Glen Dhu World Vision Club to join “Famine No More”

Sep 21, 2011 at 4:01 PM by Garry Howe

Glen Dhu World Vision Club to join “Famine No More”

The Glen Dhu World Vision Club is now beginning its fifth season of operation. We have made the famine in north east Africa are main focus for this year.

I particularly love the World Vision Canada educational approach of “Think -Act - Change”. When our club was first initiated we realized it was important not to just raise money for World Vision projects, but that it was also essential to develop a keen awareness in students of the needs in this world, and to thereby develop a life-long passion for making a positive difference.

When I hear and read the news reports concerning the death toll in the “Horn of Africa” my brain becomes almost numb to the devastating statistics in this region which absolutely stagger the mind.

•Over 13 million people who are malnourished from the famine

•Over 1500 people arriving at refugee camps every day

•Over 2.5 million children at risk of dying

•The daily death toll…almost unimaginable

•The worst humanitarian crisis ever

The unfortunate thing about numbers and descriptions of this magnitude is that they put the problem at the 10 000 foot level. People see the issue as either just too huge to even try to help, or they don’t see the problem at all, because the crises, at a personal level are too far removed.

-People do not hear a mom weeping for her dying child

-People don’t see the anguish of a dad who has just informed his family that they will have to leave their home because there is no more food or water, and move to a refugee camp hundreds of kilometres away

-People don’t see the faces of moms, dads and children who arrive at a refugee camp complex housing over four hundred thousand people, but that was only designed for ninety-two thousand

-People don’t see the dirt and sweat pasted on the face of a dad who has just buried his daughter on a road-side because the journey to seek food or shelter took too long

Instead people hear and see numbers which, after a while, evoke a minimal response. We hear and see reports, and then we quickly go on with our lives. We make our lunches for the next day, we entertain guests after supper, we get our homework done, take the dog for a walk, or meet our friend at Tims for coffee. We hear and see, but then we go on…and there is no impact.

During this year at Glen Dhu we will be planning some fundraisers to help the people in countries such as Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda who are facing the terrible consequences resulting from the famine. More importantly, however, it is our sincere hope that we will raise awareness of the seriousness of the situations faced by children and families there. We want the people in the Glen Dhu community to personalize what they see and hear in such a way that there world is rocked.

It is the dream of the Glen Dhu World Vision Club that the students and families in our community will no longer just see numbers, but that they will see and hear, and most of all remember names and faces of the people that they are trying to help.

It is our mission, that even just once and a while, each of us will pause, and while we are struggling trying to cope with a busy day, remember that there are children trying to simply survive that day.

The students and families here are ready to make an impact…are you?