When the Church is Moved

Published by Faith to Action Initiative

Growing up in a small southern town, my travels by the time I made it to college consisted of trips to my grandparents’ farm in Kansas and one failed family vacation to Six Flags in Texas.  I was raised in a Christian home in the heart of the Bible belt and participated in everything from vacation bible school to church camp and all the youth group get-togethers in between.  I listened to Steven Curtis Chapman and loved to belt out Carman ballads.  I learned about the needs of the world through sermons and videos and even started sponsoring my first child through World Vision my senior year of high school.  I had a lot of head knowledge that pulled at my heartstrings but I had never seen the needs of the world with my own eyes.  Honestly, I lived in a comfortable Christian bubble.

My first trip abroad was to Asia, where I encountered street children in Mongolia who were fending for themselves in sub zero temperatures.  A few years later, I moved to North Africa when I came in direct contact with people living in poverty and specifically orphans. I experienced shantytowns and children begging on the streets.  I felt helpless in the enormity of needs and lost in how I could do anything to make any sort of change. I questioned God and His providence for these beautiful yet neglected children; I questioned my own upbringing; I questioned the role of the church. The impact this had on me was profound.

This shock to the senses has been the experience of many who grow up in a comfortable home in America and had their hearts moved with compassion through a trip abroad.  For me, the real test came after the trip was over and the pictures had been shared.  How do we even make a dent in the overarching needs of the poor?  While the church’s response is substantial and not lacking in compassion, what is needed is strategic compassion.  A convergence of the heart and a working knowledge of the issues and challenges in order to equip the church with the best practices to care for families and communities at risk.

During my time in North Africa, I visited and volunteered in a variety of orphanages from a large-scale institution with several children and few caregivers, to smaller “family style” orphanages.  It was the beginning of my journey in strategic compassion.  One of the things that surprised me was some of the negative effects on children being raised in orphanages.  The caregivers were precious people with amazing sacrificial love for these children with a commitment that stretched over several years.  They were meeting an immediate need by providing shelter, food, and education but there were still many needs that they could not provide.  Some of the young adults who had grown up there struggled to connect with their community and expressed a lack of purpose after they had aged out of the facility.

Orphanages recognizably play a significant role in caring for children at risk but an institution can never provide the individual care and sense of belonging that a family is able to give.  Children who are raised in a family style setting, whether by extended family, in foster care or by an adoptive family, will develop better physically, mentally and developmentally.  Family-based care should be given highest priority when responding to the needs of orphans.

I have also been surprised by the fact that the vast majority of children living in orphanages actually have a living parent or extended family that would care for them if they had the means to do so.  As an aunt to four nieces and three nephews, I cannot imagine being faced with putting one of them in an orphanage after the loss of their parents because I didn’t have the means to care for them.  Yet this is the heart-wrenching dilemma that so many families face.  I recently read a statistic that stated, “50-90% of children living in orphanages have at least one living parent.”  This is astounding and more work should be done to provide families with the support to keep them together and children out of facilities.

            We in the church are called to play a significant role in responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children.  The issues are complex and require wisdom and research to determine which solutions and practices are best to make lasting change.  May we grow in strategic compassion by taking to heart Proverbs 23:12, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.”

Electrify Africa

Yingesu & Mantegbosh with their midwife supervisor
at the Agita Health Center

I will never forget my long journey out to a remote village a few years ago to meet with a small group of midwives serving rural women in Ethiopia.  The trip was particularly memorable because I was around 5 months pregnant with my second son and as we got closer to the village the road began to disappear and I became increasingly uncomfortable bouncing around our truck.  My little guy apparently enjoyed the ride while in utero since I felt his first kicks right after our trip. 

