"So
let's make the most of this beautiful day
Since
we're together, we might as well say
Would
you be mine,
Could
you be mine,
Won't
you be my neighbor?"
~Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood theme
I
think if each of us was to pick a childhood television show that made
an impact on the way we see the world around us, that taught us about
loving people no matter what they might look like or what different
abilities they might have, most of us might name Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood.
 |
| Mr. Rogers and Officer Clemmons share a dip in a wading pool. Wikimedia Commons image. |
As
an adult, I still find myself looking up a few old episodes for
nostalgia's sake. And each time I do, I am amazing at how
forward-thinking Fred Rogers was for his time. In a time of hate and
racial discrimination, a time when people disabilities were often
institutionalized and seen as something to be afraid of, Mr. Rogers
welcomed people with differences as friends and neighbors. Whether it
was sharing a wading pool with a policeman of a different race, or
asking a child to demonstrate how to use an electric wheelchair, how
often did we hear him say those iconic words, "I love you, and
I'm proud of you"? Mr. Rogers certainly followed Jesus' command
to "love your neighbor as yourself."
I
often think, what would our world be like if we all acted a little
more like Mr. Rogers? If we shared our love with everyone we came in
contact with, if we did our best to say something positive about
everyone, and if instead of seeing differences, we saw "neighbors"?
Today,
right now, we have the opportunity to be good neighbors to someone in
need. Here in Canada, mosquito bites are an annoying (and itchy) but
normal part of summer. In Awassa Tanzania, however, mosquito bites
can be fatal. Every day, 3,000 children (that's almost the
population of my community!) die from malaria; a disease that is both
curable AND easily preventable! With insecticide-treated mosquito
nets, children and their families can sleep safely and comfortably
knowing that they will be protected from disease carrying pests.
In
2010, there were an estimated 655,000 deaths from malaria. To put
that in perspective, that's almost six times the population of
our capital city of St. John's! In one year!
 |
| A boy smiles from behind a mosquito net. Copyright Compassion International |
For
only 18 dollars, you can provide a child with a mosquito net and
life-saving malarial treatment. To learn more, please visit Compassion: Malaria Intervention
"(And
Jesus said) Which of these three seems to you to have been a neighbor
of the one having fallen among the robbers? And
he (the teacher of the law) said, "The one having
shown compassion toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "You
go and do likewise."
