Thoughts to the World Children’s Day by Dr Martina John
The nutritional situation in Africa is devastating. In countries like Southern Sudan or Nigeria more and more children die due to starvation; according to UNICEF one child every ten seconds. The UN declares that also through the Corona-Pandemic due to the food shortages in these regions even more children will die from malnutrition. Girls are no longer allowed to go to school in Afghanistan, while boys are being threatened with pressgang-recruiting for battle-training. In Peru all state schools are closed, despite the corona-incidence being low. It seems that after the strict lockdown and the locking-up of the children for months still no-one has understood that children need social contacts and want to learn. Wherever we look disaster reports, especially tragic for future generations!
A ZEIT article (26.08.2021) entitled “We build a world as we like it” – based on Pippi Long-stocking’s well-known phrase – is encouraging. Among others it mentions the following children and teenagers: it reports on flood-helpers Lumen (8) and Mia (9) who baked and sold cakes and pastries and thus raised €17,000 for the flood-victims; Solli (16) from Australia has written a few poems on various topics like climate change and injustices in this world that causes one to think; Olivia (17) from US wakes up at 5a.m. each morning, reads the main international news stories and compiles them so cleverly into her newsletter “The Cramm” that even normal people might take a keen interest in politics; Paul (15) from Beuron founded a type of oil company from seeds that he has now expanded to a family company; Leni (12) from Düsseldorf sat in the her district’s children’s parliament, organised a clean-up-the-rubbish-day and promotes children’s rights; José Adolfo (16) from Arequipa has actually managed to set up a children’s bank, where children can save up money; Maria (12) from Barbados, a Caribbean island, does not waste her time on sandy beaches, but has set up a YouTube channel called “Little Thoughts on Big Matters” and shows how each one of us can play our part in keeping the earth a healthy place; Kai (20) from Berlin has come up with an App against mobbing at school.
These are just some impressive examples that show that everyone counts and can make a difference. An African saying goes: “If you think you are too small to make a difference then you have never spent a night with a mosquito!” And that is true. We hope that those up-there will change things, but most of the changes are made at the base-level. Diospi-Suyana-children’s-clubs have started again in Curahuasi – be it outside and with a mask and hygiene regulations, but they have started! And the children cannot wait to sing, play, learn and make all sorts of things. They hear about God’s love for everyone living on planet earth and that God has something special planned for each and every one of us. Perhaps a future mayor is just gluing something together or two unbribable judges are laughing together or a doctor-in-spe is musing how she can improve the health situation in her country or a five-star chef will soon start distributing what she conjures up in her kitchen to the poor in her neighbourhood or….
The learn-verse for this Saturday was the well-known verse from John 3,16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.
Hope drives and motivates us. And with God’s help we will make a world as we like it./MJ
