This photo was taken by Anita Powell. I saw it in this AP article
The video grab below it is of my friend Laura's son, Max.
I met Max soon after he was delivered to the orphanage. He was obviously malnourished. Today, he is an amazing young man, robust and so full of life and you would never connect him with this scrawny little boy above. Check out Laura's blog for updated photos. Laura has determined that my Zion and Max will marry someday, and since they constantly talk about each other, and she calls Laura "mommy" and her husband "daddy" I don't doubt the possibility.
Anyway, when I met Max, he was maybe four months old. The girl in Anita's photo is about THREE YEARS OLD, and weighs less than 10 pounds.
I'm rethinking how our family eats, and I'm looking for ways for us to give more. Please post any ideas that have worked for your families. I bet we can start a good dialogue about how we can free up more resources to help address this situation.
6 comments:
It's so hard to believe that's my baby. As to your discussion, we gave up eating out other than on occasion and buying healthy affordable food for us to eat at home. We do this to create a positive cash flow to decrease debt/spending and increase giving. Somehow, though, it never seems to be enough.
oh, that is so sad....she is the age of my daughter, who is also from Sodo....
Mary
Though we are spending more on somethings, to keep Hannah on the chemical free diet, Im saving on others. For example, I bought a 50 lb bag of rice at Costco (for $20), and we will be eating rice ALOT. That will save money, because it is cheap, healthy, and a good filler. (I dont buy into carb theorys) Also, Im doing lots of things with potatoes, pasta and lentils, they are pretty cheap.
Food is a necessity, so Im cutting what I can, without cutting too much. For us, one area I can cut down on is gas. I enjoy driving around, finding new things and ares, ect. But, Ive decided to stay home more, and get directions before I step out of the door (Which I hate doing, because I want to explore the area), but with gas at $4 a gallon, thats just wasteful. Maybe I need to put on my walking shoes and address two issues at once :-)
I also cut down on my trips to Goodwill :-( But who really needs more used bread pans or piggy banks??!
KT
No words can describe that top photo...When I see her, I think of my own 3-year-old sons from Ethiopia, and where they would be if not for Missionaries of Charity, and AAI. It is bone-chilling.
Since moving to a much bigger place (we're in Denver now), I am hoping to start buying more things second-hand, hoping that the Goodwill and other second-hand stores will have enough kids' clothing for example, that I can buy the bulk of it there. Where we used to live that wasn't really an option. We try to eat healthy and affordably and not eat out too terribly much. I also stay away from buying tons of junky snack foods, which can not only be expensive, but they're not particularly healthy either.
Oh - I am loving your blog!!!!! We just talked with a family who do "hunger night" once a week - they eat oatmeal for dinner and spend time praying or talking about different extreme poverty issues - last week they spent the time talking about one of the HOPEnecklaces our non-profit sells (with the names of HIV+ orphans inside of each bead) and then praying for the children. I love that idea!!!! we are thinking of instituting it in the fall. Last year we also had a set amount of "kids' giving money" in addition to our other giving each month, and the kids took turns deciding what it would be given to (sometimes requests that had come in the mail, sometimes an orphanage they'd heard of, etc.).
What a perfect idea. Thank you for sharing it!
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