many believe that how much money and fame you've accumulated are what matters most in life. they are wrong. what you've done to impact others positively is what truly counts. that is why juju harris (and others like her) are the real heroes of our time.
juju's dream was to become a national park ranger. unfortunately, life got in the way and that dream was deferred. however, juju did seize the opportunity to join the peace corps at the age of 32. in paraguay, juju's mission was to help local farmers with their crops. in addition, she found herself arming the women and children with her knowledge of nutrition, business and education.
there would be more bumps in the road for juju when she returned home. postpartum depression, lack of money and a growing young family forced her to sign up for the government WIC program. but to improve her and her family's physical and mental well-being, harris began supplementing the food provided with her own healthy additions. she began baking bread and tending a garden that would 'provide' vegetables and fruits not available to her otherwise. neighbors would come by and juju taught them how to cook healthy meals. this eventually led to harris teaming up with the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, a D.C non-profit organization. with their help, she created the Mobile Market, a bus that takes healthy produce right to the doors of the poor. she provides them with the greens and the information they need on how to cook them as well as their nutritious value. she also created a healthy cookbook that is given out free of charge to those who visit the mobile market regularly. the cookbook provides shopping lists and recipes that pair well with the staples provided by the government. mrs. harris is now working on getting the book translated into spanish since many of the visitors are spanish speaking. she also plans on focusing her attention on seniors who face challenges such as dietary restriction or inability to chew food well.
juju harris has found a way to not only help herself but so many others who would normally be ignored. for that, we are extremely grateful.
