Yolanda and The Little Boy

If you are connected to any type of media outlet, you may have seen this picture. 

It is a haunting reminder of what mankind can to do other humans.  Omran Daqneesh was buried under rubble following an airstrike in Qaterji, Syria. When I look at Omran in this photogragh, I see a little face that reflects unimaginable thoughts.  Why are we drawn to this image?  Why does it stir something within us?  The picture reminds me of an interaction my wife and I had in Guatemala last month.

Yolanda, a single mom of 2 children whose husband abandoned them, had a little stand where she made and sold tortillas all day long.  This was her livelihood and means for providing for her family.  She gave us a large stack of tortillas and refused any payment.  Her tortillas are the best I have ever tasted and each was perfectly formed and exactly like the previous one. It was on our last day after finishing the home we were there to build Yolanda asked my wife to pray that she, too, could get such a home built for her.  Once Maria had translated her words to me, my Spanish isn’t as good as it should be, I wanted to hug her and say we would move heaven and earth to ensure she would get a home. All she wanted was prayer. 

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What does Yolando, a Guatemalan woman living in poverty with no bombs falling around her, have to do with Omran Daqneesh, a little boy injured in Syria?  They are both statistics. 

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Why was I so moved?  I could look her in the eyes.  I saw and experienced the kindness in her heart.  In spite of the poverty of this town, everyone we met was happy and giving.  Her simple request was our prayers for a house for her and her children.  I wanted to do more but we promised to pray.  We have been praying Yolanda and her children would get a home.  I would love to be one of the people on that build.

What does Yolando, a Guatemalan woman living in poverty with no bombs falling around her, have to do with Omran Daqneesh, a little boy injured in Syria?  They are both statistics.  Wait a minute?  They are not statistics!  In the case of Omran Daqneesh, the whole world has seen him.  We now know who he is and what he suffered. That right there, is the difference.  We know who he is.  My wife and I and those with us know Yolanda.  Statistics are not known.  I have come to realize people are not statistics when you have looked them in the eyes.  I cannot dehumanize someone I know to be like me.  As humans, we cannot look human need and suffering in the eyes and not be moved or changed.  We must do something.  We either must take action or quench the burning in our hearts and go on with our own selfish lives. 

Will our seeing and learning about Omran Daqneesh finally shine bigger and brighter spotlights on the violence in Syria?  Will our prayers for Yolanda make a difference?  Will people finally stop ignoring the suffering and need in the world?  One person on this tiny sphere cannot save the world but maybe, just maybe, one by one by one, we can meet needs, bridge gaps, offer hope and shine lights in the darkness.