The Stories We Tell: a Volunteer Reflection

CRWRC Newsroom | October 21, 2009

by Antonia de Boer

My morning routine is to read the world news from my iGoogle page over a cup of coffee (although here in India it has changed to reading the Shillong Times while sipping my cup of tea). Yet as I slowly sip from my steamy cup of caffeinated goodness I find myself slumping further and further into my chair as the weight of the world’s problems bombard my computer screen: civil conflicts, famine, floods, corruption in business and government, exploitation, the list could go on and on. Humanity at its worst. This is what we define as newsworthy. I find myself defeated before I have even set foot outside the door. I am aware but I am depressed. I am educated but I am powerless.

Perhaps that is why this CRWRC volunteer position caught my eye: Transformational Story Writer. Instead of writing stories of defeat I have the privilege of writing the stories of hope. Please don’t misunderstand me. I believe in education and awareness. We, particularly in North America, suffer from lives lived in isolated independence. We are far removed from the harsh realities that our brothers and sisters around the world experience on a daily basis. As citizens of this global village we have a responsibility to be informed. No, my quarrel is with what constitutes “news” or a headline. While the stories I read from the BBC are true, I argue, they are incomplete.

One of the greatest tragedies of poverty is how it can rob the poor of their identity (even the term “the poor” could be questioned but for lack of an alternative I shall use it). What I mean is, we look at the poor and reduce them to their poverty. We look at the poor and “poor” is all we see. Their identity has been reduced to their economic status or their lack of things. I’m afraid that at times we may be blinded by the immediacy of the suffering or injustice that we face and we fail to see the poor as anything more than helpless and broken ones. In that moment the image of God in our fellow human beings has been forgotten. This is a dangerous path to follow as we may then be tempted to play “god” in the lives of the poor and actually further their poverty of being.

What I’m suggesting is that we search for a fuller, more complete picture. Yes, we need to see the suffering of our neighbours (both near and far). We need to take time to sit in the sorrow of their pain. We need to take time to be angry over the injustice that creates such impoverished conditions. But we also need to take time to see the poor as beloved, called individuals who have the potential to act as God’s agents of transformation in their homes and communities. We must affirm the realities of poverty in one hand and claim the hope of the empty grave in the other.

Essentially, my work as a volunteer is to tell the stories of the other side. Yes, there are corrupt individuals who steal but there are also women who are patrolling their neighborhoods to prevent crime and alcohol abuse. While the AIDS epidemic is sweeping across countries, there are churches who are equipping themselves with awareness and education and tirelessly reaching out to positive persons in their communities. While natural disasters rake havoc on homes and villages, there are organizations working with communities to rebuild roads and restore damaged fields and fishponds.

I don’t know about you, but hearing stories like this gets me excited. It makes me want to chug my cup of coffee and run out the door to join the party! I wonder if more people would watch the news if there were more stories like these being broadcasted.

The daily news is not incorrect in their reports, they’re simply incomplete. Yes, this world is broken BUT we must not forget that we believe in the God of hope, the God who saves. It is for this reason that we must not fail to testify, to tell the stories of the glimpses of the kingdom here on earth.

To learn more about volunteering for CRWRC, click here.