Suffer The Little Children ...

Tonight I was looking at my friend's photos. I really like his ideas and he does great portrait work. Tonight he showed me the picture above - a child in Honduras with his glue, and it haunted me. We got to talking about the plight of children in many countries. It made me remember back to my first trip to China. In Shenzen we were met by a girl not much older than 9 or 10. She was carrying a baby that was about 6 months old and both were begging. The baby had learnt to put its hand out. This was a really sad thing to see. Sadder still, was my return visit about 18 months later. The same girl was out begging and had another baby. I remember seeing her (her face etched in my mind from the first visit) and thinking, "That's the same girl. She must have been there every day for the past 18 months. This is her life. Begging." What kind of life is that for a child?

I am fortunate to travel a lot. 15 months ago I was in Egypt. Again, I saw children everywhere ... their life so different to the children I know at home. These children, some as young as 5 and 6, were working. I did not feel I could take pictures with my camera so I tried to capture it with words when I got home.


Childhood
Little children
Belong at home
Loved and nurtured
Playing … imagining … creating …dreaming.

Poverty takes little children and
Steals their childhood.
No time for dreaming
They fight to survive.

Turn your head and you will see them

Little children
Tapping with persistent fingers on car windows
Faces pressed against glass
Immersed in in a sea of moving cars
Belching smog
“Strawberries miss?”

Turn your head and you will see them

Little children
Fanning painted papyrus
Ducking past the man with the stick
Scuttling around tables
Where tourists relax
“bookmark?”

Turn your head and you will see them

Little children
Girls with covered heads
Sitting in rows
Deft fingers pulling silk through canvas
Tying knots in intricate patterns
Learning a trade.

Little children
Belong at home
Loved and nurtured
Playing, imagining, creating, dreaming.

Poverty takes little children and
Steals their childhood.
No time for dreaming
They fight to survive.

If you want to make a difference you can. Partner with an organisation like Tear Fund, Compassion International or World Vision. They make a huge difference in the lives of children and their family. A small donation from you changes lives. Even better, sponser a child and get involved in making a difference in their life and the lives of their family.