I thought I could answer this answer, until I met the children in Northern Thailand.
The answer is yes.
I love them enough that every fiber in my body screams to take away their suffering.
These beautiful children were born in the most memorizing land I have ever seen. The land is cover with emerald and mountains that reach heaven.
Someone has to tend to these crops and who better than those who are desperate for any job they can possibly get. Those who are regarded as the lowest of the low. Those people are the hill tribe people and those who have come across the border from Burma.
Those in need of these jobs are willing to work for a minimal amount of pay. Meaning for one day's work (7am until 5 pm) they get paid less than $3.
$3 to clothe their children.
$3 to get medical help when needed.
$3 to live off of.
Due to the lack of income, families are forced to live in places that make shacks look like mansions. Whole families sleep on a mat on the floor with out much protection from wind and rain.
Chemicals used for the plants fill the air with an unhealthy pungency. Toxic chemicals lay around for curious hands to find.
The mere shock of this situation is enough to send someone running out without looking back.
The children of the orange grove workers are left to take care of themselves during working hours.
So from 7am to 5pm children from the ages of 1 to 10 are left to find food for themselves, to take care of the younger ones.
They are trying to survive.
The $3 that their parents make, is not enough to send them to school to get an education. School has fees, uniforms and shoes have to be bought and school supplies are a constant cost.
These children don't smile, they don't laugh. Their eyes scream hunger and their bodies tell of hardships no human should have to go through.
These children don't know what being a kid is because they have to be adults at a young age.
As we began to interact with these kids and show them how to be kids, their eyes began to light up. It was as if they began to understand that it is okay to be a kid. As we brought out colored pencils and paper their imagination was being stretched as they drew their families, the orange groves and what they imagined the rest of the world looked like.
My heart soared when I saw one child smile as he saw himself in the picture I had just taken of him. They began to squeal with joy as we played soccer with them and let them enjoy childhood even for a moment.
I do love these children enough to hurt daily because of the pain and struggles they face.
I do love these children enough to want to help in anyway I can to take away their pain.
My question for you remains, who do you love enough that you would do anything to take their pain away?
