After the Hurricane

As Hurricane Irene passes and the sun begins to shine, I am reminded of my sisters and brothers in Somalia who are suffering daily. Here in the East we tend to think primarily about ourselves - how will WE survive a disaster, how will WE come through? Yet we ignore or turn our heads when we see others, especially those miles away, in pain or suffering through a disaster, natural or otherwise. Is it that we simply can not handle the pain in front of our eyes or is it that we have become so desensitized to the plight of those who are not in our immediate vicinity? Recently I founded an educational organization with a teacher in Nigeria and a teacher in Cameroon; I asked them what their students needed in order to succeed and their response was simple - human beings who cared and showed concern. All we need as human beings is the love of others, even strangers; if we know that others care about us and will reach out to us when we are in harm's way, we can survive anything.