A Small Start

I recently participated in a fund-raiser for a very worthy cause. A group called EveryONE Counts held an exhibition to raise funds towards the work they do in caring for abandoned babies in Durban, South Africa.

The initiative was taken by a South African mother and Durban based artist, Lara Mellon, who was so deeply moved by the overwhelming need that she sent out the call to artists from around the world to stand together in creative support of these unwanted lives by pledging a personal artwork. "Just one unwanted baby, just one abandoned life is too many. Finding new born babies ant-eaten, starving and traumatized to the point that for the first couple of hours they are unable to feed ... is one too many!" says Lara. The response was overwhelming and pledges from artists all over the world streamed in amounting to well over 500 and all monies raised through the sale of these artworks will be used for the care and protection of abandoned lives. Each artwork speaks as the voice for one of these abandoned babies. When I saw the photo of this young mom and the accompanying tag on a blog (The Ranting Boomer) I knew this what was I had to paint.

Corneille will never forget the night she left her aunt's house to fetch water and was attacked and raped. She'd crawled back to her aunt's house and said nothing, ashamed. She says her baby, named Joy, is the only brightness in her future. Corneille is only 13.

We don't have to look far to see the needs that are all around us everyday. Sometimes it's so overwhelming that we have to harden our hearts or look away. We feel helpless wishing there was something we could do but sure we couldn't possibly do anything to make a real difference.

Well as small as it may be, I made a difference. By participating along with 500 plus artists from around the world using the God-given talents we are blessed with. It wasn't difficult, it wasn't inconvenient, it was a JOY.

So now I'm starting to ask myself: " What can I do next to make a difference in the life of someone who is unable to help themself? "

Let's all start to look for opportunities to care for the poor, the orphaned, the needy, the down-trodden and the helpless.

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." Helen Keller