Faces of Poverty

One of the things that I love/hate about my life here is that things always change. I can think I know my plans for the day, but they most always change and never go as planned. Yesterday was one of those days. I ended up spending most of the afternoon in a horrible slum. These were the worst conditions I’ve seen yet. This slum is next to or part of a garbage dump. Huge scavenging birds fly overhead. Children sit digging through the garbage and playing on the mounds. Many of the children were naked or half dressed. They had huge bloated tummies and ringworm on their heads. Trash was everywhere as well as the stench of raw sewage. I can’t even begin to describe to you all of the sights, sounds, and smells. I was there with some other Americans to see a child that hopefully will be adopted. Unfortunately, the baby did not look well. But today, I was able to take him to the doctor and get some better medicine and treatment.

After we saw the child, we had to wait in a field outside the slum while the lawyer with us interviewed some people. Children swarmed our van trying to touch us and talk with us. Some of the children literally hung on my legs. I shook their hands, gave high fives, and smiled and laughed with them. They were pretty fascinated with Mercy and I am sure they were trying to figure out why she had a mzungu mommy. Several things struck me about this moment. First of all, I had been upset earlier because Mercy had rolled around on the floor in her new clothes. Yet, running around next to these children she looked so clean and healthy.

Secondly, I kept thinking about how attention and affection starved these children must be to literally cling to a complete stranger’s legs. They just wanted to be loved. Thirdly, I saw the many children in need of medical attention. The need was overwhelming. Skin infections. Hernias. Rotting teeth. Bloated tummies from parasites. Open wounds. Hacking coughs. I wanted to take them all to the doctor. A pastor that was with us was telling me that his church does free medical clinics in this slum a couple of times a year, but the next clinic isn’t scheduled until May. That’s 3 months away.

Earlier in the week, I finished reading Richard Stearns’ “Hole in the Gospel”. Stearns is the President of World Vision. The book talks about his life story and the stories of thousands of people he’s met around the world. He talks about the great need for Christians to step up and take care of the poor and needy. It seems that lately there are “socially-minded” Christians that want to only meet physical needs and then there are the “evangelicals” who only want to share the gospel. Stearns points out that our job as Christians is to do both. Wow, this was a challenging book and I highly recommend that all of you read it. One thing that he talks about is how much more we as people connect with a personal story of a need than with just statistics. I can give you all of the stats on the orphan crisis in the world or I can tell you the story of Mercy. Which would move you more to give? I can give you mortality rates for women giving birth in Uganda or I can tell you about Mercy’s mother. Which would move you more? It’s challenging to me to realize that behind every stat I read in the paper or hear on the news are real people. Their lives involve fighting for clean water to drink, searching garbage dumps for food, walking miles to a doctor, hiding in the bush from a rapist, being forced to become a child soldier. It puts it in a whole new perspective. I have these things right in front of my face each day in Uganda. I know it’s harder for those of you that have never been to a third world country, but this is real. Look at their faces.

Thirty years from now do I want to look back and tell my children that I turned a blind eye to the hurting people in this world?  Do you?  Pray about how God would move you to help.  Sponsor a child.  Adopt an orphan.  Build a well.  Donate money.  Use your vacation time to serve.  Buy a book.  Do something.