Monday 27 August 2007

Is there a place on earth that has been forsaken?


What did you see in this? At the first look, I thought it was a pot full of squids. However, not in my wildest imagination would I have know that what I am seeing is a pot full of rotten cassava cooked with dead rats. Yes, this is what the Zambians are feeding to their children.

After being striken by 6 months of hard rain since October 2006, which resulted in serious flooding, the main source of food supply, the cassava crop (or tapioca) was almost completely destroyed in the Zambian village. Having left with no food, no shelter, only hunger and diseases remain. Many of you are parents yourself. Ask yourself this question: will you feed a hungry child with rotten vegetables and dead animals or feed them with nothing at all? I do not have an answer and am I not glad that I do not have to make a decision like this.


I can never understand why there are so many misfortunes in this world, and even you and I have our fair share of unfortunate experiences. However, what we have gone through and will be going through are nothing as compared to the hardship that these people are enduring. I have always been a firm believer of hard work and perseverance and I am convinced that anyone who has a pair of hands and legs, who is blessed with a healthy body can overcome any hardship and live a decent life. Yet, I may be only partly correct because in a place like this (Zambia), where circumstances challenge the human will each day, things may work a little differently. If there is no land for you to sow, what can you reap? If there is no hope left, what can you pray for?

I cannot help but wonder, is this the address of where we would call a "god forsaken place"? Or is this the land where our creator has conveniently cast his "defective creations" away, such that there are only sufferings, pain, fear, drought, flood, hunger, diseases, etc in this place?

Don't start lamenting how little you can do as an individual to help relief the world of such misfortunes and please don't give excuses that you are too busy to want to help. Children don't stop going hungry just because we are too busy getting on with our lives. There are many ways in which you can help and one of the easiest is to pledge a small donation regularly with a charitable organisation of your choice. There are 6.5 billion of us in this world and if only more of the strong ones are willing to put their hands forward and hold on to someone in need, I am sure, the better world in which we all have in our visions will become a reality, some day.

World Vision Singapore has currently launced a donation campaign to help raise funds for the flood victims of Zambia. For more information, please see

http://www.worldvision.org.sg/st_emergency.php

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ya, it is kind of sad to know that kids are suffering in some part of the world. What has gone wrong actually?

Nobody said...

"God" forgot to grace this land....

Anonymous said...

To be honest, it never come across my mind that young kids are actually suffering and leading such a life in other part of the world. Well, I guess I got to my part to share what I have to these poor souls....

Ling, thanks for letting me know that such thing actually exists.. I am just too ignorant. Reading your blog is pretty enriching. Thanks