Where No One Is Watching

2010 was a year to remember, or perhaps, a year we might want to forget!

The Haitian earthquake on January 12, and the subsequent aftershocks, caused wide spread destruction, death and misery for 3 million Haitians. The death toll is near 200,000. This is indeed, a human tragedy. The world responded with generous promises of support and attempted to provide resources in as timely a fashion as possible under the extreme circumstances. The CFGB membership responded with about $800,000 in food aid and assistance.
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Later, through July, August and into September, floods destroyed much of the Indus River Valley in Pakistan, leaving 20 million people affected and almost 25% of Pakistan’s agricultural production wiped out. Homes, gardens, businesses and livelihoods were washed away. Despite the fact that this was also a major crisis, world response was limited. The CFGB membership has provided more than $6 million in food aid and assistance already, and members are now exploring longer term responses as they, to quote Isaiah 58, “rebuild what is in ruins, building again on the old foundations.” 

These two stories were certainly the major media stories of human suffering and tragedy last year, but they only represented something less than 25% of the CFGB programming.  One could wonder, where did the other 75% of the programming go? How did the CFGB members use the rest of my dollars – where (or maybe what) in the world is the CFGB doing? The truth is that more than ¾ of the CFGB work last year was supporting families and communities in crisis, but in places the major media didn’t notice, or chose not to go. Maybe that is the difference. The media can go to whatever hot spot they choose, tell the story and move on to something new, different or maybe more exciting. As the CFGB, we need to go where the hurting and suffering is, to work  quietly in the background, to give help and hope to those who don’t make the nightly news, who don’t make it to the spotlight of media attention, to those whose cries are not being heard, who have no voice. To be a Christian response to hunger, we must go where the pain is, we must listen to and for the cries of the world, and then respond in love and action, even where no one is watching! For more info on the CFGB programming go to www.foodgrainsbank.ca and click on programs.