The World Around Me

The horror of the tragedy in Haiti may not be fully realized here in my small town in Alberta. Here we sit, relatively safe from natural disasters, big city crime waves and the terrors seen daily on news programs. It is very easy for one to simply not turn on the news, or to read the papers, or click on the headlines that pop up on one's Internet searches. It would be simple to completely shut the "rest of the world" out, and not hear the cries for help, for rest, for comfort, or even the ones that come from down the street.

As a supporter of SOS Children's Villages, however, I receive regular e-mail updates as to what's going on from various parts of the world. Tonight I read a story of a woman in Port-Au-Prince who lost seven of her children in the quake. All seven.

My mind can not even begin to fathom the depth of this woman's pain.

I read another story of a young boy named Yannick, who lived alone with his disabled mother. His mother had sent him outside to play just before the earth began to quake. His mother was lost when their home crumbled, unable to escape due to her disability. Yannick had only one person for himself in the world, and he lost her.

Again, I am unable to fathom the depth of this little boy's pain.

And I came to realize that people all over the world suffer everyday. It may be from loss, it may be from physical pain, it may be from discrimination, from rape, from abuse, from violence, from oppression. It may stem from rejection, from loneliness, from hurts that may not even have a name.

And I ask what I can do to help.

Maybe the horror has been realized in my small town after all. By me. And maybe it's my calling to do something about it. All suggestions are dearly welcome.