Daily Devotions - Thursday, October 23

How Can The World Become Better?

“Don’t spend your precious time asking
‘Why isn’t the world a better place?’
It will only be time wasted.
A better question to ask is ‘How can I make it better?’
To that question there is an answer.”
--Leo Buscaglia (The Way of the Bull), p. 125

Traveling to Rwanda this summer gave me an opportunity to observe a most resilient third world country working diligently at recovery following genocide just 14 years ago. Today I’d like to introduce you to the work of Handicap International in Kigali, Rwanda.

The staff of Handicap International (HI) works with the poorest of the poor in Kigali. I’ve visited and lived in places of extreme poverty in the United States, in Nicaragua and in El Salvador. I never experienced this level of poverty and I was most impressed with the creative genius of the leaders of HI. For example, the clinic we visited had very little inventory on their pharmacy shelves. The lab was at best quite primitive, housed in a room that had about 60 square feet of floor space. Still the staff was committed to using the best practices available. To attract these impoverished people to receive health care and increase their awareness, the staff had acquired a number of old used computers and had set up an internet café for people to use. While the accommodations were less than desirable, people were excited to use the computers.

Leo Buscaglia’s quote is most insightful; the work of Handicap International is another example of people dedicated to making the world a better place.

Ben Keckler
10.23.08