It Takes A Village to Raise a Child.
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This ancient African proverb teaches eternal truth. No man, woman, or family is an island. But
in these the lean and mean 1990s, community isn't always what it is supposed to be. We'd all
like to think we live in a place where people care about others -- where people pitch in to help
when things get rough -- where it's safe to leave the doors unlocked and let the kids play around
outside.
This isn't always what we experience. Instead of community, we find alienation; looking for
safety, we are attacked by crime; hoping for a better life for our kids, we encounter gangs and
drugs and the lies of television. People often retreat behind closed and double locked doors and
try to ignore their neighbors. Politicians preach envy and hate, dividing us further instead of
working for reconciliation. Being poor these days just ain't what it used to be.
But people connected with each other during the Depression. They had family and friends
around them. Everybody was broke and so everybody was in the same boat. And as everyone
who is poor knows, there is nobody who is more generous than another poor person. So people
helped each other out. Not only with the physical necessities of life -- such as food, clothing and
shelter -- but also with the spiritual and emotional necessities. It's pretty awful when you feel
like you are all alone and the whole world is against you. Life is a lot easier when you are part of
a network of friends and family, a community, a neighborhood.
It does take a village, to work with the family, to raise a child and weather the storms of life. If
we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves. Community, like charity,
begins at home. You start building a good neighborhood when you yourself decide that you will
be a good neighbor. If you don't know anyone on your block, you can take the initiative. You
can bake some bread and take it to your neighbors and introduce yourself. You can join a church
and become part of that community. You can reach out to your own network of friends and start
building community.
There are many things that we just don't have much control over. But like eating good food, building community is something that you can do, right here, right now, in the place where you are now -- whether or not you have a job, an education, or a car. Be the first one on your block to reach out and touch your neighbor. Find -- together in Christ -- a new sense of purpose and life on your street. Make your neighborhood your village and find the truth that humans have learned the hard way. United we stand, divided we fall -- cooperation is as important as competition. Maybe, at certain times and places, it's more important.