Last Wednesday, I
learned that two of the Grade 7 boys studying at the Chalubemba Basic School in
Zambia were hit by a bus and died at the scene. Earlier this year, another girl
in the same class died due to abortion and lack of proper medical treatment.
Because I have visited the school two years ago, these news especially struck
me at a personal level.
They were so young yet their lives were ended so prematurely. In fact, due to numerous diseases, lack of medical facilities, malnutrition, illiteracy, and various other social problems, death is a lot more common than what you would expect in most other countries. According to the World Factbook in 2011, the average life expectancy of a person in Zambia is 38.63 years old, ranking it at 221 out of a total of 223 countries listed. Comparatively, the average life expectancy of a person in Canada is 81.38 years old (approximately 2.1 times more than Zambia).
Canadians, Zambians, and wherever you are from, though we are located in different parts of the world, we are all humans. We all deserve the right to live our lives to the fullest. Therefore, I consider such growing disparities in life expectancy as our collective tragedy. Through the education programs from Light and Love Home in Zambia, I sincerely hope that we can help more people to attain the knowledge, skills, and morals to improve the quality of their lives.
- Joe
去年探望在贊比亞我們所資助的學校，與學生們活動，其中七年級的學生，英文程度稍為好，可以溝通。看他們上課，看他們做話劇（為我們表演），與他們玩隊長球。預備今年六月再去，相信他們興奮地等著我們，我們也開心去見他們，因為不再是陌生人，全不相識，然而這星期聽到其中兩名學生在上學的路途中被公車撞倒，當場死亡，連同早些時候因嘗試墮胎而死亡的女生，這七年級的學生已不再一樣。原來再見不是一件易事，因為他們的見識、生活條件、資源……威脅著他們的生命。希望六月中探望時，將永生的盼望帶給他們。
- Violin