Go Mr President

It’s the President’s Day in the United States this week. Originally it was about celebrating George Washington’s birthday and then it evolved into what is now a major holiday and a great time to get bargains in the store.

Whenever I think of a president’s birthday I think of that tacky song and historical video of Marilyn Munroe crooning JFK.

What have birthdays really become? A few weeks ago someone was spending $3,000 on a one year olds birthday party that she won’t even remember! I remember when our girls were small and we were these broke youth pastors (before the days of high wage consulting was around) feeling really bad that we couldn’t afford anything big and flash for their birthdays or Christmas.

Can’t we bring it back to just celebrating the life of someone and not as a competition to see who can put on the best party?

On our farm in Kiserian, we have a training facility for former street boys from the Kibera Slum. It is set in the most beautiful surroundings of acacia trees and a spectacular rural outlook. We are instituting that when a trainee has a birthday, we will make them a cake and celebrate their life. They, along with some of our staff have never had a birthday cake. Such a simple thing, yet impacting. Some of our trainees don’t even know when they were born, so it’s not just a simple thing to get the information. Our staff have to phone the families just to get this basic information.

Life is precious, we shouldn’t take it for granted, especially in a developing country where the average life span is in the early 50’s. We are constantly hearing of bombings, fatal car accidents, and attacks.

While our trainees may not have a famous person singing to them, they are worthy like the rest of us to be recognised as a child of God.

President’s Day has changed from a birthday event to a social event in the calendar.

Let’s not forget that each of the six billion people on the Earth is a gift from God. He knows each one by name, has a plan and purpose for them. That’s what Afri-Lift is about, giving purpose to young people.