Definition;
Basic needs, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter, that a person requires to survive.
I ask you why is it that so many people in the world today go without the necessities of life?
This question has plagued me for some time. It is not right! and sickens me to think that this is happening. We are all deserving of these basics, yet some do not even give it a moments thought about the necessities, but we all should.
I have heard it all “Charity begins at home”, “That is the governments problem”, “No one helps me why should I help them”.
There are people within your very own communities that lack these basics along with those who live abroad.
The reason I chose this topic is because of a non-profit organization I am blessed to be apart of, Canadian Nurses for Africa. A group of nurses travel to Kakamega region of Kenya to provide medical missions.
With an 80% unemployment rate, this area suffers from extreme poverty. Consequently, most people are malnourished and, therefore are vulnerable to diseases and parasites. The average life expectancy in the region is only 48 years.
-Children require de-worming due to the lack of food and bacterial filled water.
-Children with parasites under their toe nails(Jiggers) because they have no shoes.
-Children with Malaria, especially after the rainy season.
Did you know it only costs $2.00 to treat a child with Malaria.
Children only receive one meal a day if they are lucky. Usually a corn with very little nutrition value.
Did you know that there are usually only 2-5 latrines for a school that holds 500 children. Not even proper bathroom facilities.
I wonder how many miles they must walk to and from school each day.
Do these children have the necessities of life?
It amazes me that these children can even function at school with empty stomachs, no shoes, improper clothing and many are sick. Yet they always have a smile on their faces when these nurses come to visit.
Check out there 2011 Kenya video
We take much for granted, need some water go to the tap, want food go to the fridge need clothes go to the store and bye them.
More and more people are required to use food banks, live in shelters or on the street. Many of which are to proud to ask for help. We should not wait for them to ask we should just give it.
The founder of organization took me through a day in the life of one of their medical clinics. The nurses cannot take their lunch to any clinics as the people in this region only receive one meal a day if lucky and they point and stare watching you eat, while they wait for treatment.
One child only 18 months old came in with major burns on his body and was near death, literally. The nurses funded the transportation and treatment for this child at the hospital. Fortunately the child pulled through and was re-united with his mother.
Why didn’t the mother not take him to the hospital?, no money to pay and no transportation to the hospital.
They provide de-worming to school children (over 1,600) in a week. The pill that the children take had to be chewed and tasted terrible due to the lack of water to wash it down.
I wonder how long before they get the parasite back due to the drinking water they drink? I am not an emotional person but it brought tears to my eyes listening to this.
While in Kakamega do you know what some of the Keyan nurses and other mothers asked the Canadian nurses. “Could you take my child back to Canada so they will have a better quality of life”.
For you mothers out there I can just image how that would make you feel if that was you asking someone to take your child. I know how I would feel being a father.
I know many of you do help others in many ways, but not everyone feels the same way you or I do. Maybe the next time you see or here of someone in need you will think about what I have written and help that person obtain the necessities of life.
This is happening all over the world. This could be your neighbor, your friend, or maybe someone in your family.
Don’t look down on anyone in need because you never know everything we have could be gone in a blink of an eye and the next person that needs the necessities of life could be you.
There is a quote that touched me and would like to share it with you.
”Never look down on anybody unless you helping him up.”By Jesse Jackson I want to thank you for taking the time to read my Blog. Please leave your comments but more importantly share this, as it is important for everyone to have the necessities of life and by sharing you might just be helping someone achieve these basic needs. I leave you with this one last photo, this tells it all that everything that these nurses endured over the week made it all worth while.
Until next time, I must continue my quest.
About Darryl Burgess
I agree with you , these images are so sad and sometimes I, like you, wonder how come in the society we live in today, where people have 2 cel phones in average per person, 2 cars per family at least 1 home and so many ohter wants not needs met, basic needs are not met in many pars of the world.This post arouses the sensitivity of all of us who live in our bubble and ” forget” the real needs some of us have. Thanks Darryl.
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Awesome message Darryl. I’m a long time supporter of grassroots community movements. Many people look at the images you’ve shared and feel overwhelmed because of the enormity of the problem – but what we need to remember is we shouldn’t do nothing because we can’t do everything. If each one of us did just one thing to make a difference in someone’s life – together we could change the world.
marquita herald recently posted..Can You Hear Me Now?
If we each just do a little it will amount to a lot. We may not be able to save a whole nation, but we could save one child. I do that through a humanitarian fun.
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Hi Darryl,
Very interesting article.
I was in Uganda last year and I agree with you that it is not fair that there are so many poor people in the world.
I believe that Africa needs our help in education. They have the potential to be rich but they don’t know how to do it. For this reason it is nescesarry to invest in education and teach them everything starting from simple things. Don’t you agree with me?
They are poor, but at the the same time they are happy. We should learn from them how to be happy and live wihtout stres.
Thanks.
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I totaly agree with your comments, it is like the saying goes. Give a man fish he will eat for a day, teach him to fish he will eat for life. Thank you for your input and look forward to your future reviews.
I came, I read this article, I cqonuered.
Darryl, thanks for sharing what is happening in Kenya right now. I am glad to find out that the Canadian nurses are providing medical missions to help improve the conditions in Kenya. Right here in the US there are many families that are dealing with not having the basic neccesities in life also and I think we should all try to do whatever we can to make a difference in this world.
