Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies of hunger or a preventable disease. Every day, somewhere in the world, a child struggles to stay alive.
Imagine yourself in a dark room late at night, all the lights are off except a select few that hang from the ceiling. In the front of the room on a raised platform there are dozens of miniature candles glowing brightly. For the next twelve minutes, every seven seconds, two people take turns blowing out one candle at a time.
Each candle that was lit represented a child. Every time a candle was blown out, a child (and/or an adult) died of hunger or a preventable disease. A disease you most likely have had a vaccine for. Think about that; while you probably complain about getting a vaccine, you should really be thankful for having the opportunity to get it. It is understandable you would complain a little bit, who wants to be poked with a needle? On the other hand, if people are dying from the diseases these vaccines prevent, why do we get so worked up about it? Would we rather die from the disease?
Now imagine you live in Haiti; you live with your mother, twin sisters (age 5), and brother (age 3). You do not know anything about your father. It is January 12, 2010 and the earthquake just hit. During the earthquake you get hit in the head with a rock, and wake up unaware of what has happened. When you try to move your arm, it will not budge; it is broken. You walk towards the direction of your house to find your mother and sister dead. Your other sister and brother are sitting beside your dead mother, crying, oblivious to what just happened because of their young age. What are you going to do?
With crumbled buildings and other buildup that needs disposed of all over the place, and with almost no way of getting food or water, Haitians live around disease and death twenty-four-seven. If you were a child in that position, it would be scary to have to take care of your younger siblings plus yourself. The chance of survival is little to nothing.
Imagine you are a Haitian mother with two children. Every Sunday morning you send your children to church, but you stay at home. Why? Because you cannot afford a nice outfit to go to church in, and you would be too embarrassed to go in the outfits you do have.
Think about what you wear to church. Do you throw on a pair of jeans and t-shirt and call it a day? In the Haitian culture, Christianity is a huge part of their lives. They save their very best clothing to go to Sunday morning worship. For them, it would be embarrassing to show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe this shows how seriously our culture takes religion.
Death caused by hunger and preventable diseases is not narrowed down to Haiti. Haiti is just a great example. There are plenty of other countries in the world experiencing the same issues. So the question is; what are you willing to do to help?
Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies of hunger or a preventable disease. Every day, somewhere in the world, a child struggles to stay alive.