We visited two young midwives, Yingesu and Mantegbosh, who were working at the Agita Health Center, a tiny clinic serving a population of 51,000 people.  Remarkably in their first year, the girls had made over 100 deliveries and provided approximately 1,000 women with prenatal care, which increased access to maternal care in the region by over 90%.  Yingesu shared with us how she had recently delivered triplets successfully by candlelight due to a loss of electricity.  She enthusiastically said, “my hope for the future is to help my community, and I am proud of my job…I feel fantastic because I can save the lives of women and children!”  Yet she is faced with the challenge of delivering babies by candlelight because basic infrastructure like electricity is unreliable. 

We recently had an irritatingly outage of Internet access in our house and the idea of unreliable electricity and lack of access to good roads is honestly far from my mind.  But for so many, these are daily actualities that effect life giving work such as maternal care.  In fact, as of 2010, 68% of people in sub-Sahara Africa live without access to electricity.  A lack of power impacts millions of people by hindering quality health care, ability to run businesses, hinders education and encourages usage of kerosene and open fires for cooking, heating and lighting that produce toxic fumes and an increase in accidents inside the home. According to WHO, “more than 50% of premature deaths among children under age 5 are due to pneumonia caused by ‘soot’ inhaled from household air pollution.”

Because of these realities, I am thrilled when there are opportunities before our government, which would send taxpayer dollars to projects that make broad and lasting impacts.  Yesterday, the Electrify Africa Act was passed in the House and will soon be introduced in the Senate. As summarized by the One Campaign, “the bill seeks to prioritize and coordinate U.S. government resources to achieve three goals in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020:

·      Promote first-time access to electricity for at least 50 million people, particularly the poor.

·      Encourage the installation of at least an additional 20,000 megawatts of electrical power.

·      Promote efficient institutional platforms that provide electrical service to rural and underserved areas.”

With all the many challenges facing health care, education, and economic growth in the developing world the significance of adequate infrastructure like electricity cannot be understated.  Please write your Representative in Congress – especially your Senator - to vote for the Electrify Africa Act!  In light of Mother’s Day weekend, send a message to girls like Yingesu that we in America want to make backbone investments in her country to enable her to provide quality maternal care to the women and children in her village.

To engage Congress through the One Campaign on Electrify Africa Act click HERE

Who is Notable?

How do we define value?  To what standard do we hold a person or someone’s ability and say, “Yes this has value.”  The oxford dictionary defines the word value as “the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.” We may be quick to say every human being has value but if we take a closer look at ourselves, our ideals, our hopes for our children…is there a point where we start to see some of our true thoughts and feelings about what and who are of real value? 

99balloons.org

Last week, I had the privilege to hang out with a group doing great work with children with disabilities and their families.  My observation of their work has caused me to assess my own ideas of real value and what kind of standards I place on others and myself.  Matt and Ginny Mooney created 99 Balloons in 2007 as an organization to support families with children of disabilities by helping to provide community and support through their monthly “rEcess” program.  rEcess is a time for families to bring their children with special needs (typically hosted by a church) where volunteers give one-on-one attention to the children through a variety of activities while giving their parents a night off.  These events become an avenue to build communities of support for families.

The name “99 Balloons” come out of their own story of their son, Eliot, who was diagnosed with a disease called Trisomy 18 and who lived only 99 days.  The capital “E” is rEcess is no mistake as it is a tribute to Eliot.  The Mooney’s chose to celebrate his life in many ways but one was by releasing 99 balloons at the day of his funeral.  They were blessed with a great community who surrounded them with love and support during the life and loss of Eliot and wanted to create that same support system for other families through the work of their organization. 

One of their global initiatives in Uganda was recently documented on film, called Notable, which was shown at a screening here in Washington last week.  It’s a difficult yet hopeful film to watch on the realities that persons with disabilities face in developing countries with little access to health care, equipment, support and acceptance.  I was particularly challenged by the idea of value or the lack of that communities in Uganda give to people with disabilities.  Simon, a Ugandan social worker said, “The only way they understand value is they relate persons with disabilities to normal people.  Oh he can’t ride that bicycle…he’s useless…. The truth of the matter is that some of these children, some of these persons might really never live to be so helpful. They might not be able to drive a car. They might not be able to even simply mop a house.  But then that doesn’t mean that they’re not valuable…. If you want to get value out of them then you have to appreciate them, love them for what they are and then you will be able to embrace them. To me, that’s value. And that takes what I always say, unconditional love.”

