Mother’s Day is next Sunday and I have a story to tell you about two mothers - living on opposite sides in a true tale about poverty.
The first mother lives a few miles from me and is my close friend. We were out shopping together last week. The stores were full of things with signs suggesting you buy them as gifts for Mother’s Day. My friend said to me, “I hope my kids don’t get me any more knick knacks. I have way too much stuff already!” She has been an “empty nest” Mom for quite a few years and she is ready to down-size to a smaller house. She really doesn’t want gifts of “stuff”! She’s living with the ‘poverty of excess’.
The second mother is one who lives a few thousand miles from me and I don’t know her well at all, but I will never forget her. When I was in Haiti on a Compassion International tour, I was with a group of people who visited her home. When this mother of twin toddler boys was asked what a typical day is like for her, she answered “If it is a good day, we have something to eat.” Can you imagine not knowing if you will have food for your children? This mother is one of ‘poorest of the poor’.
Read more about her story here |
Clean water available at the Compassion Project Center nearby |
This Mother’s Day, the children of those who are dealing with the ‘poverty of excess’ could -- instead of buying your mother another unwanted knick-knack --make a gift in her honor to the Child Survival Program, to the Highly Vulnerable Children's Fund, or to the Water of Life Program. Perhaps you could even sponsor a child in honor of your mother (one of those gifts that “keeps on giving!”).
Mothers (and one father!) with their children in the Child Survival Program in Haiti |