World Vision

I've just received a letter from World Vision.
It's about a hunger problem in Laos. The families don't have enough food.
Some of the children only have a handful of rice to eat twice a day and they complain of hunger throughout the day.
They even have to go to the forest and look for more food.

Poverty still remains an issue in Laos.. A BIG Issue. More than one third of the population live below the national poverty line.

This saddens me.
The gap between developed and developing countries is still so huge.
In this developed part of the world, we have people starving themselves to fit into a pair of size 6 jeans. In the other part of the world, we have families struggling for more food to survive.

Usually when we can't finish our food, we'll hear people saying "hey, don't forget about the children in Africa who don't have enough food to eat." We always hear it and are aware of this problem but somehow, it's still quite hard to put ourselves into their shoes.

Imagine waking up everyday to realise that you haven't got enough food to eat..
What kind of life are they living?
Definitely much different from ours..
Will good grades matter as much to them as to us?
It's probably quite unfair to compare because we are living totally different lives.
We have been brought up in a society where survival isn't just about having enough to eat, or a roof above our head.

Is donating money the solution to their problems?
Maybe..
We could help them buy seeds, build irrigation systems or teach them new farming techniques.

Putting myself in their shoes makes me extremely grateful for the kind of life I am living now.
It is a reminder in bad times that 'hey, things aren't that bad. At least I've got food to eat.. at least I'm living in a peaceful region where I don't have to worry about when a bomb is gonna land on my head."
I think these are the things we take for granted.
We take for granted that there'll always be clean water.
We take for granted that we can go wherever we wanna go without fear.
We think this is the way things are supposed to be.. because it's always been like this for us.

I feel sad and frustrated over the way things are.
If everyone were to lend a helping hand, would things improve?
When I see people struggling for fame, fortune and power.. I would think "What are they doing that for?"
"Is it for glory? Is it merely a love for power?"
Those politicians, fighting over a seat in the parliament or for presidency.. What is going on in their head? What is their aim?
Is it for their own chase of glory or is it for the welfare of the people?
I sincerely hope it's for the good of their people.
Because if it's merely to satisfy their ego, I feel extremely sad for them.
Because they'll never be happy with what they have. They'll always want more. They'll never be satisfied.

I read this somewhere...
Our time on earth is so short. We came with nothing and we cannot take anything with us. Why not make full use of the limited time we have to help others and make this world a better place ?
Don't let your ego get in the way and let everything be just "YOU, YOU, YOU!"
Help someone today.

I quote the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi..
"Man becomes great exactly in the degree to which he works for the welfare of his fellow man."