Dear friends,
Do you know Reinhold Niebuhr’s (1892-1971) well-known serenity-prayer?
“Give me the serenity to accept things I can’t change,
the courage to change things that I can change and
the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.”
That’s what it’s all about.
Let’s have the courage to change things!
That’s what it’s all about. We can’t change the whole world. But let us not be discouraged. Because we can change a lot of things. About 730 million people in the world live in extreme poverty. About 2.3 billion people have inadequate access to clean water. We know some of these people. We will help them as much as we can. On a small scale. Because Kids of Africa is like a family. Families are small. But families are also strong. They are strong because they stick together. Because they believe in each other. Even to the weakest member of the family. That’s what it’s all about. Because we believe in our protégés!
Because help is like a stone thrown into water: it creates ripples
In our best moments, our help draws many circles. Of course, this doesn’t always work. But with experience, it succeeds more and more often. Always better. It is an invaluable advantage for us that we have been doing what we have been doing for twenty years. We create sustainable development on a small scale. As a grassroots organization. And every franc donated arrives. This allows us to focus on what we do best. For example, helping people to help themselves. Education. Life skills. Vocational training. Work. Agriculture. Boost self-confidence. Sport. Solidarity. Art and music. Attitude. Sustainable aid. All of this is our priority.
n the coming Advent weekends, I want to give some examples of this. To show why it is true in a certain way that if you save a child, you save the world at the same time. You see, I have had the inestimable good fortune to spend a lot of time in Uganda in recent weeks with many of our protégés and also their friends. We had long and good conversations. I often heard that our protégés want to change the world. Big plans. They are the privilege of youth. But I believe we must never stop dreaming. Even if we are 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 years old. Because we can always change the world.
How we can change the world
That’s why I like the statement of Margaret Mead (1901-1978), the well-known American sociologist, so much:
«Zweifle nie daran, dass eine kleine Gruppe engagierter Menschen die Welt verändern kann –
tatsächlich ist dies die einzige Art und Weise, in der die Welt jemals verändert wurde.»
Thank you for your help in changing the world.
Let’s keep up the good work!
Have a nice Sunday.
Best regards,
Always yours
Burkhard Varnholt
