I recently had the privilege to speak with a native Congolese woman, who now lives in the United States. She now travels back and forth. She described the poverty to me in such detail. People say it is all relative. It is NOT!!!! I am sorry, but it is not. I have been to other countries and it is not relative. They still need basic necessities to live, and they are not any cheaper in those countries. Thus far, every country I have been on most items are the same price as here or more expensive. So for someone who lives on less than $1 per day cannot buy beans to feed their family, because enough beans to feed their family would more than deplete their monthly income. And that is only food to put in their starving bellies. That does not pay for $2 medicine to save their child from dying of Malaria, clean water to drink, electricity, schooling for their children, and the list can keep going and never end.
A piece of my heart broke off when I was told and read in various places that in the Congo, little girls as young as 4 and 5 years old will sell themselves to survive. They will become victims of child molestation to simply survive. They will become victims of extensive sexual, mental, and physical abuse. It starts at that age and NEVER ends...NEVER!!!!! My oldest daughter is 6 years old, and I will say again my heart is broken...BROKEN!!! Your child, your daughter will have to sell herself at the young age of 4 years old because she has no food to put in her mouth. She has had no food for days, weeks. Her belly is distended and full of parasites. She will willingly make herself a victim of horrid abuse to simply be able to take another breath of life. This child has no hope. She has no future. She will not go to school and she will never be able to break the cycle. She has no voice. She does these things and cannot cry out, because who is she going to cry to? She has NO ONE!! My heart not only is broken for these girls, but is in a million pieces because people, Christians, so not care. They care more about themselves. When you do nothing to change the world...you simply do not care. I can sadly say I was there once. I was there where it was out of sight, out of mind. But now it is not out of sight, and it sure is not out of my mind. Those children do not deserve to live like that. They do not deserve to be orphans. They do not deserve to starve to death. They do not deserve to live with a broken heart. What they do DESERVE is for our HEARTS to BREAK so then we can then mend their heart back together with our love. They deserve a life of HOPE and LOVE. Will you allow your heart to break so that an orphan's heart can be healed?
If you have the time go here and read some gut-wrenching facts and thoughts that should make your heart stop a few beats and cause a tear-stained face.
