Forgive me if I’m not on the Haitian Bandwagon
Posted in Featured educationOk, forgive me for stepping on toes here, but you know, I don't always speak with the popular crowd. But...........
I receive numerous emails every day asking me to help raise money for the tragedy in Haitian. Now, you see, I used the word tragedy because indeed, it is a tragedy and I'm not so narrow minded that I can't see that. However, when we have tragedies in our country that need and deserve funding, it's difficult for me to jump on the let's-help-other-countries in their time of need bandwagon.
I know, I know, I can see fire rising in some of your eyes already. But, let's take this to a more personal level. Take the following scenario for instance:
Family A: This family lives next door to you. This family lives near you because they are family. And, the only worker bee in the family just lost his/her job. They are in need of food mostly as it hasn't been long since he/she lost his/her job but they also know that if he doesn't find a job within a month, they will be looking at possibly losing their home. They need assistance of some kind. And you have the ability to help them.
Family B: This family lives in another state. Their home was destroyed in natural disaster (tornado, flood, etc). They are in need of assistance and thus far various agencies are asking for aid of all kind for this family.
Who are you most likely to lend a hand to? Why? Well, I don't mean to sound like I don't care, but if a member of my family is in need and I know there needs and I know the reliability of the facts regarding their need (not saying that the agencies providing information about the other family aren't reliable, but being realistic, what you can see with your own eyes usually means more than what you see on television), then that's the family that I'm going to lend a hand to. Then, if I have any other resources, I will definitely lend a hand to Family B.
Now, take that broad scale again. Why are we allowing the children in the United States to go hungry, without medical attention and/or insurance and why do we allow them to receive a less than honorable education? Instead, we are sending funds to another country. I know, I know, it's mean and narrow minded some of you will say. But the fact is, we have people in our country who are homeless and hungry. We have families without jobs. Moreover, we have elderly people who can't afford medical care (ahem, my mom has cancer and this time next week, she will be without insurance) and every time I turn around, someone is asking me to lend a hand to people in another country.
Surely you understand now why I don't forward the messages requesting me (and you) to help the people in another country. Yes, I know, the circumstances there are worse there than they are here, right, right...but you know what, they were worse there before the disaster than they were here before the disaster.
So, just because someone suffers a loss doesn't always mean we need to jump up and try to help them when we've managed to leave our own folks out in the cold the whole time. Just because they have now suffered a natural disaster doesn't mean that they are suffering any more than some of the folks in our country who have experienced a natural disaster (or even a personal one).
One of the most important lessons I had to learn as a mother was if I didn't take care of myself, I couldn't take care of my children, husband and mother. And, if we as a country can't take care of our own people, why are we trying to take care of others?
Make sense to anyone besides me?
I’m all for helping others, but I do agree we need to help ourselves before we try to save the world. Charity begins at home, after all.
Hey Jerri, I can understand 100% where you’re coming from. We have had a lot of fundraisers in our area which I think is great but I can only contribute so much. I sometimes feel guilty for not giving more but I need to look after my own family as well…
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Great post, I totally agree. How long have you been blogging for now, I really like the design of your site. Cheers, Merissa Corriere
Unfortunately everyone cannot give to every single charity or crisis that arises. Look at the current oil spill crisis, the people living in those areas would not be in a position to give to people in Haiti (I would imagine).
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As a rule of giving, we should only give from our excess, not from our substance. Charity begins at home. It should be the needs of our family, relatives, neighbors, community, and country that come first, in that order. When we’re finished looking after our own, then we can go and help those other nations in need of help.
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