The meaning of happiness

Question: Is it possible for a human to have a fullness of happiness when there are other human beings in the world who are suffering in unimaginable ways?

Answer: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." (Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1986) You can achieve true happiness in this world, but not when you're acting out the opposite of love; not at the expense of empathy for the real suffering of God's children - no matter what form that suffering takes. It's counter to God's plan. Love, sacrifice, service, faith, empathy for others = charity = the pure love of Christ = true happiness.

Over the past year, I've read a few books on child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda. At first, I was satisfied to have opened my eyes to the tragedy that is a part of so many people's lives there. Then K and I became friends with a couple - Suzy and Shawn - that did more than read about it. They were doing something to make life better for these people. Suzy had already gone to Uganda twice to serve in orphanages and Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, and was making plans to start up a non-profit aimed at sponsoring the education of orphaned children.

After spending an evening editing an executive summary document for her, everything changed for me. That small investment changed something within me, and I knew I could no longer sit on the sidelines doing nothing but read books and feel bad for these people. I knew I had to be a part of it in a significant way. And that's how life changes in an instant...

Now, I'm a member of the board of directors of African Promise Foundation. We buy products from widowed women, often with AIDS (this helps the women feed themselves and their families; right now it's necklaces and bracelets made out of beads crafted from recycled paper) and sell them for a profit back home in the States. We then feed that profit back into the widows' community to sponsor orphans' education and build a healthy, thriving community around them. It's a simple model - one we hope will ultimately be easily replicable in many communities. And one of my favorite parts about it is that the hero of the story is the women who make the necklaces. Through the wealth created by their own handiwork, their children and their communities will have a brighter present and future.

I'm so excited to be a part of this! This is world-changing work... One person, one community at a time. APF started because of a promise Suzy made to a man named Tiger in an IDP camp in Northern Uganda. I can't wait to one day (hopefully soon) go to Uganda, hold the children for myself and make my own promise to them to do what I can to rally people here who are so privileged to ease their suffering.

Bing "Northern Uganda" to learn more.