 Going
Global with Lutheran World Relief
Kathryn Wolford, President,
Lutheran World Relief
You get up before 6:00 am. You
walk a mile to the river and fill a five-gallon plastic bucket.
You put it on your head and walk home. The river water often
makes you sick. Your mom and dad are part of a Lutheran World
Relief project to build a new water well for the village. You
hear this water will taste better; best of all, the new well is
only two blocks from your house!
You have to hurry to finish your
tasks. You take the family's two goats to a field where they can
graze. You tie them very well--remembering how sad it made your
mom when you forgot and the goats ate many vegetables in the
garden. Your family depends on the sale of vegetables to pay for
your shoes and schoolbooks. Your mom and other women in the
community received seeds from LWR. She and your dad also took
courses to learn to read and write. They saw that it helps them
negotiate better deals for their crops; also government
officials treat them with more respect. Your education is a high
priority for your parents.
Your best friend stops by to walk
with you to school. On the way, you play a game, imagining what
you will be when you grow up…
Stories like this are repeated
throughout villages in places as far away as Peru, India and
Tanzania. Because of poverty and isolation, classrooms too often
have dirt floors, not enough benches, and tattered books or none
at all. But even in tough circumstances, education can and does
happen. Education makes a huge difference in the lives of the
students and for future generations. Just one illustration of
this: educated girls marry later, have fewer children, and the
children they have are healthier and better-educated. This
creates a positive impact on both family size and poverty
reduction.
What are some of the entry points
for students and schools who want to ‘go global’ in a way
that reflects values rooted in our Christian faith? Here are a
few practical ways that Lutheran World Relief can be a resource
and a way to put faith into action.
How Can We Help?
Teachers, students, and schools
in the U.S. can do a lot to make a positive difference for
children around the world.
Pray: God’s will
in this world is that all people, created in God’s image,
experience life in fullness. Prayer opens our eyes to the needs
of others and our hearts to God’s special concern for poor and
marginalized people.
Learn: Explore the diverse
cultures and the real lives of people in other countries. If
they are poor, what does that mean in terms of how many meals
they eat each day, their health, and their education? Several
LWR videos are geared to grade-school audiences. Turtle
Tales: World Turtle in West Africa and World Turtle in
Peru shows the hopes of children in faraway places. Videos
for high-school and college-aged youth are also available. Mr.
Bean, the animated star of Grounds for Hope, gives youth
a faith and justice issue to discuss with their coffee-drinking
parents and teachers. Study guides are included. Contact www.lwr.org
or 800-LWR-LWR2 for free loan.
Be Involved: Make LWR
school kits for students in places like Afghanistan, Sierra
Leone, and China. Parents want to send their children to school,
but often cannot afford books and school supplies. LWR school
kits–cloth bags filled with pencils, notebook, scissors and
paper–are a big help. Students proudly carry their colorful
bags–gifts of love from you. www.lwr.org.
Share: Support Stand
With Africa, a campaign of Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA
World Hunger Appeal and LCMS World Relief. The campaign supports
African churches and communities as they withstand HIV/AIDS,
banish hunger and build peace. See www.standwithafrica.org. The
Stand With Africa website includes educational materials
and action ideas. Call the ELCA World Hunger Appeal for
fundraising ideas; challenge the students to come up with their
own creative fundraisers.
Advocate: As U.S.
citizens we have a cherished right to shape our government’s
policies. Many Lutherans have written to the President and
Congress to ask for ‘debt relief’ for poor countries,
especially in Africa. In Uganda, the money saved by debt relief
has helped that country double its primary school enrollment to
in just three years. In Uganda, there are 1.7 million orphans
due to the disease called AIDS. LWR is helping many of them go
to school through support for their caregivers and their
schools. Students at all levels, but especially at the college
level, are encouraged to get involved. You can write government
officials to ask for more aid for education in Africa.
Kathryn Wolford serves as
President of Lutheran World Relief, 700 Light Street, Baltimore,
MD 21230. Phone: 410-230-2700.
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