Last night I almost forgot about Oprah's dream school program for the girls in Africa. I caught most of it...and constantly teared up. My throat hurt by the time the show ended. I recently remarked about our wonderful country and how people sometimes forget our freedoms. Our military men/women and families pay a heavy price for our freedom but so many conveniently forget what that gives us...possibilities.
So many of the children in Third World countries will never have the possibilities of being safe, an education or having even 1 decent meal a day...much less in a lifetime. But it is because they have no options. What pisses me off when I see what those children will never have without caring people and organizations, like Oprah and her Angel Network, is to see our poverty levels in the U.S.A.
There are at least opportunities. Oprah saw them and to know where she came from...compared to where she is today...is not just her own ambition for more, but because of the country we live in. My family is by no means wealthy, but we can work. We want to work...we want more for our family. My children. We can work because of opportunities we choose to take. Those girls on the show last night wouldn't have had a chance because of where they live. For most of them there is no way out. It's all they know.
I won't bore you with my soapbox tirade on our welfare system and the people who take advantage of it, but last night's show gave me a kick in the motivation side of my behind. I can be more...because it's there. I can do more...because it's there for me to grab.
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5 comments:
I know how you feel, Chelle. Coming from Kenya, I know just how difficult it can be for some families to educate their children. Luckily for me, my country has been relatively stable and has a well-developed middle-class. Now if only we could get leaders who put the country's welfare above theirs and can not be bought and sold by the west, we'd move forward.
Bella
What made me angry is that Oprah got ridiculed for starting a schoold in another country and not in her own? Unbelievable.
Bella ~ I had almost forgotten you were from Kenya. How incredible! I would love to pick your brain about your experiences and any cultural differences.
Erin ~ I have heard people criticise celebrities for spending money to help in poverty stricken countries, and I absolutely agree with you being upset. These people live in areas/situations where there is no hope. They are humans...don't they deserve a chance?
The show was wonderful, and I cried right through it. Most of those little girls have experienced horrible things yet they've become strong and positive in spite of them.
Like you, when it ended I felt discouraged with myself for not doing more for people (here or abroad). We are so blessed in this country, and most of us take it for granted.
We've struggled financially several times for various reasons but always picked ourselves up and made things better. What frustrates me is to be in line behind people at the grocery store and they have a basket full of junk...cokes, chips, cookies and steaks and dressed in nice name-brand clothes and they pay with welfare access card. I try to give them the benefit of doubt and think maybe they were like us and had fallen on hard times. But then we've got a girl that works for my mom and she plays the system. It makes me mad to see or hear people playing the system while we are working so hard to have the basics. But that is why I am without my husband now...so we won't have to struggle as hard anymore.
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