Someone Has to Keep Saying It
Within the last few weeks here at work, I’ve researched a healthy amount regarding nonprofit charities and ministries who go to the broken places in the world, aiming to shed a little light. I’ve known these people exist – the overlooked and the ones to give of their lives to go see, really see them. From building houses, to providing shoes or school uniforms, it seems each thing I find gets under my skin more than the previous. Among all the help, progress and healing, I can never move past the notion that there are places in the world who quite realistically have nothing, while such a portion of us swim in easy living. It’s past the point of specifics, really. Lack of plumbing, sanitary codes, suitable homes and medical assistance all point to the umbrella issue: Ultimately, it is unacceptable to have such places called “developing countries” in the 21st century.
I cannot recite all of history to tell you how some countries completely missed industrialization or even competent irrigation, and admittedly, I am mostly ignorant and careless of the formal financial structures of the world, but I believe that helps my case. Sometimes, knowing ‘the way things work’ yields excuses to never fix what is wrong. I do know there is enough money within the world to provide every human being a comfortable, healthy living, yet 26,000 children die everyday from curable and preventable conditions. Aide organizations do a tremendous amount in every corner of the world to alleviate gaps in poverty, but much more could improve if normal living folks could grab on to some conviction. Sound familiar?
That is why we care at Blue Marz. Though we do sleep in safe homes, and drive our cars to our air conditioned office, we know we can help from where we are. Some of us travel to China and fund trips to Africa, but on days when we’re here in our cozy red office chairs, we know need is still everywhere. We don’t want the continuing colossal failure when we, the Haves remain the Will Nots, causing the Have Nots to remain the Cannots. You follow? It does not always have to be about selling all you own and moving to a hut (though it is quite inspiring), it can be matching the amount you spend on fast food to the amount you give to a selected charity, or it can be volunteering every first saturday at a shelter. Ultimately, someone needs to constantly remind us to quit being complacent. Someone needs to get us fed up with human suffering. Someone needs to keep telling us to do something good for OUR human condition.
