...that the country of Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere?
...that the average Haitian lives on only $2 a day, $480 a year?
...that of the $2 they earn a day, more than half goes to food?
...that many Haitian families consist of A parent (or aunt, uncle, grandmother, etc.) and several kids?
...that the median age in Hait is 18?
...that 80% of Haitians live below the poverty line?
...that only 50% of the people are literate?
...that 280,000 people in Haiti live with HIV/AIDS?
...that Haiti is home to 8.7 million people, of which 2 million live in the capital city of Port-au-Prince?
A lot of America sat on their comfy couches and watched Idol Gives Back on Wednesday night. What they are doing is great!!! I think we (Americans) take for granted so much...like clean water, let alone running water, paved streets, food, shelter, safety. I'm not saying that everyone in the US has these privileges, because I know that's not true. But the majority of our people do not live that way - compare 80% below the poverty line to 12 to 15% below the poverty line. I think for many Americans the problem is "out there" and we have no way of personally connecting to it.
I used to be one of those people. I would watch shows like Idol Gives Back, think about what a wonderful thing they're doing, maybe find some Christian organization to help, and that'd be about it.
This week I read stories of riots breaking out in Haiti because the cost of food has doubled and in some cases tripled over this time last year. This is a global phenomena, not just a problem in Haiti. The riots closed all the schools, businesses, etc. in Port-au-Prince.
It used to be that I wouldn't even know about this, let alone care about it. But God has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have been to Haiti - I have seen the Presidential Palace where these riots were taking place. I know people who live in Haiti - people I consider friends - and my own son lives there. Gone are the days of my ignorance. Gone are the days of my complacency. Gone are the days of my blindness.
God has opened my eyes, ears, and heart to see, hear, and feel what he sees - at least a little of it. I will never be able to fully comprehend the hurt He feels when he sees his children starving. I will never be able fully comprehend the pain he feels when he hears his children crying out for help and taking their last breath. And even though I may never understand it, I am thankful that my eyes have been opened to see and ears opened to hear and heart softened to feel. Having a personal connection with what's going on makes it all more real and definitely not so far away.
If anyone reading this blog has any interest in getting out of their comfort zone and seeing the world around them, not for a vacations perse, but to really see what there is out there, then go to the Nehemiah Vision Ministries website and ask for information on a mission trip. If you want to make a difference, click here to learn about child sponsorship in Chambrun, or here to learn about child sponsorship at HIS Home for Children in Port-au-Prince. Or, if there is some other group or organization in your area that goes to Haiti - or to some other impoverished nation - talk to them about how you can help. Haiti is my personal passion - I've been there and my sons, Joshua and Jonathan, are from Haiti. I've been to Haiti 3 times in the last year and I'll be going at least two more times this year. When we do finally get to bring our son home, going to Haiti is something we will do on a regular basis...Haiti is in our blood.
In the book of James, James writes, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)
That verse is one of the many that encouraged us to adopt Joshua after we had lost Jonathan. And it is that verse that rings in my head whenever I hear of the starving people - not only in Haiti - but around the world and here in the US. If you think I'm saying that you can only help in Haiti, not true. Haiti is where my heart and my passion is. If your heart and passion are in Africa or Russia or China or... that's Great!!! But the question is: What are you doing about it?
Natalie
many of the statistics came from the CIA world fact book
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