to complete, Sayhi immediately got started.
While working on this project over a few days, I got to know a bit about Sayhi. It seems that he has an interest in humanitarian aide projects as well, having previously been an active member the Red Cross/Crescent in Tunisia. He shared how the major issue is consistently how to raise money and how even during wartime, there are always bad actors trying to exploit or take advantage of someone’s good nature or willingness to help.
We chatted about Africa being another place on my bucket list and how I’m hoping to visit on a safari tour in the coming years. He shared that there are a lot of differences in religion and traditions between the various African countries. I’m looking forward to learning all about them.
Sayhi created and launched In Another Person’s Shoes for me last week. In addition to all the techno-magic to make it work, he gave me suggestions on how to post, make videos, keywords, categories, tags, and everything I need to know (well, some of what I need to know) to be able to communicate what’s happening as it’s happening.
After closing out our contract at just under 10 hours, he offered to make any additional updates free of charge because he supported what I was doing. It’s hard to express how much I appreciate a stranger who is willing to help me try and make some difference.
Thank you Sahyi. If anyone is seeking a WordPress developer, he can be reached through UpWork. Please tell him I said Hi and Thank You!
Will you help? There are lots of ways to donate, but know that all monies no matter how they are received will be used for beds and mattresses and supplies for Hope Shelter. To make your donations tax deductible, you can make them through Volunteer Housing Initiative. You will have the opportunity to add a comment to tell them you want your funds to go toward this effort. Or, you can donate directly to me via Venmo to @MtgMistress or by PayPal through this site.