What struck me is this value system based on a person’s level of ability is not just limited to Uganda or to some developing country in Africa.  We in America also have a perspective of value that is defined by productivity and success.  Our country was grounded in productivity, hard work and achieving the American dream. We as Americans hope for our children to be successful and productive in their lives, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  But what happens when we are faced with circumstances and/or people who don’t have the ability to be productive? How do we define them?

Mama Moses and her boy

 Another story in the documentary was about a woman who called herself “Mama Moses” after her son Moses who has cerebral palsy (CP).  Her perspective and more significantly her unconditional love for him were overwhelming.  As she swung him around in her arms she said, “There are even some people that can look at Moses and say ‘He’s a CP. How can someone produce a kid like that? For me I pray to God that I don’t produce such a kid.’ No. For me I look at Moses as someone beautiful and special to me. I like his smile. I love it so much. So most of the time when we are there - laughing, playing…I like him so much. You see he can’t walk, he can’t sit but what he does I like. I like it. So he’s very beautiful to me. It’s God’s plan. It’s not a mistake. It’s not a mistake.” 

As my children grow, I hope to have the same perspective as Mama Moses…that I like and love them as they are and accept them fully without condition. This reminder of what real value is - is refreshing. 99 Balloons and others like them are helping to change the landscape of how people with disabilities and their families are cared for and as shown in Notable are viewed.  The documentary is worth watching and worth considering in how we view and help those with disabilities.  At the end of the film, Simon poses a challenging question, he asks, “Does God know that persons with disabilities exist? If the answer is yes what does he expect of us. What does he expect you to do?”

A Letter to Mr. Lego

My latest Flywheel Writing Assignment: Letter Writing

Dear Mr. Lego,

I have so many things to say to you it’s hard to know where to begin.  You’ve been putting out Legos for a long time now.   You’ve gone from a tub of colorful assortment of blocks to now entire cities with intricate tiny pieces.  I’m sure you started as a nice person just wanting to help little boys and little girls learn how to build and use their imaginations.  At what point did all of the accolades go to your head?  When did you start thinking…you know I can make Legos that have themes for movies and Legos that only go with each other so poor moms have to buy separate sets when a few pieces are lost?  We know you’ve made a lot of money doing this, haven’t you? It’s obvious with your flashy “Lego” stores and now your new “Lego Movie.” 

You want us to believe that you are family friendly kind of guy just making family friendly toys.  We know the truth and we know what your plan is.  You’ve sucked in the children.  We moms spend hours looking for that one “tiny” helmet that some tiny policeman Lego can’t live without.  We’ve been tired and our backs have hurt when we’ve looked through couches and under tables to find that tiny wheel that only goes with that one motorcycle. 

You have made Lego sets for babies, for toddlers, for girls, for boys and you’ve even sucked in our husbands.  You knew that these dads would be putty in your hands when you created Star Wars Lego sets that would take too much time and frustration to put together.

I want you to know there will be a day when us moms will get sick of it all and throw them all away.  Yes, every itty-bitty piece.  There will be crying and gnashing of teeth but we’ll do it anyway because were fed up.  We’re fed up with the pain of stepping on one of your “harmless” pieces in the middle of the night.  We’re tired of consoling little children when something goes missing.  We’re sick of it and a day is coming that Legos will be no more.  We hope you have a back up plan for another day job and if you don’t get ready because we moms are strong; we don’t give up easy and we’re ready to win our houses back.

Sincerely,

Mom’s Who Are Sick of the Piles of Toys

Anti-Lego League

A Nun, A Doctor, A Surgeon & An Ambassador

During this week leading up to International Women’s Day, here are a few heroines who are making a difference in the lives of women and girls around the world.

