If Sixth Graders Ruled the World

Although most of my work with Micah Challenge so far has been meeting with pastors and worship leaders about participating in 10.10.10, I’ve also had the opportunity to give chapels to Middle Schoolers about issues of justice and the power we have to affect change by talking to our leaders.

At the end of our time together, each student writes her or his message to their leader about why they care and why they hope their leaders will care.

This is one of my favorites so far, written by Kassie, a 6^th grader at Hudsonville Christian School. “I care because we are all the same even in other countries or on the other side of the world. Also if no one does really anything then it will get worse and then we will all be mad because we could have done something earlier.”

I love the logic in Kassie’s reasoning and wish she could hand deliver this message to the G8 next week. Per haps this would speak to our world leaders specifically around the issues of child survival and maternal health, two millennium development goals which will be discussed in the meetings.

The most recent update from the World Health Organization on the Millennium Development Goals says that, “While the global proportion of births attended by a skilled health worker has increased, in the WHO regions of Africa and South-East Asia fewer than half of all births had skilled assistance.”

I’m with Kassie. This statistic is alarming. If we are informed on these statistics and have the power to address these shortfalls and don’t do it, “we will all be mad because we could have done something earlier.”