photo by steed media service

Yvonne Pointer has been blessed with an extraordinarily exciting life the past quarter century, ironically following the single most agonizing and unbearable experience of her life. Pointer unearthed something positive out of the brutal kidnapping, rape and murder of her daughter, Gloria, in 1984. The wound from her incredible loss has never receded. However, instead of wallowing and languishing in despondency for the rest of her life, Pointer decided to positively impact the lives of others.

“You don’t get over it. You find a purpose in the pain. A lot of people are out there suffering. And they [are] waiting for it to end,” says Pointer, the author of three books, including Behind the Death of a Child. “But what are you going to [do] every day when you get up and it’s still there? You got to keep living. You’ve got to find a reason for your existence. And that’s what gets me out of the bed every day.”

One way Pointer impacts others, among many other activities, is by building schools in Ghana in West Africa. She became inspired to do so when a young African student, disillusioned with God because of being engulfed by pervasive and debilitating impoverishment, somehow found an old magazine article about Pointer’s life. The boy, stunned that Pointer could still believe in God after what she went through, renewed his faith and wrote Pointer. The author of Word From the Mother and Two Dollars in My Pocket is now being honored in Ghana for her philanthropic work.

“… Anyone can make a difference. Everyone can make a difference. And if each one of us just did a little something, what a magnificent world this would be,” she says -terry shropshire

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