We can ALL make a difference!

This post will be longer than usual and I hope worthy of a few minutes of your time. Over the past six days, I taught Vacation Bible School (VBS) in my church, which is situated in La Romaine (South Trinidad). Now, La Romaine is considered a “hot spot” because of the gangs, illegal drugs and guns. In fact, the street that my church is on, George Street, is known as “Hell Town” and delivery drivers are hesitant to come after dark. A police outpost was set up last year and police jeeps regularly patrol the streets. In spite of their presence, my daughters are still traumatized by the sound of gunshots that exploded in front of our church last year.

This week, we hosted about 100 children and taught them the “The Ten Commandments”, did arts and craft, drama, singing, games and a field trip.

I had the pleasure and stress of teaching 30 loud, excited, unique 10-12 year olds and these are some of my Random Observations:

?? Many of our children who attend primary school cannot read, write and spell properly.

?? To the child whom I have to talk to/discipline a million and two times, it is much easier to put them to sit by themselves or stand in the corner – But what happens to that child when they rejoin the group? They are further removed and disengaged.

??Many of our children are angry – “Miss, my father in prison”, “Miss, my parents separated”, “Miss, my mummy need money for school books”

?? The majority of my boys were (surprisingly) alert, engaged, enthusiastic to learn. They came to class early and were determined to colour and finish their craft. They were eager to please.

?? Some of our children have no recreational opportunities – they have never been to the movies, they stay at home every day, doing nothing much.

?? I realized that we are in danger of leaving whole communities behind if we do not intervene now. We say that these children are our future leaders, employers/employees, husbands/wives, neighbours, etc. and if that is the case, then we have PLENTY of work to do to ensure that our society does not disintegrate into utter chaos.

At times I felt so disappointed with us as ‘Elders’, politicians and leaders, I felt hopeless, disenchanted, not knowing how to make a difference, how to deal with these deep societal issues.

And then on our final day (Saturday), we took our kids to the movies and while we were ordering snacks for about 100 kids, the cashier says:

"God is really with ‘allyuh’. There is a man here who wants to pay your entire food bill, almost $3,000.00.”

He did not want to be named, we never knew his name, never saw his face, no photo op for social media. Hallelujah! There are people who are still kind, caring, empathetic, making a difference.

We don’t have to agree on politics, religion or philosophy to work together. We can ALL make a difference. As professionals, we can:

1.      Volunteer to coach, teach and mentor the kids in your community. Children are more attentive when a ‘visitor’ comes to share with them. Walk with some treats – chocolates are always appreciated!

2.      Drop off snacks for kids in religious organizations/youth groups/children’s homes;

3.      Buy school books for a needy child in your community;

4.      Take a neighbour’s child to the movies or mall when you are carrying your kids;

5.      Pay for someone else’s child to learn to play an instrument or a sport.

6. Encourage our companies to continue sponsoring events and worthy initiatives, in spite of the economic challenges and the temptation to scale back such activities;

7.      Make the time to talk to our children. Be intentional about engaging and interacting with them. You might be amazed at what they are anxious, sad, worried or happy about.

We have two daughters and my husband and I could perhaps easily relocate to a ‘better’ neighbourhood but what will happen to communities like La Romaine if we run away?

We can all make a difference! Every little bit counts.

To those who continue to give, to mentor, to pray, to counsel and who remain unthanked, nameless and faceless, I want to say "Thanks!" I believe that God sees your labour of love and that you will be rewarded.

So, what are you going to do this week to make a difference? Have a blessed Sunday!

#makeadifference #nocommunityleftbehind #betterTnT