sierra leone

Today, I looked at my stats and I had the usual visitors to my blog from the US, one reader from Germany, and one from Sierra Leone. It blew my mind... even more than Russia or Sweden. SIERRA LEONE?! A person from a high-risk country dealing with famine and reconstruction is reading I've Got Something to Say! and possibly thinking, 'life must be pretty cushy for you, you spoiled, American brat!'

I can't imagine living in a place like Sierra Leone or the Congo, Somalia, or, tragically, Darfur. When I think about the fact that these people are being wiped out by their own government because they are a different race, their wells of precious drinking water being bombed and poisoned, it makes me, once again, feel so thankful for everything that I have. As a teacher, I get to remind my students of this whenever I get the chance; that they are lucky and should really appreciate what they have, whether it's a warm bed, a new cozy sweater, a smart phone, or a loving mother who works hard to put food on the table.

When people think about the fact that there is a HOLOCAUST going on in Darfur, many people respond with this inevitable question: "How is our government just letting this happen?" I asked the same thing. But aren't we already putting too much money into war efforts? How can we put more money into fighting on behalf of the Darfuris and still have money in the budget for social security (what? social security; what's that?) and, most importantly to me, education?

I'm wondering these things. I'll be the first to admit that I definitely don't know enough about the problems that Africans in these particular regions are dealing with and I need to read more. I went onto a website that said the first step is to educate ourselves. The other thing that we can do is to send messages (emails, letters, call hotlines) to our representatives. I'm thinking that since I have access to 127 young minds and I teach Social Studies, that's a slam dunk.

All I know is that it is miserable and sad and unfair. I want to help and I want to make my little 12 and 13 year olds help. So, there it is.