I’m thankful that I work at a world relief organization where I can be on the forefront of news regarding world disasters. I can’t help but wonder though, if I didn’t work at a world relief organization like this… how long would it take me to realize that thousands upon thousands of people just lost their lives on the other side of the world?
We are so incredibly blessed here in America; we have so much, and we don’t even realize it. We are also very naive about events occurring that seemingly have ‘no impact’ on us as a country. I say this not to ’snub’ America (although American’s snubbing their own country does seem to be a trendy thing for bloggers to do right now… another subject for another blog), but rather to encourage us as a nation to get more informed about how we can be praying for our world. Let’s jump out of that isolationist mindset and start extending the love of Christ into our actions- its not as if prayer takes a lot of effort!
Anyway, with the Myanmar death toll climbing over the 30,000 mark today (with many, MANY more missing) and the Chinese quake death toll reportedly to be in the 7,000’s- this isn’t just your everyday tragedy. Combine these numbers with the fact that you are looking at two governments whom are known for their pride, secrecy, and resistance to receive foreign aid, the numbers are undoubtedly going to be a lot higher when this is all said and done. Early estimates have the final combined death toll of both of these disasters residing in the 100,000’s. This isn’t even mentioning the global food crisis that has been slowly descending upon the world in general during this last year. Think you’ve got it bad with gas prices going up and stamps rising in price by a cent? Try having your main food source (rice) jump in value so high that you are being forced to starve yourself in order to feed your children. This is real people, and its happening all around the world, TODAY.
Take a minute and consider that seemingly arbitrary number for a moment. 100,000. 100,000 lives extinguished within a matter weeks, probably less.
For comparisons sake, a little over 4,000 American troops have lost their lives during the on-going war in Iraq/Afghanistan. How much media attention has this received? Daily reports on every news channel, every day for the last… how many years? I do not mention this number to dishonor our troops and what they have done (this is another area where we can be praying!). Their sacrifice is one of the most noble endeavors I can think of- they have given their lives to make the world a better, safer place for EVERY man and woman, not just American men and women.
How many of us even knew that there was a place called Myanmar before this tragedy occurred? Maybe a few of you heard about the atrocities going on here because of interviews surrounding Silvester Stallone and the filming of the Rambo movie there. There is a silver lining here though: through this great tragedy, the world’s eyes have been forced to look upon Myanmar. Maybe, just maybe, now that we all have been forced to meet Myanmar, some good can come from us having our eyes opened. Do a little googling on Myanmar (or Burma as it was more frequently referred to prior to 1989 when the military junta passed laws to change the name of the country and further remove its connection to the western world), and learn more about its corrupt government. The information, you’ll discover, is quite frightening. Why are people treated like this? Why does suffering and unjust actions go unnoticed?
My point is this, the world is so much bigger than our little social spheres and day to day concerns. The world and it’s sinful people face insurmountable obstacles every day- things we can’t possibly face as a human race on our own ability. Thankfully we have the Lord- our almighty father! As I was reminded by one of the relief workers here at Food for the Hungry- let’s focus on the living right now, not the lost. There are many hurting people out there right now who need God to ease their pain. Let’s petition him to move on their behalf, so that He may place his healing hand on a hurting world. Pray that He uses these events to save the lost and restore the hurting.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
As a graphic designer working for a poverty relief organization, the topic of poverty is near and dear to my heart. I have been searching for just the right subject to post on being as today is Blog Action Day. I could write to you about various organizations that help alleviate global poverty through charitable funding. I could tell you about the United Nations Millennium Project, which seeks to end poverty by 2015. I could even point you to a place that allows you to lend money to entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. However, I’m not going to blog on any of these today. What I am going to blog about, is a little boy named Job Mwanga Chelangat who lives in Piswa, Uganada. Read all the article
For those of you who have had any experience working with a non-profit organization in the course of your career, I’m sure you’d agree with me when I say that non-profits are a ‘different beast’. I am aware of schools of thought that suggest you should treat non-profits as you would any other paying design client. While I can appreciate my colleagues’ desires to simplify the equation, I politely disagree. Let’s be honest- clients run the gamut in our industry. There is no one-size-fits all approach to addressing client needs and circumstances. Because of this, our communication style and actions must adjust according to the needs of our client; especially when our client is a non-profit.
