Africa, a continent endowed with immense natural and human resources as well as great cultural, ecological and economic diversity, remains underdeveloped. Most African nations suffer from military dictatorships, corruption, civil unrest and war, underdevelopment and deep poverty. The majority of the countries classified by the UN as least developed are in Africa. Numerous development strategies have failed to yield the expected results. Although some believe that the continent is doomed to perpetual poverty and economic slavery, Africa has immense potential. Africa is my cross and my greatest joy at the same time. Hallelua!!!
The images of pain and of suffering move across our TV screen. They come from Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine and Africa. We see death and suffering up close and yet are comfortably enough removed from it. We see them as news, as images fed to us via cameras, satellite, video phones, still images. Each year we see thousands of them, they come from around the globe. Most of the time we see them as mere images and not as the people and lives, the families, the communities they represent.
The world is standing by doing nothing. We see the images, we have pity, but most of us do nothing. We see images from Africa, children starving, boy soldiers running around in Congo, Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan where thousands upon thousands have died.
For years now I have been raising money for African Projects or mission trips I took to Africa. I have been three times now to Africa and I have found this attitude of pity from people, this attitude of feeling sorry for Africa but not putting it into action as the prevalent mood of the day. I would tell the story of Africa, its possibilities, its riches, its resources, the story of a people hungering for freedom, for the basics of life and I would get “that is nice, I pity them, but why don’t they have fewer children and their problems be solved – or – Why do we need to help – if all they are going to do is kill each other – I feel sorry for them, but Africa is far away and we have needs here in Brazil or in the United States, but I do pity them.”
Pity regards its object not only as suffering, but as weak, and hence as inferior, and I am sorry to say that such an attitude still exists in the year 2008. Africa does not need our pity, our feeling sorry for them, but it needs our compassion. Pity leads to inaction, we view the pictures of children with distended bellies, we see emaciated women, bloodied men and we feel sad, but do nothing about it. Pity leads to feelings of inaction, becoming anesthetized from the suffering, pain, injustice that is before our eyes on the TV screen or in print.
Compassion on the other hand leads to action that is not based on pity for someone lesser than, but reaches out to a fellow human being. Pity might give a handout, whereas compassion not only tends to the immediate needs at hand, but also empowers the person in need to be all that they are meant to be.
I am so excited because God is allowing me to take a team to Uganda and Sudan in December 2009. Right now we have 11 people going and most of us have no idea where we are going to get the money to go. Each one of us needs close to 4 Thousand dollars for our trip. We believe in a miracle and we know God is going to provide in some way. So please I call all of you who have prayed and cried for Africa. Now it is the time for all of you to act and you can do that in many ways by praying for our team, praying for me as the leader of the team and of course by financing our mission trip. Please let me know if you want to do a fundraising for us or if you want to send a financial donation. It is very easy and fast. Just send me an e-mail: sidneypereira915@hotmail.com or call: (19)9291-1278.
Your help is critical because the children of Africa - now more than ever! --- are in need of health care, education, food, shelter and care and support. But with your support, they can meet all basic needs; also you can bring hope, opportunity and save their lives!
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