Hey Darryl this is great news,if people in the U.S realize how good they really have it they wouldn’t sweat the little problems they have, because their situation could be a whole lot worse when their focused should be on who can they help that is less fortunate than themselves.
Thank you for your comments Antonio, This problem is not only in Africa, I know for a fact this is happening everywhere in the world. The U.S. included. But if we could each just help one person, no matter where they live would make a difference and we would all be changing the world one person at a time.
There are no words to decrsibe how bodacious this is.
Darryl,
your passionate support for this cause is shown in good taste. You have captured the core needs and have opened your readers and my eyes to those things we knew little about. It is easy to say we can do this or that.
Coming together and actually getting things done for this cause and ones like it. So, little to ask for the basic needs of water and health support. We can no longer go day by day without doing our part of giving.
Darryl, for the short time knowing you. You have shown actions of a real leader in our industry. One who is willing to learn and share with so much persistence is heart felt. Thank you for your share and support.
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I\’m schkoed that I found this info so easily.
Hi Darryl,
It is good to see more and more people are being made aware of the world around us….
We tend to get so involved in our day to day activities that the rest of the world gets forgotten.
We need to realise how good we have it rather than complaining about the smallest mishap in our lies.
“Sponsor a child” is a program here in Australia that has a lot of support.
As someone said one step at a time…. but lets take that first step.
Excellent post and thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Bryan
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I share your horror about the many excuses taken by people before they extend something to those in need. and I also share your connection to them, even though i am continents away… our is a human bond that transcends distance, race, language and social status.
crescele recently posted..Viens, Viens, C’est Une Priere
I also wonder how society lived in such countries. Now we cannot imagine ourselves without a cell phone, i pad, etc. What about those people? They live such a simple, pure and in my opinion full of happiness life?
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Hey Darryl
Thanks for sharing this post, sometimes we forget how nice we have it and the advantages afforded us based on where we were born.
Peter
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Darryl,
I am so happy I stopped by your blog. What a poignant blog post. It is so easy to get caught up in trivial problems that so many of us have. It is a real eye opener to be reminded that so many people are suffering from lack of bare necessities of life and that we can help in some small way. But you broadened it to have us focus on helping anyone we meet who needs help rather than looking down upon them.
Thank you for being an inspiration to show up as our highest selves.
Warmly,
Dr. Erica
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There is so much that needs done in those areas. Everything from medical care for those alive to dramatic birth number control to return the area to only a population that the soil in the area can support. Runaway birth rates with no sustainable food supply always end badly and intervention without getting to the root of it can result in worsening problems which is heartbreaking. It remains however, important to care for those who are there today, while working to break the cycle. They need so much and its heartbreaking to grapple with the questions of how to provide real quality of life in those regions.
Kim
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So that’s the case? Quite a reevlitaon that is.
Thanks for such a heart felt blog post!
My husband and I experienced some of this when we visited Hondouras a number of years ago. It really made us stop and think about how good we have it here in Canada.
Today we sponsor children with Plan Canada and I am happy to say we do sponsor Cavin who lives in Kenya. Our sponsorship helps his entire village with things like drinking water.
There are so many ways to contribute to the betterment of others! I agree with Marquita, if everyone would help just one person it would certainly make the world a better place for all.
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That is great Carla, So many people do for others like yourself. We are not doing it for recognition, we do it because it is Right!. My wife and I also sponsor a child from Africa. There are people all over the world that need help, the reason I have picked Africa as part of my topic is because my wife being a nurse is going there on a medical mission in April and I have more insight as to what is going on down there. There are the same problems going on here in Canada, USA, Europe and the list goes on. Cavin is lucky to have you and your husband to help him. Thank you for the kind words.
This piece was cogent, well-witrten, and pithy.
Darryl,
Hats off to you. A really hard subject to face and yet we must. And, you only went to one place in one country.
We must be grateful everyday for the many blessing we have.
Thanks for bringing this to the forefront.
RICK
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Hey Darryl,
This is my first time to your site and I must say it is an eye opener. We all know this is going on all around the world, but a lot of times we get caught up in our own lives that we forget to remember that there are people who have it way worst then we do. It always breaks my heart to see children going though this way of existing. Even more now because of the modren time. What is even worst then that is when it is happening in our own backyard. As you stated, ” This could be your neighbor, your friend, or maybe someone in your family.” Keep up the great work, TTYL
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Thanks for this post. It is so sad when you read subjects like this but it is well needed. We become so consumed in our own reality that we forget how good we have it.
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A million thanks for psontig this information.
that is so cool. keep writing.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If there is anything that you would like to discuss please feel free to ask.
I’ve read a few good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to make such a fantastic informative website.
Darryl, I truly appreciated your article and I hear your passion. Having lived in the Philippines for 8 years working among the poor providing a service, I know full well what you spoke of. Many in the squatter areas are so poor they barely get rice for the day. Then there are the sea gypsies or (badjoes) who live over the water and say the toilet flushes twice a day (with the tide). Now that is a breeding ground for disease.
The needs are extraordinary and it was a privilege to help them. It would be good for every blessed American to visit a third world country.
God bless you,
Lynn
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