The African Children......

I wish I was wealthy. Well, at least somewhat financially secure. If I was, I would travel to Africa and give my time to the little African Children and mothers affected by poverty and Aids.
Some years back, people affected with HIV/AIDS became my calling. I'm not sure if this is due to how lucky I feel not to have contracted the disease given my past life style, or what, but it is where my heart feels my time needs to be spent.
Watching "Idol gives back" last night really got me. I know there are plenty of people in America that need help. Yet, there is something about the African people that call my name. The massness of Aids there is overwhelming and heartbreaking. Knowing there are 12 yr old children fending for themselves is more than I can take. The children and mothers seem to have a strength within them in spite of the hell they live. Mothers taking in children that arn't even hers and feeding them and loving them even though she can barely feed her own, is so amazing to me. Some of them will die anyway in spite of her couragous efforts.
I wept last night as I have many times over the years. Aids is a horrible way to live and a worse way to die.
I ache to hold those children and to love them, and I cannot. It is troubling to me that I cannot do what I feel I was meant to do. I have my own reality, and that is I cannot just pack up and go to Africa. Someday, maybe the opportunity will come for me.
So, I do what I can here. It is not enough. I think of all the children of Camp Starlight and I am happy that it is there for them. It provides a refuge for them and provides an outlet for me and for what I know I have to do in this life.
I need to do more. We all need to do more. Why arn't we? When people tell me "oh, that's so great you do that camp thing" I want to say back to them, "Thank you, and what are you doing?"

jb