Pie in the sky dream

10/20/09

For many years, I have had this pie in the sky dream of opening orphanages and a clinic in Africa for children whose parents have died of AIDS (of course, I wouldn’t discriminate against children who were orphaned for other reasons). This dream did not stem from just one place. I contribute it to a multitude of experiences and interests: my desire to work in pediatric medicine when I get my degree, my genetically-programmed maternal draw towards children, my fascination with epidemics (namely AIDS and TB) and desire to figure out how the hell they are relatively controlled in this country and yet killing people by the millions in the developing world. There’s more to it than economics. Lastly, Africa is close to my heart, as it was home to my father, grandparents, and great-grandparents who were pioneers from England seeking adventure and signed up to work for the Rhodesian colonial government. I’ve grown up feeling both in awe of Zimbabwe’s (and later, the rest of Africa’s) landscape, history, people and diversity as well as feeling indebted to those whom colonialism touched negatively (I DO recognize the positives that colonialism brought e.g. infrastructure, medicine etc but even that is debatable as to how much it has helped, which is a whole discussion in and of itself). With all of the media and medical attention focused on the AIDS crisis in Africa, I cannot help but feel compelled to contribute my share, in some way. Monetary contribution is good and necessary, but I feel the need to dedicate time and personal effort as well. Enter my dream of opening and running an orphanage and clinic there. Upon further exploration of this dream, I’ve come to realize that this dream is somewhat selfish. Like Ayn Rand, I am a true believer that selfishness is a great thing when it ends up helping others. However, I’ve come to believe that my opening an orphanage may be selfish in the bad way. You’ve all heard the stories about how neglect in orphanages stunts emotional and intellectual development in children, and all is lost if this happens between infancy and age 2. So upon further reflection, I’ve decided that it would be better to support foster care in Africa. I recognize that there would have to be financial support for the families who take orphans in but, call me an optimist, I think people are, in their heart of hearts, charitable. If they have the means to help and someone in need is in front of them, many people will help. I need to explore this idea a lot more, but until I find a reason to think this is not a good option for the children, I’m sticking to it.