Who Is My Neighbor?

If in this country, in our Western World, we knew of 400+ children who didn’t have a meal this morning, had no shoes, couldn’t get to clean water in the middle of the heat, wore the only outfit they had, tried to learn in a school that meets under some trees, shared a blanket two to a bed (there really is not a bed, it’s a hard place on the mud floor), what would we do? Would we try to help, would we call the authorities, would we get them a medical check-up, would we remove them from their situation, would we take them in? If they lived here, we would mobilize every resource we knew to try to fix it, I suspect.

These children are only two plane rides removed from us. They live in Koreng, in Eastern Uganda. They have names like Jonathan, Abraham, Josephine. They are physically beautiful. We have met them. We have held them. We have played games with them. They are real.

We shared some things with them. We gave them shoes and school uniforms. Everyone received a bag with notebooks and pencils. At the end of the day, we got back on our bus, we waved, we cried tears. Three days later, we are back in the United States. How are you? How was your trip? … it was great!… everything went well.…that’s the short answer… on the inside, we are torn apart.

Is there a way to tell the stories of the children of Uganda that will shake the rest of our world into reality? How long will it take before the business of our lives here numbs the pain? How do I sleep?

God, please, keep watch over my friends in Koreng tonight. Show me how to be a good story teller to draw attention to these children who are no less my neighbors than the children here at home. Grant me the grace and the patience for those won’t understand because they haven’t had the chance to see for themselves. Guide me to those who will help to build the well and the latrine that are so desperately needed at first. Show us the next steps. Bless the partnership that we have begun with the village of Koreng. Show us how to be good neighbors.

Dirk Hamp