What are You Doing About Africa?
Over the last two years I've heard in so many places about Africa. Last year at Catalyst Stacy and I put money in a bucket to buy wells. Catalyst raised over a $130,000 and since last year has built 38 wells.
After that I haven't done anything, which is not abnormal from most people. So much happens in two years and I have been a part of so many incredible opportunities. But this year at Catalyst something clicked for me. Whether it was the talk or the photos shared by Gary Haugen or maybe it was a combination of things, but the question was asked and I felt like it was asked of me "What are You Doing About Africa?".
In our world there is so much wealth but also so much poverty. And poverty has no boundaries, no country is without it in some form, no race or nationality either. With poverty comes increased risks of HIV/AIDS and other diseases (many diseases that have had a cure for over 50 years) . Here are some stats:
Right now, more than 1 billion people –one in every six people on the planet – live on less than $1 a day.
More than 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS; more than 6 million people die each year of causes related to TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
More than 6 million children in developing countries die every year from preventable illness, while as many as 500,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth.
More than 100 million children are out of school around the world.
Source: One.org
I heard a podcast the other day that talked about what the latest generation thinks about social issues (poverty, social justice, etc.) and they seem to be more aware than the previous generations. And I got to thinking about it. We have wanted organizations to take care of it - whether it be the government, church, or even the One organization. And all of these should help take care of the problems, but in Matthew when God said to love Him and love others as ourselves there were no stipulations as to who should do this. In other words he was speaking to organization like the church but he was really speaking about people as individuals. The Great Commission (Matthew 28 ) doesn't have any stipulation either . It says "go" and to "all nations".
So what now? What will I do about Africa? ................