Many of you may remember Munwato's story from my blogs while I was in Zambia. She was five, HIV+, and had lost both of her parents to AIDS. Her grandmother had been caring for her until she was hit by a car and killed while she was carrying Munwato on her back. If you had met Munwato, you never would have known that she was fighting a deadly disease or that she had been left by all those who cared for her. She was so happy and full of life. The first time I met her, she came running to me and jumped in my arms as if she had known me her whole life. Whenever I was in Muzoka, she was glued to my side. On November 24th, 2008, Munwato went to be with Jesus.
"Zambia...has one of the world’s most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics. More than one in every seven adults in Zambia is living with HIV and life expectancy at birth has fallen to just 42 years. This has compounded Zambia’s existing economic problems. In four decades of independence, Zambia has found peace but not prosperity and today it is one of the poorest and least developed nations on earth."(Avert.org)
No matter how dark and scary the economic future of this country looks to us right now, it is nothing compared to millions who live on less than a dollar a day. Millions who depend on their food coming from land that is unpredictable at best. Millions of children who have lost their parents, their caretakers, and their homes. This is a place where babies die because their mothers are too malnourished to feed them. A place where children walk miles to get to school in hopes that one day life will be better for them.
I would like to put a challenge out there for this coming year and also a request to do something in honor of my special friend, Munwato. World Vision is an organization that I trust and I have seen their work in action. They are not just meeting needs, but effecting long term change in communities; impacting them with the gospel of Jesus Christ and giving them the tools they need to survive and be successful. Would you consider sponsoring a child for $35 a month or making a one time donation in honor of Munwato? I know that things are tight financially for many of us, but consider what you might sacrifice for this cause. If you can't find $35 a month in your budget, could you cut your cable plan down to basic for a year? Could you spend less on getting your hair done or trips to Starbucks? Could you cut out your gym membership or your internet plan? I think that most of us can think of something that we could give up in order to make room for giving to people in greater need than we are. If you already sponsor a child(you are my hero), consider giving an additional one time donation.
I have a friend who partners with World Vision and works very hard to get children sponsored every year. You can go to her website, scroll down, and click on the World Vision banner which will take you to all of your options for giving. I would love to hear back from you if you decide to make a donation or sponsor a child, it would do my heart good.
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Eileen