Why?
- Emri Road
- Apr 7, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 22, 2022
Why pay attention? Why support? Why care?
If for no other reason... Treat others as you wish to be treated.
For some, it may be difficult to imagine that such people exist who do not have the simple luxury and privilege to check their social media while sipping on a giant-low-fat-rainbow-colored-sparkly-unicorffee. However, such people most definitely exist. They exist without smart phones, coffee, the latest fashions and cars. It can be nice to have those things, but what if you didn't? How would your life change without them?
Now, how would your life change without any accessible and affordable transportation? What about education? Internet? Think about some of the more basic necessities:
Clothes
Shoes
Nourishing Food
Clean Water
What about freedom?
It might be almost impossible to fathom a life without those necessities, those things that we have probably all taken for granted at one time or another. I know I am guilty of that. It is easy, too easy, to detach ourselves from the reality of the world that we live in. We may see a poster or commercial filled with images of sad, little faces and bowls of rice and think, "What does that have to do with me?" Other thoughts might soon follow. "I can't send them money anyway. I've got bills. Internet, phone. . . and I can't live without coffee. Who could? Somebody else will donate."
But what if you were in the shoes (or following in the shoeless footsteps) of someone who did not know from where his next meal was coming? What if you suddenly found yourself in a foreign place, imprisoned by strangers who thought of you as nothing more than their property and would abuse you until you were wrung out of all sense of self and hope? If not you, what if it were someone you loved? A child? A parent? A spouse? A friend?
Did you know...
The average coffee shop, gourmet coffee concoction costs between three and five dollars. According to several sources, on average some working people spend approximately $21 a week on coffee, not including what they make at home. $21 may not seem like much to some, but by the end of the year it will have added up to $1,095.
$1,095.
For coffee.
Perhaps that still doesn't sound like much or anything worth mentioning. A person works hard. He or she has the right to treat themselves. Absolutely. There is nothing inherently wrong with indulging in the occasional, harmless treat. (I love me some flippin' fudgey frappe too!)
But, please, consider this:
For $1,095 a person can treat themselves to a single-double shot-mocha with extra whip and cinnamon several times a week. . .
or. . .
or . . .
He or she could simply cut back their special order coffee drinks and feed two kids every day for a year.
Or one.
But that One, has the potential to become a doctor, a teacher, a pilot, an inventor. . .
Coffee. . . or the next vaccination?
Coffee. . . or the next Nobel Peace Prize?
The positive, life-changing alternatives are endless. And that is just as the result of food put in his or her belly because you chose to make your coffee at home a few days a week instead of buying out. Maybe you hate coffee. What else could you let go in order to help some one who might just save your life, or the lives of others, one day?
It is not just food people all over the world are missing out on. Basic freedom has been stripped from thousands as well.
Slavery still exists in The United State of America, as well as across the globe. Every year, between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into this country.
Saying, "no" to that double-shot-frappa-crazy-good will do a lot more good for children, men and women who have been stolen away from their homes and forced into horrific situations and hopeless fights for survival.
Not everyone is meant to give up their stable job, leave their families and travel across the globe to face life threatening situations for the sake of others. (God bless and keep those who are.) But anyone can help support the rescue of those in desperate need. Whether it is a single week's worth of coffee money, the funds for that pair of shoes you probably won't wear but once, or the newest release you can borrow from a friend, every dollar given selflessly to organizations who have withstood the tests of time and disaster has the power to change lives for real and true good.
Consider Supporting any of These Organizations Today:
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