I'm proud of my small town. It's not a wealthy place. There's a fair amount of unemployment and a fair amount of poverty level incomes. Oh, we have people with money here, but it's nothing like what you find in more prosperous places. Most people work hard to just get by.
But today, my town found out that we would be receiving refugees from Hurricane Katrina. Several churches, including mine, will be taking as many as they can. The best guess about how many my town will receive is 500 to 1,000.
So the radio station began broadcasting about the refugees and asking for supplies. And the people of my small town responded. Toilet paper, paper towels, canned goods, bottled water, diapers, sheets, pillows, blankets, clothes, toys, school supplies (because it's planned to put the refugee children back in school although it hasn't been worked out how that's going to happen), etc. Volunteers collected the supplies and trucked them to the proper churches. People just kept coming, giving until it hurt for many of them. (One little elderly lady brought in three rolls of toilet paper. She'd bought a four-roll package and needed one roll, but wanted to give the rest of it. On her fixed income, it was all she had to give.)
I realize that in the immense scope of this tragedy this isn't a lot. Thousands more people need help. But it's something. It's people reaching out to strangers. It's people giving sacrificially. Perhaps it's hokey and naive of me, but amidst all this pain, confusion and finger pointing, it gives me hope. Despite everything bad in this world, I still have faith in us. I hope you do, too.
Good night.
8 comments:
This truly does give me hope. Churches in my city are also taking in refugees. For all our faults, the American people are the most generous and kind in the whole world, bar none. If more of the world were like us, it would be a much better world.
I still have faith in people, too. Maybe not in the government, but in the regular everyday people who are giving of themselves to aid all those suffering in the aftermath of this disaster. We're going to make it through this. All we have to do is keep working, keep giving, keep hoping, and yeah maybe keep praying too.
I am proud of my city too...
The mayor has applied for us to be a sister city. Meaning we would send our local contractors (including supplies) or work with direct counter parts to help rebuild. Another on the tablet, is to have a local employment agencies have the companies they contract, to offer employment as well as relocation. Be it temporary or permanent in conjunction with property managers.
It is all "in the works", but hopefully some of it will come to fruition.
Aww,the love and giving in your post made me cry.I'm so glad to hear stories of people helping!
Three cheers for your town and your church! Three cheers for all the towns and all the churches and all the people who are helping during this crisis!
Hip hip hurrah!
Hip hip hurrah!
Hip hip hurrah!
Sorry about what I said in the last post, Tech. What I meant to say was Thank you for putting and keeping this tragedy in the right perspective.
Tech, did you know that 100 evacuees are even going to our hometown?
Yes, Press, I did. I talked to my younger sister tonight about it. Pretty cool.
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