THE FACTS

As the United Nations releases information about the current situation in Zimbabwe, the numbers are heartbreaking and yet, not suprising, because it is what I have been seeing for the past two and a half years.

We talk of reasons the kids are on the street... some run away, some get pushed away, some are orphaned when their parents die, and some are diaspora orphans. These children are orphaned when their parents became part of the 25% of the population that leave the country to find a better life somewhere else.

These kids are being categorized with a new "catch phrase", but their story is the same. Many of the boys we have been working with fall into this category; one parent has left the country and the other dies or can't afford to raise them.

I think this is why the work that we are doing is so important, the need is already overwhelming and it is just getting worse. It is very clear that as poverty increases, child welfare decreases: more kids are verbally, physically, emotionally and sexually abused. More kids are neglected. In extreme poverty the basic physical needs of children cannot be met.

It is widely accepted that Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world. Experts say it is unreasonable to expect to see a change in this, until the larger political problems are solved. Due to the correlation between economy and abuse, it is easy to see why the report from the United Nations is not suprising. They reported a 42% increase in the number of child rape cases reported, although they admit, many go unreported.

Not suprising, but devastating all the same. Those 42% are not a lifeless statistic. They are children. They have names, they have faces, they have stories. They are real. 3,112 names, 3,112 faces, 3,112 stories. They are my friends, my neighbors, the kids that I fight for.

Tonight as I read the story again, as I have for the past few days, I weep. I weep for the kids who are not being protected. I weep because God has given me a design to help protect them, I weep because I don't understand the timing, I weep because each day means more pain.

I weep, but I trust. I trust that His plan, His design, His timing is perfect. I trust that no matter how great the pain, He is the remedy.

I long for the day when these prevention programs we are designing are so widespread and so effective that the treatment programs are obsolete. As always, I am designing myself out of a job! When this is your job, you hope that the need disappears.

Even though the situation looks bleak, the truth is beautiful and the future is bright. The solution is real and there is hope.

The facts are ugly, scary and real. The facts are different than the truth:

The truth is:

There is always hope. Our God is bigger than economics, He is bigger than politics, He is bigger than pain and He loves his children. He loves each and everyone of us and the loves the kids in Zimbabwe. He's got them and He is not letting go. Neither can we.