Project HOPE: Why Copenhagen, Denmark?

The second stop on my trip will  be Copenhagen, Denmark! I am really, really excited about going to Copenhagen… I’m showing my dorky HGTV side here, but I’ve seen so many episode of “House Hunters International” and Copenhagen just seems like an amazing place to live.

The first time I ever considered going to Denmark was around the beginning of the year, long before I ever thought about Project HOPE, when I read an article on Yahoo! Travel about the happiest places in the world to live… and the number one place was Denmark. I remember reading the article and thinking, “Happiest place on earth? Obviously Disney World has had their title stolen, this place must be pretty fantastic!”

So fast forward six months when I was deciding on which places I wanted to go to for Project HOPE, Denmark was at the top of my list… and the more I tell people about Denmark and the more research I do, the more I am reassured that I am suppose to go to Denmark!

While I was telling my friend Kaitlyn about going to Denmark for Project HOPE over dinner, her eyes lit up. She told me how she had just watched an Oprah documentary in one of her graduate classes and that Oprah went to Copenhagen, Denmark.

I found different clips of Oprah in Copenhage on YouTube. And I have to say, they were all amazing! 

The first thing that really jumped at me was Oprah saying that Denmark is really a country without fears; no fear of being homeless, no fear of losing their jobs… and the ladies reply that it’s because the government helps its citizens out when they lose a job, the government will help them find a new job and support you while you are unemployed. Could you imagine living with very little fear, especially with no fear about being unemployed or homeless? Heck, I am 22 years old and that being unemployed is a fear I face almost daily!

The second thing, and probably what amazed me most, is when one of the ladies says to Oprah, “Don’t you think Oprah it’s interesting that we are considered one of the happiest people in the world but we are also one of the least religious people in the world.”

What?! I mean, it blew me away. I myself being a strong Christian, what really defines my hope for me is my faith, and learning that Denmark is one of the least religious people is amazing. Oprah says that she finds that “puzzling” and I couldn’t have picked a better word myself; it is puzzling! At least to me it is. And this is what Project HOPE is all about- it’s about learning the world’s views on life, on hope, and how hope plays out in their daily lives. 

There are a few other videos on YouTube with Oprah in Denmark, as well as the rest of the episode that Oprah was doing entitled “OPRAH ON LOCATION: THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH.” All the videos are absolutely fascinating and have made me even more excited for Project HOPE.

So here are my questions for when I get to Denmark:

- Does being the happiest country in the world equal being the most hopeful?

- Does hope equal happiness?

Two more months and I’ll be able to find out the answers to my questions.

// Only FIVE more days for me to raise $1,000 on Kickstarter to make Project HOPE possible! If you would like to pledge and back Project HOPE, click here 
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1229643555/project-hope-1

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