A turn for the serious
My heart has been hurting over Niger.
I'll admit it, before the last week or two, I couldn't locate Niger on the map. I'm still woefully ignorant.
But, here's the deal, 10 months after it was clear that Niger was headed for a full-out humanitarian crisis, the worst famine since 1985, the world's news media outlets decided it was time to let us know about it. And, what do you know? That's about the time the world's richest countries started responding ... not that they weren't informed on this beforehand.
Let me share with you a snippet from an article in today's Lexington Herald-Leader, written by Michael Wines, New York Times News Service:
Among the newcomers was Baby Boy Saminou, whose 40-year-old mother, Mariama, brought him to the charity's Maradi hospital Wednesday from her village of about 2,500, 15 miles away down a rutted road. The boy was receiving free food and had visited the Doctors Without Borders clinic five days earlier with a mouth infection before worsening last weekend.
Doctors restarted his heart as they plugged bags of blood and intravenous fluid into him and clapped an oxygen mask on his face to assist his labored breathing.
Mariama sat by her child, draped in brilliant orange-and-green cloth. A nurse put a stethoscope to the baby's chest, listened, then summoned a doctor. She listened intently.
Then, wordlessly, the two removed his oxygen mask and catheters. Mariama stared at her dead child, impassive, then covered him in a red scarf.
Saminou is my little brother. Mariama is my sister.
Eating my breakfast -- chosen from a variety of options, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, cereal -- I feel like I'm going to throw up.
According to the same article, 1 in 4 children born in Niger don't live to see their fifth birthday.
Let's be honest, if we can access the Internet, we have the means to help out our brothers and sisters in Niger, even if it's just $10 or $20.
And we have the time to say a prayer for them.
Lord,
Have mercy on our brothers and sisters in Niger. Please comfort the grieving with your Spirit and nourish the hungry through the love and care of others.
Have mercy on us in our wealth and forgive us for our collective indifference toward your beloved.
Jesus, thank you for your love and power and might. We know you are capable of all things and hear our prayers.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
There are people already on the ground in Niger performing acts of mercy. Check out how you can support them:
www.worldvision.org
unicefusa.org
www.savethechildren.org
www.mercycorps.org
www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Thanks. And God bless.
I'll admit it, before the last week or two, I couldn't locate Niger on the map. I'm still woefully ignorant.
But, here's the deal, 10 months after it was clear that Niger was headed for a full-out humanitarian crisis, the worst famine since 1985, the world's news media outlets decided it was time to let us know about it. And, what do you know? That's about the time the world's richest countries started responding ... not that they weren't informed on this beforehand.
Let me share with you a snippet from an article in today's Lexington Herald-Leader, written by Michael Wines, New York Times News Service:
Among the newcomers was Baby Boy Saminou, whose 40-year-old mother, Mariama, brought him to the charity's Maradi hospital Wednesday from her village of about 2,500, 15 miles away down a rutted road. The boy was receiving free food and had visited the Doctors Without Borders clinic five days earlier with a mouth infection before worsening last weekend.
Doctors restarted his heart as they plugged bags of blood and intravenous fluid into him and clapped an oxygen mask on his face to assist his labored breathing.
Mariama sat by her child, draped in brilliant orange-and-green cloth. A nurse put a stethoscope to the baby's chest, listened, then summoned a doctor. She listened intently.
Then, wordlessly, the two removed his oxygen mask and catheters. Mariama stared at her dead child, impassive, then covered him in a red scarf.
Saminou is my little brother. Mariama is my sister.
Eating my breakfast -- chosen from a variety of options, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, cereal -- I feel like I'm going to throw up.
According to the same article, 1 in 4 children born in Niger don't live to see their fifth birthday.
Let's be honest, if we can access the Internet, we have the means to help out our brothers and sisters in Niger, even if it's just $10 or $20.
And we have the time to say a prayer for them.
Lord,
Have mercy on our brothers and sisters in Niger. Please comfort the grieving with your Spirit and nourish the hungry through the love and care of others.
Have mercy on us in our wealth and forgive us for our collective indifference toward your beloved.
Jesus, thank you for your love and power and might. We know you are capable of all things and hear our prayers.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
There are people already on the ground in Niger performing acts of mercy. Check out how you can support them:
www.worldvision.org
unicefusa.org
www.savethechildren.org
www.mercycorps.org
www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Thanks. And God bless.
posted by Michelle | 11:43 AM
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