"I’ll Be the One Who Cares"
 Can you imagine living each day in fear? In America, and many industrial democracies, we might fear losing a job, or fear losing a loved one, but we don’t really live with fear on a daily basis. We don’t send our daughters in search of water, miles away from home, and fear that they may never return. We have water when we want it, at the temperature we want it and it’s safe to drink--all at the twist of a knob or handle.
We have doctors, EMTs, nurses, life flight helicopters and hospitals full of specialists, so that when tragedy does strike, we simply have call for help, and help is quickly on its way. We have safe roads with stop signs, traffic lights, vehicle safety regulations and even the highway patrol to make sure other drivers are on their best behavior. Some people may argue one or two of these points, and they may have reason to believe otherwise, but for the most part, we live in a safe, protected, very health conscious environment.
We complain about our government. Democrats think Republicans are heartless and Republicans think Democrats are financially irresponsible, and in the end, some people don’t like the president we elected after a couple of years in office—even though he is our president. We don’t have to pay government officials thousands of dollars in bribe money to get simple paperwork signed so that we can build a house or open a business. We don’t fear for our life if we speak out against our elected officials, or if we do, wonder if we’ll get a knock on the door late at night and never see Dad again.
I’d say we have it pretty good in the U.S. But I’d bet that I could find a handful of people, without really having to try, who would argue with that, too. People can choose to close their eyes and pretend that hurting people will always have someone to take care of them, that children don’t drink water that looks like raw sewage, or pretend that it’s not their responsibility to feel anything but apathy when confronted with evidence that these things do in fact exist.
Then there are people who choose to go out into the world, with its messes and mayhem, with their eyes wide open. They choose to say, “I’ll be the one who cares.” They go, they seek, they find, they do their best to help, and then they start all over again, because that’s simply what they do. They love, despite being told that it’s not their responsibility to do so.
This group of ten men and the missionaries who choose to live, to care, to love despite the frustrations, the corruption and the disappointment are an impressive bunch. They’ve come from Cincinnati, Ohio and Paris, France to Jos, Nigeria to inspire and plant seeds of hope. They come with amazing ideas and then teach the men and women here to stand on their own soil and say, “I’ll be one who cares, and just maybe another will stand with me.” Together they believe that they can learn and then take over, and pay it forward, teaching other Nigerians to start businesses that build communities. They believe they can grow without corruption becoming a part of their daily life. They hold onto the truth that treating people fairly and providing an honest day’s work is something to be proud of.
Financial success is just one of the positive benefits that will take hold of the impoverished and lead them to believe that if it’s possible for one, perhaps it’s possible for two. Fear starts to retreat as people begin to believe in themselves. When hope replaces apathy, fear loses its foothold.
It’s happening here in Jos, Nigeria because one person dared to say, “I am one who believes in this and I am willing to try.” I know this, because I’m standing beside the ten men who had the compassion and courage to cross the Atlantic and show the world that love can cast out fear. They’re starting with an ingenious plan to grow vegetables and raise fish. They’re growing these plants in water that comes from a well that was drilled by another group who dared to care, and fertilizing it all with the fish waste products. They’re working hard in a climate that is brutal, and they’re doing it with sore backs, some good-natured joking, and a big appetite when it’s time to settle in for the night.
They’re teaching the villagers the business, working together on an “aquaponic” system that will make life easier for so many. Then these ten men (and I) are going home to their life and work schedules in their own countries. A brighter future is just ahead on the African horizon.
--Heidi Doose, March 21
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