I'm struggling for words today.

I’ve been reading the #ShareNiger stream and blogposts, and it’s getting me down. So many ppl with so little, and we have so much.

I went shopping today, filled my trolley for £67 with food that we’ll devour over the next week or so. We don’t eat particularly extravagantly, tonight was our splash out takeaway of fish and chips for 8.45, feeding five of us. And in my mind’s eye I just keep seeing hungry children and tired, desperate mothers with no hope.

It can’t be right. There has to be a better way. And our politicians score points of each other in the commons and ignore suffering of disabled and homeless ppl here, and starving children in Africa. They haven’t ever left the playground, quite frankly they disgust me with their lack of interest or compassion for anyone not in their little in crowd.

I bought a ceramic travel mug. Instead of paying 1.80 a week for a mocha or hot chocolate, I’ll take my own. Which completely breaks the rules of the cafe, but heyho. And the money I save can go towards my sponsored child in Niger, and when I’ve checked the state of my bank account, I might see if there’s anyway to do more.

Because I have to do more. I look at my healthy, well fed children and I know it’s just an accident of birth that I am here with them and not starving somewhere else. How, as a mother, can I let other mothers go through that and do nothing?

I can’t. Can you?


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Comments

8 responses to “I'm struggling for words today.”

  1. Thanks for writing this poignant post Jax. It’s a simple as that – the price of a cup of coffee can make such a huge impact.
    Thankyou for being so behind us,
    Liz
    x

  2. Dont get down. One starfish. You are making a difference to the village of one child. Just keep throwing back starfish.

  3. A great reminder that we need to keep doing what we can.

  4. Thank you for this post Jax, it’s incredible how much small life changes – such as foregoing your morning cup of coffee – can make a difference in the lives of others.
    Thank you for your continued support and for helping to #ShareNiger.

  5. I threw some leftover food away today and my thoughts turned to the children in Niger Liz and Sian have been tweeting about. I’ve left quite a long comment on your previous post. I feel as helpless as you seem be feeling too, but blog posts like this really do help to spread the word and get us talking – and to see Liz and World Vision commenting is brilliant. All credit to them. We need to do something. After #ShareNiger what can we do next to make sure the world doesn’t forget?

  6. Spot on Jax and powerfully written. You are absolutely right, we have to do what we can. Something is so much better than nothing.

    1. What I struggle with is how much is enough?

  7. It can’t be right. There has to be a better way. And our politicians score points of each other in the commons and ignore suffering of disabled and homeless ppl here, and starving children in Africa. They haven’t ever left the playground, quite frankly they disgust me with their lack of interest or compassion for anyone not in their little in crowd.

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