I can't help but recall the oft told story of the woman being questioned for tossing back into the water live starfish she'd picked up from the beach -- among thousands that had been stranded on dry land. "You can't save them all," concluded the inquisitor. With another spiny creature in her hand, she heaved it out to sea and replied, "It matters to this one." And so, as we contemplate, donate, and otherwise work with a long-term view with regard to helping Haiti address the causes of poverty, so must we have present-time consciousness for the well-being of children legally orphaned (due to parental death or documented relinquishment).(A note of thanks to a dear friend from whom I've borrowed a bit of this language.)
Children need, first and foremost, a family -- a family that is forever, to comfort and teach them while they develop, and to provide continuing reassurance, advice, and life-long roots once they are grown. At the age of 37, I still need my mom. And Dad. And siblings.
