Blessed are the Peacemakers
The Miracle of Giving
In early December, I attended a Christmas program at Prairie Creek Elementary School. Rajmonda, our 12-year-old patient from Kosovo with profound hearing loss, was part of the choir that performs in sign language as they sing. Seventy-two of the 75 children in the signing choir are hearing children who have chosen to identify with their classmates who do not hear.
|
|
Let
there be Peace on Earth And let it begin with me Let there be Peace on Earth The kind that was meant to be |
There was not a dry eye in the house.
We are expecting Rajmonda to receive a cochlear implant in the next few
weeks. That will open a whole new level of hearing for
her.
Medical Container
A 40-foot container of medical equipment and supplies was shipped to
Kosovo last January. The shipping costs to Kosovo were paid by the
Albanian American Cultural Center and Dr. Ayaz Malik arranged the
contents.
The
plan was for Dr. Malik’s medical team to go to Kosovo in April and work
with neurosurgery in Pristine for two weeks. However, because of the
war, the trip has been postponed indefinitely. The equipment we shipped
will allow surgeons at the Medical Center of Pristine to do surgeries
they haven’t been able to do in the past.
Vitamins to Mexico
GNC
donated children’s chewable vitamins for over 1000 children for one
year. They were shipped last week to Casa de la Esperanza for
distribution to orphanages in Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico.
This was made possible through a wonderful spirit of cooperation. HUG
Internationally could not use the vitamins because of the short time
left on the expiration date. HUG’s director, Judy Broom, recommended us
to Children’s Health Cooperative, directed by David Rosenblum. Mr.
Rosenblum arranged the donation by GNC.
Thanks to
all the people who played a part in this gift. Children who would not
have received the vitamins they need will now receive them.
Who's Responsible for Suffering?
It’s human nature to point the finger at someone else rather than take responsibility for one’s own part in suffering. It started with Adam and seems to be part of the struggle we all experience. And yet the very rule of community is clear that we are responsible for what goes on among us.
How is it that we have nursing homes in this city filled with people who never receive a visitor? Words are inadequate to describe the sadness of their situation.
There are parts of this city that resemble a shooting gallery and the police never respond. Why? Because the people in those communities are afraid to call for help. And why are drug dealers allowed to continue in those areas? A policeman involved in the community once told me many things about his world. The end of the story is that there is no resolve on the part of those who could change it to change it. They don’t live in that neighborhood.
As I see it, one of the casualties of the war in Iraq is personal responsibility. As in all wars, I suspect, even people who normally have a keen awareness of their individual part in suffering, find it is not only acceptable but also patriotic to point their finger at the other guy.
The needs, even in this wonderful land of plenty and however circumstantial, are overwhelming. How can that be? “Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”*
Thank you for your continued involvement.
In gratitude,
Rae England