🏍️ Riding towards hope...thanks to you‪!‬ The Debra Kouda Podcast

You know what will always be amazing to me?
Receiving donations to help a cause that you have put together 🙂
A close second is seeing a moose 🫎 or the Northern Lights - never gets old!
This past week we received donations to help Jean and his family. If you missed that story, you can read about it here.

And so, we have started the work on our end.
You would think that after all this time we would have figured out the best way to send money internationally. But let me tell you - it is so difficult…and costly. Western Union is reliable, and instead of going digital, we sent it via human interaction and ended up paying an arm and a leg for it. The amount that they take off the top during the exchange of currency is just ridiculous. About a month ago we were scammed while making a transaction through Moneygram and are still working to get our money back. If anyone has any better ideas on how to send money internationally, I am all ears!
Anyhoo…back to the matter at hand. We have purchased the motorcycle and helmet for the papa to restart his job as a taxi motorcycle driver, and we presented it to him yesterday.
The motorcycle that we purchased is imported from Nigeria, and thanks to higher custom fees, the price of the motos (what we tend to call them in Benin), has gone up as well. Just like gas prices here in the US! Nonetheless, these are fantastic motos, with an extra long seat that is comfortable for any passenger (or passengers!). You can’t resist smiling when you see the joy on his face when the moto was given to him.

We found an apartment for the family to live in and paid six months upfront, as well as the deposit, etc. The space is tiny, but there is an indoor shower, and it is at a price point that they will be able to afford for now. During these next 6 months we will help them get in the habit of saving money so that with time, they can move into a larger apartment. Currently, we are waiting for the landlord to repair the floor. After that, we plan to paint the interior of the apartment before the family moves in.
And, I found out today, that they have already enrolled one of their daughters back into school! All because they know that they will now have the means to pay the school fees with his income as a taxi moto driver.
We are now working on giving the mother funds to restart her fruit commerce business, as well as providing them with some furniture and a small cooking stove.
If you're passionate about making a meaningful difference and want to be a part of transforming this family's life, reach out to me to contribute to this incredible opportunity! I am so happy to be able to share this story with you as it unfolds, and together, we can uplift and support them on their journey to a brighter future.

The Doctorate
On the research/doctorate front, I have started the process of submitting the study to the ASU Institutional Review Board (IRB), the group that makes sure research is conducted ethically.
During the first semester of my doctoral program, we read a book by Dan Butin who had some wonderful ways of understanding the differences between the process and the journey of a Doctorate of Education student. First off, there are three very distinct phases within the process that one must go through to finish. By way of the image below, I am in the Preparation Stage, Step 5 (Submit IRB - upon proposal approval).
The transition into a practitioner scholar is a profound journey. Honestly, this particular aspect hasn’t been addressed much within our program classes - but it includes a huge identity shift - one that comes easy to some and not so easy to others. It's a phase where your relationship with your professors evolves into one of collegiality, shedding the student label. There is a change in how you view the world and approach issues. It becomes about a certain way of thinking about a problem and the steps and research that you will take to try and find a solution. Butin (2019) boldly cal