A Third World Country in the Midst of Our Nation
July 12, 2010
“This looks like a Third World Country!” a visitor told me after a tour of the deplorable living conditions in the Missions where we serve. He was right - a Third World Country in the midst of one of the wealthiest nations on earth. But how do I get people to understand this incredible travesty happening in our own backyard?
Each day I am at a loss as to what to do. This week hundreds of people lined up to register for oil spill jobs along the Alabama coast, which has been hit hard. They were hopeful because there are no factory jobs and the mill jobs have disappeared. Some have been out of work for two years and they are desperate.
Hundreds stood for hours with little children in their arms enduring temperatures of over 100 degrees. When they reached the front of the line, they were asked to fill out forms and to agree to take classes, which meant reading about the toxic substances in the oil clean up areas. They would then take a written test to make sure they understood the dangers.
The people standing in line who couldn’t read very well didn’t qualify for jobs which broke my heart. We are feeding more families, more worried women with little children and many new faces at the Bosco Nutrition Center.
Hunger never takes a break. At Bosco we feed 240 meals a day, 365 days a year. In addition, we travel hundreds of miles every day to deliver meals and food boxes to the homebound and isolated poor. Gas is terribly expensive, yet, I cannot stop the program because to do so would be sentencing the elderly to severe malnutrition and disastrous consequences.
It costs $285 to buy meat and vegetables needed for soup to feed the hungry at Bosco. With a gift of $48, you will help to buy food for the home bound elders and isolated poor. Your gift will help buy food and other life-saving necessities.
Families, elders, children and the disabled are in the streets pacing as though they are waiting for a bus that never arrives. These poor, hungry people are forced to live on the streets, hot, abandoned and forgotten. My heart breaks for the small children who are dragged around in search for somewhere to live. By the time they are three years old they have that unmistakable misery in their eyes.
Sixty-four year old Thomas has diabetes and high blood pressure and he can barely get around. His sister Elizabeth and her husband have taken care of him for years, but they can no longer afford to care for him because they can’t pay their property taxes, gas and water bills. They must move and Elizabeth feels guilt ridden about leaving her brother. Families struggling to survive are being torn apart, not because of a lack of love, but rather a lack of money. These people of modest means are losing far more than their homes; they are losing what has long been the heart and soul of the black community – family.
I was able to put Thomas up at a motel for 3 days but I can’t afford to keep him there any longer because of the cost. His sister is trying to find housing for the family, but she has no money and the condemned buildings where she will probably end up are shocking, rat-infested warehouses.
The economic hardships continue to endanger all aspects of life here. While many speak of recovery, there is no sign of such a thing here. I have been forced to cut the Missions budget, reduce the workforce and conduct only the most necessary of services. Many of our outreach ministers are struggling each day to serve those in need.
I am exhausted and desperately worried. I come to you out of great desperation and humility to ask for help during this appalling crisis. Without you I can’t serve the “least of these,” and I can’t forget them. Your gift will keep our wheels rolling on the rough roads of the rural South, as we reach out in Christ’s name with a message of hope and love for God’s children.
You are always in my prayers.,
Rev. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E.
