There are so much heartache and pain in this world.
The list is long and varied (and not by all means exhausted here): there is damage done to our environment, people living on the streets, thousands of people experiencing sexual violence every day, the pain of suicide in families, addictions to numerous substances and the issue of human trafficking.
One can very well ask the question “Can charities really change the world?” It seems as if the pain will never stop. It is just waves of one issue upon another and charities fight against the tide of human cruelty and suffering, never to get ahead. What is the use?
A Walk across the Sun
In the book, “A Walk across the Sun,” the story is told about two Indian girls who are abducted in the aftermath of the tsunami in Asia in 2000. They are sold in the sex trafficking network.
It is a fictional story about how an American lawyer, Tom, got involved and how he tried to save the girls. When the lawyer arrives in India, he starts working with a non-profit organization whose sole mission is to get as many girls out of the slums and sex network as they can.
During Tom’s orientation, the following exchange happens between him and Rachel, the director of the non-profit:
“We have twenty-five girls right now, ten in government homes and fifteen in private homes. All are minors. Our people visit the girls on a weekly basis. We work closely with the Child Welfare Committee to ensure they get a proper education, health care, supervision, and attention.”
“I don’t mean to be cynical”, Tom remarked, “but there are thousands of underage prostitutes in this city. Two dozen doesn’t seem like much of a dent.”
Rachel nodded. “Someone once asked Mother Theresa how she dealt with world poverty. Do you know what she said? ‘You do the thing that is in front of you.’ That applies here, too.”
A matter of perception
Can a charity organization make a difference in the world? It is just a matter of perception.
Mother Theresa had the right way of looking at it: even if just one girl is saved, it is one less that is suffering, one more that can go on and make her own mark on the world.
The mission of Largest Heart
Largest Heart is a 501c3 non-profit organization with a unique mission. We focus on the causes – those heartbreaking issues – and pick one each year to support.
Under the umbrella of the cause, we identify other non-profit organizations that do the best work in that field.
We empower them by giving them your donations and support. In return, they have to pay it forward by sharing their experiences and knowledge with us and the rest of the non-profit landscape. Not only will they be making a difference, but they will also strengthen the ties of hope and love that binds us all.
‘You do the thing that is in front of you.’
Yes, charities do make a difference – one case, one girl, one plastic clean-up operation, one homeless person at a time.
Largest Heart wants you to join us to make a difference. Vote today for the cause that speaks to your heart and together, we will see change.
Resource
Extraction from the book “A Walk Across the Sun” by Corban Addison. Published by Quercus in London, 2012, p.129-130.