“Each of us must come to care about everyone else’s children. We must recognize that the welfare of our children is intimately linked to the welfare of all other people’s children. After all, when one of our children needs life-saving surgery, someone else’s child will perform it. If one of our children is harmed by violence, someone else’s child will be responsible for the violent act. The good life for our own children can be secured only if a good life is also secured for all other people’s children.”
– Dr. Lilian G. Katz, professor of early childhood education.
Caring for one other than our own selves is the true meaning of life, and when one learns to care for those children who do not belong to us, whom we may never see…those children who suffer from afar, then only then can we be sure that our own children will see more prosperous and valuable life. It when we begin to learn that we are all connected and we are all one universal family that we can begin to find peace, hope and prosperity for all of mankind.
For the child who suffers now of hunger and preventable diseases, could be a future doctor, or researcher who finds the cure for AIDs, but if we care not about his, or her, wellbeing then they future may not be theirs, and the loss will be ours. The child soldier who fights today will hopefully one day become an adult and the future can go in many directions, they could be the future rebel leader, or the future leader for peace, much depends on how we see that child today and what we as an international community invest in the future. The little girl on the street with sad eyes that you look right past may be a teacher or a lawyer, or she may remain standing right there on the streets with hollow eyes, much of her future lies in how you see her. Do you see a prostitute or do you see a child victimized by sexual exploitation crying out for help?
How we see the children of today effects their future, what we do to help them effects not only theirs, but that of our entire global community. Look not with a blind eye at the child on the street, look not past a mothers pleas for her child’s future, but look into yourself and see what you can do. It is not just money and time that will ease the burden for children in need and their families, but also a shift in our attitudes; no longer can we continue to say, “It’s not my problem”, “It’s not my child”, we must learn to say “What can I do?”, “How can I help?”!
