Sometimes I feel too powerless to make a difference.

I remember sitting in the library a couple years ago and finding out that a friend of mine from Malawi had passed away from a bad case of malaria.   I could do nothing but weep for Kathy and her family and think about how unfair the world is -- where people die of preventable disease for no good reason at all.  I also remember the time when my husband was working in a Malawian hospital and saw a woman undergo an emergency c-section.  There was no clean gauze available so the people attending to her were left no choice but to use guaze that had been collecting dust on a shelf.  The woman later died a painful death due to the infection in her wound.  It was another senseless death.   I remember feeling overwhelmed by grief and hopelessness.  The solutions seem so simple.  Yet, I knew of nothing I could do to make a real impact for the hundreds of thousands of people dying every day.  I wasn't a politician or a millionare -- and I didn't know anyone who had influence.  At the same time, as a white, middle class, American I knew that I inherently carried much more power than many of the friends I made in southeastern Africa. But that power only felt superficial to me.

Until recently.  Along with hundreds of other folks around the country, I lobbied both my senators and representative to make reducing domestic and foreign poverty a high priority.  I told them my stories -- I told them about Kathy and the woman who died due to a lack of sanitary hospital supplies.  I asked them to support bills that increased foreign aid and work with other countries in order to reach the millenium development goals. 

It was in the middle of these conversations that I realized that, for the first time, I was using my power (as someone who just happened to be born in the United States) in order to help my friends in Malawi and around the world.  I felt hopeful and encouraged because of my engagement within the political system and I will continue to meet with the decicion makers of our country, educate my community, and raise awareness among church goers.  Instead of being overwhelmed and paralyzed into non-action  -- I can now reengage my energy in order to make a difference.

-Karyn Wingard-Manuel

Comments

[Matt Bolton]

A moving and challenging post, Karyn -- thank you for this.

[Stephen Donahoe]

I have had that feeling too. That is what advocacy and lobbying is all about. We need to do more of it. It is a beautiful way to share the stories that have impacted us so much and an influential way to use the power that this unjust world has give us. Thanks Karyn.