The less fortunate children in the world!

I am a typical English bloke where it takes something to move me to tears, but just two years ago, I saw a sight that broke my heart! I was watching a news crew filming in Georgia, formerly part of the USSR. They were reporting on the plight of many chilren in that country.

Before my eyes, I saw the bare rooms of a childrens institution in T'bilisi full of small children with no facilities. There were no sheets or blankets on the beds, no carpet on the floor, no toys or games to play with! The sanitation was a lot to be desired and the washrooms had no hot water at all. If this were in the UK, the government would shut it down, but here in Georgia, this was the best the goverment could do.

Since the break up of the USSR, Georgia has been struggling economically, and inflation and unemployment had soared. Many families found themselves struggling to make ends meet with the result that some families gave their children to the authorities because they could not afford to feed and clothe them. The childrens institutions were being filled, not just with orphans, but with loved children whose families could not afford to keep them!

Since that film report, I have strived to raise money for Everychild (www.everychild.org.uk) who work with the authorities in Georgia to resettle children with their families by providing support to them, or finding families that will foster the children. They are looking to address the source of the problem rather than trying to provide for the ever increasing demand of institutions.

On Saturday 22nd September, the children of Studley Baptist Church are having a Toy Bring 'n' Buy Sale to raise more money for the children in Georgia. It is encouraging to see them engage in the plight of children less fortunate than themselves, and to do something about it. If you do nothing else today, I suggest you click on the Everychild link above, and look at the work they are doing all over the world, as there are many other needs as well as Georgia.

So far, as a church, we have raised over £2,500 in the last two years for this work, and I am planning some more fundraisers. This may seem just a drop in the ocean for what is really needed, but some famous person, who I can't quite recall, said !The ocean is made of many drops!" If we all did a little, it would add up to a lot!

Keep an eye on the blog to see some rather adventurous initiatives in coming months.

What stirs you into action for others? Where is your compassion focussed? It is only when we look around at the poverty and injustice in the world that we can put our own 'problems' into perspective.

Pastor Pete