Working Up the River
by David Diggs and Kent Annan
Two quick stories, one beside a river and the other along the road to Jericho:
Suppose you’re having a picnic with friends on the shores of a beautiful river. Suddenly, you see someone flailing in the water and crying out, “Help!” You and your friends run over. Maybe one of you dives in, or you scramble to find a branch to reach out. Thankfully, you are able to pull that person to safety.
Then you see another desperate person who’s getting swept down the river. And then another. You and your friends are all scrambling to rescue people. You’re helping some of them, but others are drowning. There are more than you can handle. And they just keep coming.
Even though you’re overwhelmed by those urgently in need, eventually you need to send someone up the river to find out why people are getting thrown in the river in the first place…and you try to stop it.
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| Trajean Laguerre (left) and other members of the village of
Bresillienne. They’re standing next to the remains of an elementary
school and church that were torn apart when their community was
devastated by the hurricanes this summer. We have since helped repair
the building and are working with their school and churches on several
educational initiatives. We are also developing a new agricultural
initiative to help respond to hunger and poverty in the community. |
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The second story is one of Jesus’ most familiar parables. Jesus tells of a man who has been beaten by robbers and left by the side of the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. Several people pass by and don’t help…but eventually the Samaritan stops to help and gets the guy some care.
But here’s the question: What if every time that Good Samaritan traveled that road, he found someone else lying beside the road, beaten and bloodied? Well, it’s likely he’d try to help the next person, and the next. But he’d also realize the need to address the root causes—like the economy and lack of security—to prevent the assaults from continuing to happen.
So what should we do? Should we help the person who’s drowning in the river and the one left for dead by the roadside? Or should we focus on solving the root causes? The answer, of course, is both—though we know our resources are limited.
In Haiti, the day-to-day situation is and has been very bad for many people. The vast majority of people in Haiti live on less than $2 a day, and only 50 percent of children are able to attend school. This summer, a series of hurricanes and tropical storms devastated the country. It’s essential to meet the urgent need for basics like food, water, medical care, and shelter—while also urgently addressing problems that contribute to Haiti being so vulnerable in storms like these.
Beyond Borders has been able to help with some urgent needs like rebuilding some schools and buying seeds for farmers. Our hearts ache that we can’t do more when the needs are so severe, but we remain committed to our work up the river in ways that address these pressing needs—but also get at the causes.
We work and pray for the day when Haitians aren’t so vulnerable to the storms—and when they’re also able to change their communities into better places for their children long into the future.