We Are The World, We Are the Children..

I can remember sitting in front of the T.V set with my sister when we were small. I was probably 10 and she was 4 or 5. It was 1984 and there was a huge famine in Africa, one of biblical proportions. There were so many commercials on T.V for World Vision and Foster Parents Plan begging for money and help. It was on the News, and on the front pages of newspapers and magazines....there were pictures and footage of starving children laying on the ground covered in flies and struggling to breath. There were mothers holding dead babies and crying hysterically. It was a nightmare, and quite frankly those pictures and newscasts have never left me.
I can remember my sister and I crying and begging my father and our stepmother to help...to sponsor a child. My stepmother got very upset with us, saying we were to help people in our own country first and that those people weren't our problem. I just could not understand that. How could you turn your back on them? They had no support, resources, or hope.

I know many people did come forward, ordinary people, celebrities and humanitarian groups and tried to make a difference. But the one person who made a difference for me was when Michael Jackson came forward and co-wrote "We are the World" for Africa. As corny as this sounds, he made me realize that thinking the way i did wasn't wrong. Remember, I was only 10. That song brought in almost 50 million dollars after one year of it being released and provided food, medicine, vitamins, tents, blankets, clothing and birth control to the african people. I was so moved by that. From that experience, it fueled my desire to go to Africa one day and help the people there who are starving and dying of Aids. I will get there one day, when the time is right. It will be a life changing experience, one that I am sure will be the most meaningful of my life.



There comes a time when we hear a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
and its time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We cant go on pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of Gods great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

[Chorus:]
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
its true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Verse

Send them your heart so they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus:]
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
its true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Verse

When you're down and out, and there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Oh no,no,no,no Let us realize that a change can only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus:]
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving out own lives
its true we'll make a brighter day
Just you and me