Africa may never be the same

Today my younger daughter departs for Africa. I am so proud of her. She is breaking out of her shell in ways I never dreamed I’d see.  But that is what parenting is about. Watching your children grow up to be who they truly are; and not who we insist they be.

Meredith is going on a mission trip to take care of orphans in Zambia. Most of these kids have been orphaned because of AIDS and HIV. Let me run over a little math for you. The country has a population of about 13,000,000. Half of those are under the age of 21 and half of those are orphaned. That comes out to be about 3,250,000 orphans. Or roughly one quarter of the country’s population with no parents. To say it is a massive problem is a gross understatement.

Meredith and her crew will not solve the problem in the ten days they are there. The next crew that follows them and the next and the next will not either. But they will help. And that is vitally important. From the mundane of sharing pencils and paper for schooling, to the ridiculously simple – delivering shoes for bare feet – the work goes on. Year round.

To me, I can think back to a few years ago when Meredith didn’t want to get off the sofa in the summer. Cartoons were on. Now she is traveling the world helping those far less fortunate than herself. But she does it at home, too. She works with inner city kids at an urban high school in central Texas. A school with a high number of unmarried mothers in their teens – a high number of students doing dangerous drugs. A school with a huge drop-out rate. A school that has seen more than its share of suicides. She works there to deliver something – hope. She works there to deliver a message, don’t give up on yourself. Life is vital. Live it. Even when it hurts, live it.

That is a message of love when it comes from one who is there with you week after week.  And she has been. In Africa, she will not get that. She will come in and then leave. But others will follow and the chain will, as the song says, be unbroken.

Yes, today my daughter travels halfway around the world to do what she has been doing in her own backyard. Caring for kids not her color or even her religion. Just caring.

I am proud of her. I wish her God’s speed. And I remind her, you are making a difference. And that is the most important thing a person can do with their life.

Right on, Meredith. Right on.