So do you really care? Part 1
Walk with me down
this road.
We will make up a
story and have a few characters, do not lose sight of the intended lesson.
It is a chilly morning in Nairobi, the rains
poured heavily through the night. Jeanne a mother of two, a three-year-old
child and a six-month-old baby opens her eyes after struggling to catch some
sleep through the night. Sleeping through the night was not an option she had
to ensure that her babies were warm and safe.
Let me paint this picture for you.
Jeanne has no roof
over her head, no neighbours and no husband. The father of her first child
doesn’t care and the second child was a result of rape. She is bitter about
life. So where did she spend the night, she spent the night with her kids under
the foot bridge. For her that was the safest place for her kids. As the day
breaks, her eyes are heavy with sleep, her stomach rumbles, the last meal she
had was a banana and she had it the previous day at 4pm. All the other little
food that she had gotten, she gave it to her children. I mean, she could not
just stand by and watch her babies starve. As she shuts her eye to catch some
sleep her six-month-old son wakes up crying. The cold of the night was bitter
and the little boys has a flu. His nose is blocked and breathing is becoming a
problem for him. Jeanne pulls herself up and holds her baby tighter to her
chest, she rubs the boy’s back gently and hums a song with tears in her eyes.
All that she has is a shawl to cover the little boy who is not very warmly
dressed. Mosquitoes do not spare them either.
Jeanne looks at her
children with unshed tears in her eyes, they are dirty, thin, and they look
shaggy. They haven’t had a shower for some time. Then it dawns on her that it
is morning and she wonders what life has got in store for her kids. As she
drifts away in deep thoughts, her three-year-old wakes up and pulls her hand
saying, “ma naskia njaa” (mum I am hungry). Before she can clearly process what
the child said, the child breaks down in tears. Jeanne realizes that she has to
think fast, her child is hungry and so is she. Despite not having caught any
sleep she forces herself to get up. Though her hands are weak, cold and feeble
she strains to carry her six-month old baby, and holds the hands of the other
child. She walks towards one of the most prominent streets in town hoping that
she will get a good Samaritan who will sympathise of her and the kids. She
dreads the looks and sneers that she is likely to get from the passersby
because they make her feel worthless, nevertheless she has to put up a brave
face for her children. She gets a place to sit and stretches out her hand to
beg, hoping that the day will bring forth something good for her and her
children.
The first passerby drops a one-shilling coin in her hand, she looks
at it and shakes her head. In all honesty how will that help her? But she keeps
calm, the second passerby drops a five-shilling coin, the third one a ten
shilling coin. So she decides to buy a banana for her starving children. This
trend continues through the entire day. Maybe, just maybe she could get lucky
to get some money to buy proper food for her children and herself. She doesn’t
know what the future holds, she doesn’t know if her children will ever go to
school, if they will survive the dangers of life and live or if they will die
because of the unbearable circumstance in life. Her tummy hurts, it is probably
ulcers. She has a splitting headache and she is fatigued.
Let us stop here for
a moment.
Check out the next blog post for the continuation of this piece
http://odhiambodorcas.blogspot.co.ke/2016/01/so-do-you-really-care-part-2.html
http://odhiambodorcas.blogspot.co.ke/2016/01/so-do-you-really-care-part-2.html
Caring for the Poor and Needy
ReplyDelete“Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
When Jesus Christ came to earth, He spent much of His ministry caring for the poor and needy. Through His Church, the Lord has provided a way for us to care for those in need. He has asked us to give generously according to what we have received from Him. “The Lord’s way of caring for the needy is different from the world’s way. The Lord has said, ‘[Caring for the poor] must needs be done in mine own way.’ He is not only interested in our immediate needs; He is also concerned about our eternal progression. For this reason, the Lord’s way has always included self-reliance and service to our neighbor in addition to caring for the poor”
ReplyDeleteAmen Marani. To be like Christ, to inherit eternity, service to our neighbor; these are all connected. Thank you for reading. May God create in us a heart that cares and gives
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