Ive decided that this is a true passion of mine and I am going to dedicate part of my life to help these people. This might sound idealistic and even cheesy to some people, but it is truly something I want to do. I look around at my world and the people in it, directly or indirectly, and we are completely oblivious to how blessed we really are. People are always complaining about their life, thinking there is always something they need that they dont have, something in their life is missing. Most of the time it is something trivial... my car isnt good enough, im too fat, i need new clothes, i hate my job, my life just sucks. Nobody takes into consideration all the things you have, only the things you dont. The people i met in africa dont have running water, solid roofs, enough food, any sort of medical help... they honestly dont have some of the essential survival needs... yet they dont complain nearly as much as we do. These people are suffering from the worst famine in history and the united states is getting fatter by the year. In some places one in two people have AIDS and we are developing medicine for restless legs or stress (by the way thats just called life!). They have to walk several hours to and from school. We drive even if school is down the street in our new cars we got for our 16th birthday. Their kids are being kidnapped in the middle of the night and being forced to join rebel armies. They are being brainwashed, drugged, and forced to do horrific things... and we complain about curfews and watch shows of how kids are spending thousands and thousands of dollars on birthday parties. There is always an area in Africa that is suffering from war and violence where thousands of people are being brutally slaughtered yet our government with the best military in the world turns their cheek and we the people let them do it. Right now it is in Kenya. So far close to a thousand people have died and almost 300,000 have been displaced. Next month it will be somewhere else. I just wish there was some way to make it all stop.
I agree there are tons of organizations set up to help africa in all kinds of ways... but its not enough if the people dont help out as well. I guess we dont think its our responsibility to help these people or to take care of those who are less fortunate then ourselves. I dont really understand it... especially for those who consider themselves moral and just... people bound by their religious beliefs, because in my opinion it is your responsibility. Not that you have to devote your life to them, or live in poverty to help them, but you should do something... anything. you know for $32 a month you can sponsor a child... this will give them an education, medical attention, clothes and food.... $32!!! for anyone who has a job this is nothing... most of the people i know spend over twice that in one night at a bar. Ive even found organizations where it is only $10 a month per child... I dont care who you are... but if you live in the U.S. you can freaking afford $10 a month to save a kid. We spend $150 on a pair of sunglasses, $200 on a pair of jeans, over $300 for a purse... think about it... is that particular purse vital to hold all your belongings, are the $50 purses defective and useless? Does that $150 pair of sunglasses keep the sun out of your eyes better than the $30 pair? Is it really necessary to spend $200 on a pair of jeans?? If you dont have these things, will it be detrimental to your health? Do they really improve the quality of your life??
In the book Everything must change by Brian Mclaren, he talks about the global problems and how we might solve them. He explains that if 10% of the United States military budget were reinvested in foreign aid and development it would care for the basic needs of the ENTIRE worlds poor. And furthermore if a mere half a percent of the military budget would cut hunger in Africa in half. HALF A PERCENT!! we already have enough nuclear weapons to destroy 9 planet earths... i think we could spare 10% of the military budget to get rid of the worlds poverty. what do you think?
Now i know i started off saying how i was going to dedicate my life to helping these people... then went off in a raged vent. But here's how i plan to start. In Kenya, they have a problem called street gangs. Parents cant afford to take care of their kids so they are forced to roam the streets. For survival purposes, they form gangs and are forced to violence and crime. If these kids had a place to go for food and shelter it would solve many of the problems arised from the street gangs. Something like a YMCA. These YMCA's would also create jobs in a jobless environment (adults to work at the YMCA, look after the kids, mentor them, coach sports, etc). I want to propose a program like this to the NGO.. obviously it needs tweeking and brainstorming on the details and legistics... but there it is. Step 1 to changing the world....
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