Sister Rosemary ofUganda

Sister Rosemary & Dr. Hamlin in Washington, DC

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe from Gulu, Uganda is a gutsy, no-nonsense nun that works with women and children who have been abducted and brutalized by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  The LRA it is a group of fighters led by a brutal leader, Joseph Kony. They have terrorized the Great Lakes Region of central Africa for over 20 years killing and abducting thousands of children and displacing over 400,000 people.

Sister Rosemary, however, is a beacon of hope and strength to hundreds of women and children who are rehabilitated at her school, St. Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring School. These girls, many who have become mothers, have been terrorized and abused by Joseph Kony’s LRA now are provided a safe haven and opportunities for a new life for the future. Sister Rosemary’s school is training them in life skills, tailoring, and making pop-top purses that are sold with the funds going back to the girls. 

Dr. Catherine Hamlin

Dr. Catherine Hamlin turned 90 this year. She is a woman who has given the vast majority of those years to the “least of these” in Ethiopia.  She has run the Hamlin Fistula Hospital for over 40 years.  The hospital is working to bring back dignity to women who have dealt with the devastating aftermath of days spent in labor without access to basic maternal health care who are left with an obstetric fistula.

An obstetric fistula occurs after prolonged and agonizing obstructed labor, forming a hole through which urine and/or feces pass uncontrollably. Women who develop fistula are often abandoned by their husbands and rejected by their communities. Most cases of obstructed labor result in a stillborn birth leaving the woman with a double sorrow of the death of her baby and this devastating condition.

Dr. Hamlin’s hospital not only treats women with fistula but gives them a new life – sending them home in a new dress, providing services for many of them to re-integrate back into their communities and giving them hope for a new future. 

Mamitu Geshe ofEthiopia

Mamitu featured in the Half the Sky Exhibit

Mamitu Geshe came to the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1962 because her labor had gone horribly wrong.  Mamitu came from a remote Ethiopian village and was married at the age of 14.  At the age of 16, she became pregnant and after four days of labor she eventually had a stillborn baby. Her bladder, rectum and birth canal had all been damaged from the agonizing days in labor.  After several operations that cured her in some of her injuries she was still left incontinent.  

The founders of the hospital, Dr. Reginald and Catherine Hamlin, saw great potential in Mamitu and took her on as a nurse aide.  She began changing bed linens and eventually started helping out during surgeries.  Mamitu was a natural leader and soon started routinely performing the entire fistula repair surgery herself.  Now Mamitu is one of the world's most experienced fistula surgeons and regularly trains other doctors around the world in fistula repair surgery.  Her story was featured in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s bestselling book Half the Sky.

Dr. Inonge Mbikusita– Lewanika of Zambia

Dr. Inonge has led an incredibly full life.  The granddaughter of an African King, she has served as Ambassador to the U.S., Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg and the EU.  She was member of the Zambian Parliament and worked with UNICEF for ten years covering 42 African countries. In 2001, she ran for the Zambian Presidency and later ran for the Chairwoman of the African Union Commission.  She comes from a family of politicians – her father was the first President of the African National Congress of Zambia and her mother was the first woman in Zambia (Northern Rhodesia at the time) to register to vote.

Upon meeting Dr. Inonge you would never know of her long list of accomplishments or that she is of African royal blood.  Her life has been committed to improving the lives of women and children.  She’s led peace missions to Rwanda following the genocide, Burundi and the Horn of Africa working to include women in the peace process.  She has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the poor and needy not only in Zambia but in many countries on the African continent.  In Washington Life Magazine she was noted as one of Washington’s most powerful diplomats and called the “Heroine of All African Women.”  In both character, commitment to Africa and its people, I would strongly agree that Inonge is indeed a heroine not only in Africa but for women around the world.

Check out Sister Rosemary's Documentary Sewing Hope: