Earlier this year I blogged about John Legends involvement in the Show Me Campaign to help end extreme poverty in his lifetime. Together with economist Jeffrey Sachs’ Millennium Promise organization, Legend’s group adopted Mbola, a remote village in Tanzania that has little access to drinking water and improved farming techniques.Today CNN reported that Legend is starting to see that a real change is possible based on his experiences in poor, rural areas of Africa, saying

“I don’t want people to only see Africa as a bunch of victims.The people that I’ve come across in these extremely impoverished villages, they want to work. They want to participate in their own development.The folks in Mbola are starting at a supreme disadvantage. Most of them are living on less than a dollar a day,” Legend says. “It’s difficult for them to even survive.”

On his 2007 visit to Mbola, Legend met “Mama” Mwadawa Ruziga, a single mother of two who was freeing herself from poverty. Her entrepreneurial spirit impressed Legend and solidified his belief that sustainable development at the community level can work in the fight against poverty.

“Mama Ruziga is an example of someone who is personally taking her destiny in her hands, and the destiny of her community into her hands. She is a leader, she’s inspirational, and she’s one of my heroes.-CNN“

takepart and get involved at showmecampaign.org