AHOPE for Children

If you missed this, take a moment and go watch. This is an MSNBC video featuring the work of Dr. Jane Aronson, whom I mentioned previously. It is a well done, informative piece highlighting the AIDS orphans in Ethiopia; in this case five who themselves are HIV-positive. Pay particular attention to the twelve year old boy from the US, who is hosting one of the Ethiopian orphans. His compassion and motivation to help the children, who are in the cross hairs of this crisis, is very moving.
In a way, it reminded me of one of the Boy's comments from his week in Ethiopia with his Dad. They were instructed by their driver that it would be okay to give a little money to the throngs of beggars who beseiged the car at each stop, but not too much or they may have trouble. So, the Boy had a small handful of birr (Ethiopian currency) and was ready to pass it out through the cracked window. But when more people came to the window than he had birr, he handed the money to his Dad and asked him to do it. When he told me this story, he turned to me and said, "I just couldn't do it, Mom. It was just too hard. How do I choose whom to help and whom I won't help." Then he looked away. I shared that I understood what he meant. As a parent, I can't bear to think of the desperation of parents in Ethiopia who are faced with my son's dilemma in their own family. How do I choose whom to feed, whom to school, or how to console a child in need of medical treatment that I can't provide. Tough stuff-even for an adult mind-let alone a 12 year old boy.
There is a great scripture verse that has been my screen saver for nearly the past six months.

It reads, ...once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act. (Proverbs 24:12)

So, take a moment, hear the stories, have your eyes opened...and act.