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| Samaritan's Purse at the Dump |
After several years sending Samaritan's Purse boxes to children, I was at the Dump in Zihuatanejo to help distribute them. It was a joy to know that someone, somewhere took the time to put a gift box together not knowing where in the world it would eventually land. I watched the kids open the boxes and look at every little treasure. And, some boxes had photos of the family and a brief note to the kid. It is difficult sometimes to fully appreciate the impact that we can have on others lives with just a little dose of love and act of kindness. See: http://www.zihuachristian.org/purse.html for more photos.
The gift boxes are an interesting concept, and the kids are obviously excited, even before they know what's in the box. I especially like the idea of including a photo of the family that sent the box, along with a note. (I wonder what a return addressed postcard would produce, if people are allowed to put something like that in the box.) Whether the kids are conscious of it or not, I'd guess that knowing some other kid/family put the package together is the real value behind the experience. Yesterday I learned that for every year of education a young mother gets (hygiene, healthcare, food prep/nutrition, etc.) infant mortality drops by over 9%. So... one of the best things we can do for these children is to educate the adults, and find ways to provide adequate resources for raising families (potable water, enclosed sewage, personal hygiene...). These things are more important than medications, like antibiotics, at least that is the conclusion of our Public Health folks. Makes sense to me.
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