When I was a little girl my mom used to read me fairy-tale before going to sleep. These amazing stories always had a heroic selfless ending, in which love always triumphed.
As I grew up, I always expected everyone to be as selfless, as loving and caring as the fairy-tale characters in those stories. It was hard realizing that the reality was far away from what I expected. Most people put their needs before everybody else’s needs, they fight for what they want no matter who gets hurt in the way. And then call those got in the way “collateral damage” of their success. Sounds familiar? This lack of empathy to the poor, to the needy, to everyone who is not themselves comes from the education that kids receive at home when they are young.
Most parents teach their children to be successful and independent when they grow up. Not many teach or expect their children to put a poor kid’s needs before their own or to share more than what is left over. We have an obligation to our society to at least try to change this egocentric mindset in future generations. If we start teaching our children that sharing, loving and caring for the poor and the needy is one of our priorities, and should be one of their priorities as well, we can actually change this world.
Urunji Child-Care Trust is just one of the many ways there are to help those who need us, who rely on our mercy to have a better life. We should give each tiny human being the life they deserve with proper education, nutrition and opportunities. Because the way I see it, you and I were lucky to be born with a roof on top of our heads and to have at least three good meals a day. But what if we hadn’t been lucky? What if we had been born in Malawi like these kids, with the little resources they have to make it through the day. We could have been in their place, but we are not, so that means that the least we can do is help them with our small grain of sand. If you know anyone who can contribute with their grain of sand as well, we will soon build them a mountain of opportunities and the future they deserve.
No one has ever become poor by giving – Anne Frank
About the Author
Claudia Vanessa Barreto Rodriguez is an undergraduate student pursuing a BSc in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia. Her goal is to run her own immunology research laboratory and create innovative treatments for immunodeficiency disorders. She has a keen interest in volunteering in Africa in the near future.
