Numbers

Here are some numbers to make you think:
38 - The life expectancy for the average Malawian
4- The number of ICU beds in the public hospital for all of Southern Malawi
690 - The average per capita income in Malawi in US dollars
12 - The amount, in US dollars, that the government of Malawi has to spend on each citizen per year
6,714- The amount, in US dollars, that the US government spends on each citizen per year
114 - The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births
46 - The percentage of people that are under the age of 15 in Malawi

I knew most of these numbers before I came to this beautiful country, but they mean nothing until you see the faces of the Malawians and the suffering that is going on here.

Everyday I am faced with unthinkable poverty and then I go home to a comfortable house where we have a gardener, a cook, guards, and someone to clean up our messes. We have 3 computers, wireless (slow) internet, and a movie projector. It is hard to reconcile these two worlds. The patients in the hospital are dying from diseases that no longer exist in the US and most of the people in their 20s and thirties have AIDS. Nearly 90% of the people admitted to internal medicine in the hospital have AIDS.

I am finding it hard to talk about the thoughts that I have each day, but I find comfort in my music and my readings. I will leave you with a fantastic Matt Henry song that I like to listen to when I'm having a difficult day (I hope he doesn't mind).

"In One Peace" by Matt Henry
Here today, gone tomorrow,
There's not enough time to wallow in the sorrow,
There's not enough time
To gargle the guilt.
Gotta swallow that now along with my pride,
Get some energy to move my hands from my side
With apathetic arms, nothing is built.

In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our friend's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.

Interrupt inconsistency
Otherwise just join the insistence
That injustice is ignored.
We, the few, hoard (whored) the necessities
Stolen from the rest so we can have accessories
Our greatest fear is being bored.

In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our foe's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.

Greed is good, if you're an idiot
The cries of the voiceless sound quite hideous
When they interrupt our nap.
Will we wake up to our responsibility
To let all live to the best of its ability
Or will we keep hiding in our crap?

The imbalance is quite ridiculous
The causes aren't quite inconspicuous
Yet, complacency and apathy work by stealth.
If we progress, magnify the gold,
I'll still have more than you can hold
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with wealth.

In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
For the heart of Truth, our hearts all yearn
And we believe in one peace.

So here we are, it's so amazing,
Our hearts could burst, just gazing
At the awesome gifts of God's caring hands.
Do we give thanks for the chance to be pieces
For your beautiful grace never ceases
To bless us more than we understand.

In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
As we dance in the fire, foes into friends turn,
And if a friend is in love, then of love we will learn,
As we believe in one peace.