Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Five Billion People


I recently found the newspapers my mom saved from the day I was born.  The USA Today, the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution; all were dusty and faded sitting on the top shelf of my closet.  The headline that struck me the most was this: “5 billionth human will be born today;” That could have been me!  It’s baffling to consider that 25 years ago the world was two billion people emptier than it is today.  With the birth of the Earth’s seven billionth person just yesterday I thought it was quite timely to find that paper today.  Or completely the opposite of timely, depending on how you look at it.

That’s not it though; the headline goes on, “5 billionth human will be born today; child likely to grow up poor, illiterate.”  And just like that, it could have seemed like my fate was sealed.  As it turns out, I wasn’t that five billionth person. I was somewhere close in the lineup, but that headline certainly doesn’t describe all the blessings I’ve had in my life.  One of those blessings was being able to live in Ethiopia for two years, where I met many people who could have been that five billionth person.


My life has been privileged, but just as easily I could have been born into a life of poverty, without education.  I read in the article that "nine out of ten babies today are born in the Third World;" Nine out of ten of us born that fateful day in 1986 would be born into poverty.  The odds were against me, and yet somehow I managed to beat them.   

I, like many American children, grew up dragging my feet, not in love with the idea of going to school every day.  Now I realize how blessed I was to have had the opportunity to be educated, and even today to be able to continue my education.  It’s the lottery behind the system that puzzles me.  Why did I grow up in America? Why was I born into this life?  It's all chance.  But it’s a good reminder that you could just as easily have been born in a developing country.  We should all be grateful for the blessings in our lives and remember to show grace and love to others.

All I know is that every day the Earth's population is growing.  Every day there are more people that need assistance.  Who am I not to try to help?  I’m not sure how or when, but I can’t wait to continue working in developing countries.