the developing world- the reality

I am currently attending what they call an intensive medical mission course. It is really pretty intensive. Information-packed-lectures go on from 9am to 5pm , Monday to Friday for 3 weeks. Not to mention that a medical mission course at a bible college always starts with morning mini church serive.


So we are taught tropical infectious diseases, not just the disease itself, but the concept about working in the undeveloped or developing nations. It is very conceptual.


WHO statitics show that 1 child dies of preventable diseases or any cause in every 10 seconds. That means, from now, let us start counting....10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0.... ok, one child has just died unnecessarily. Lets start again. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0... another child has just died now.


It is very scary. Why do these children ( I have not mentioned about men and women) die just like that everyday?


Because they are poor. We think we are poor when we can't afford the latest version of MacBook or iPhone; or can't afford to travel to Europe for a nice long holiday...or can't afford to buy a 300K home ; or can't afford to buy an European or Japanese car.


We are catogorised by the UN as the top 9%. Admit it or not, we are the affluent group of ppl in the world.


60% or ppl are in poverty. Either mild, moderate or extreme poverty.


Poverty means the whole household ( I mean, mom and dad and the 5-6 kids altogether as a household) have to work everyday to make an income of less than 1 dollar a day, either on the field or in garbage tips.


If they are lucky they stay in a small room under the same roof and eat a meal a day.


So what's the problem?


Poverty leads to overcrowding of living environment, no food, no healthcare and no education. Overcrowding leads to increased transmission of infectious diseases; no food means malnutrition and very low immunity; no healthcare means no healthcare of course, and no vaccination. So, when a child catches an infection (it is just as easy and as certain as getting a fine after crossing the red light) , the child dies, either very quickly or slightly slower.


So, no education? Hence no improvement of the current condition. The powerless, the poor and the needy stay more and more powerless, poor and needy forever, for many many more generations to come , if they are lucky to live.


And why should this affect us? If this doesn't move you, then for your sake, think that outbreak of diseases will sooner or later spread to the affluent countries. And it will affect all of us. (Anyway, this might fulfill what the Scripture say about the destruction of the earth and the heavens when Christ comes again )


But from the biblical perspective, it is to restore justice via the restoration of equality . God loves justice and being His disciples , don't we also love justice?


My anger is roused as I learn about the situations in the poorest of the poor nations. A lot of the embarrassing situations can be reversed if there's enough resources and appropriate distribution of these resources, and the cooperation of the local governments and other agencies.


The UN set goals to stop deaths from Malaria by 2015 with the budget of about 3 billion dollars. The experts (and myself, even though I am not an expert) believe it is possible.


The irony is, the iraq war that kills thousands burns 3 billion dollars in no time.


Sigh. I dunno. I have too much to say but does my speech matter at all? Could it have saved the 180 children that died in the last 30 mins while I wrote the post?