We are leaving Barasa today & I'm feeling quite nervous about that. As I pack my things and prepare to hit the road, it is becoming more & more clear how small & at the same time, how very big our impact is here. I worry that our commitment has become too big, so that they have come to rely on us too much. On the other side of that, our change is too small. Children still go to bed hungry & don't go to school. Families still don't have more for clean water or a roof over their heads. It is such a slippery slope in both directions. Over the past couple of days, I have developed a frustration in response to the lack of responsibility we see. For example Mesye Dieufort (J-Fo) has two jobs and his own garden and still claims he can't pay for his child to go to school. Last night, Roger reminded us that there may be other factors but I can't imagine that is the case for every family. It is the same with the clean water program...so many people say they don't have money for the Gadyen Dlo solution. I can't believe that don't have access to 10 Gourdes (~$0.25) at one time or another. I think they fail to be good stewards of their money. That, to me, is frustrating...but it's the same as in the States. It is impossible to determine who truly has a need, because people take advantage of charity. As much as I have grown to love Leyla & Watson, I am frustrated with even their situation. Their father asked us for a generator to charge his cell phone when his kids are not attending school and he is not feeding his family. Why not push for sponsorship or a cistern so that Leyla can stop making three trips to the source each day? I realize and am grateful for our light here, but if we are to continue to be successful, we cannot be the only light. We must empower the people of Barasa to carry their own light, so that in the event that we can no longer help, they are not left in complete darkness.
Lord, empower your people...
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