It was marked by an experience in Nairobi, Kenya - where I fist saw the faces of those I now know are my sisters and brothers - in the midst of rubbish and dirty streets of the Mathare Valley.
Since then, I was a part of leadership of the CBU campus chapter of International Justice Mission, and LEARNED a lot about the issues tied up with poverty in developing nations. One summer, I volunteered with the Orange County Human Trafficking task Force, where I met some incredible people that taught me a lot, simply by the way they live.
I've learned a lot about a little, and a little about a lot.
Micro-financing
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Illegal Land Seizure
Oppression of Women
Immigration
Refugees
One thing that I've learned is that... it's complicated. I just read an article by Nicholas Kristof on the lack of access to birth control (specifically in the Congo - but really all over the impoverished world.)
Interesting to think how many things could be different if there was more access to birth control. It does seem that addressing the lack of contraceptives can be part of the curbing of pregnancies and related illnesses (including illnesses and death related to abortions and other things such as fistulas...). But I am also reminded that at the heart of the issues is ... selfishness.
How are we to get anywhere without dealing with the issues of the heart?
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