Tuesday, December 09, 2003

I've been on a reading blitz as of late, on the topic of Africa.

A broad topic?? You have no idea. The countries I've been reading up on.... Somalia, Sudan, Malawi, Zambia, Liberia, Chad, Namibia, and Ethiopia, a few of which share borders. About 10 different terrorist groups.... the only that I can remember offhand is SWAPO, and I remember that almost every other group has the term "Liberation" in it. They all want to be liberated from each other by raping and plundering rival tribes.

I've been poring over a pile of National Geographic magazines (some of them as much as 20 years old) in a desperate bid to understand the source of war and poverty in Africa. Granted, it's too big. But I'm still gonna try.

I've run out of National Geographics so now I'm narrowing my focus to two countries that are of particular interest to me. Liberia and Chad. One of my sponsor children, Memadji, lives in Chad, and since I'm hoping to go to Liberia I think it would be wise to be informed of the political/military climate.

Lot's of interesting tidbits of information. It's good to learn. It feels good in the brain.

I recieved a letter from one of my sponsor children, the first letter from Memadji. She writes in french, and has better penmanship than the supervisor who translated her letter. I'm looking forward to writing to her.

I want to use this opportunity to once again plug Child Sponsorship, and what a wonderful time of year to begin sponsoring.... Sick of commercialized Christmas? Wish there was a way you could somehow squeeze some meaning out of our greed driven existence?

You probably spend at least $33 every month on things you don't need. The money I spend on my sponsor children is an investment..... Not only in food, medication, and education for two families, but also in the relationships I develop with these children. Few things fill me with joy the way a letter from Chad or Romania does. I love the pictures Florin draws, I carry pictures of them in my wallet.

If I achieve nothing in my life, if I die tomorrow, I will die with the love of a 14 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. That is a far more valuable thing than any retailer can sell me.

Think about it. I bet you could manage it with little sacrifice, but to one family and one child in particular, it means the difference between poverty, disease, death and heartache, and an opportunity at a solid education, sufficient food and a future.

Seriously. 33 bucks. Never has $33 carried so much value.

World Vision Child Sponsorship

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