So about two weeks ago I had a normal day just like any other.
I
got up,
went to work,
ate breakfast,
went to class,
and found myself in my Spanish-American civilization class listening to a lecture on drug trafficking in Colombia (in South America, not South Carolina).
And I reacted like I normally do, until he showed us a video that his friend made. It was about the prevalence of drug trafficking in Colombia, and on the war against it (or for it, in some perspectives) and how damaging it has been to the families there. I didn't even realize the effect it had.
One of the women who was filmed said that she lost all her family due to this. She was an elderly woman living in a small cement building, basically. And she had absolutely no family. Living in the poorest streets of Bogota, Colombia.
Another interview was of a woman who had 3 kids, one being a physically and mentally disabled young girl. She applied for welfare, but didn't receive it, because she didn't give them enough photo i.d. She couldn't go back, because the place where you apply is an hour downhill from her "house." She is being evicted from her house, and they gave her property that is the equivalent to an American kitchen, but she can't build, because she barely has enough money for food. And she has no money to provide for her 3 kids and nobody to help her take care of her child with a disability.
And here I am, not even thinking about Colombia. Here I am, sitting in an air-conditioned classroom not even aware of the poverty in Colombia. And it broke my heart to pieces to the fact that I had no idea.
So what do we do when you don't hear about all these world issues? What do we do when we learn that:
—Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.Source
—There are 2.2 billion children in the world and 1 million of them are living in poverty.
—Approximately half the world’s population now live in cities and towns. In 2005, one out of three urban dwellers (approximately 1 billion people) was living in slum conditions.
(These statistics come from www.globalissues.org)
Do we just sit around drinking our $5 Starbucks coffee? Do we continue complaining when we haven't had food for 4 hours when there are children who probably haven't had a decent meal in 4 days…maybe longer? How do we react to these situations? Do we mull it over like we do most other things? Do we pray?
Is it even enough to just pray?
What would happen if we didn't have any idea what was going on? How much different would the world be..or would it be the same?
I have no solid answers to all the problems in this world and how to "fix" them, but it does make me realize a few things and also reminds me that:
1. I am blessed beyond my imagination.
2. I can make a difference, even if it's a small one.
3. The Word says "Do."
4. The world is waiting for someone to tell them something good, to tell them that there is hope, to tell them that although they live in such conditions they are chosen by a King who just can't stop loving them.
So rather than sitting and doing nothing while this world is sitting around longing for a change even if it's a tiny one, I choose to remember and do all four. I choose to be a part of the World Race.
"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday." Isaiah 58:10
