The Story of Sam and Esther

Featured in this blog is a video from the San Damiano Foundation, a Christian Charity organization that uses the power of heart-rending videos to tell the stories of the plight of orphans in a remote village in Uganda.

In this video, Jane, a shrivelled 8-year old orphan is shown caring for her two siblings, Sam and Esther. Sam and Esther are severely malnourished and when the San Damiano crew arrived at the little hamlet, they found Sam and Esther lying naked and dirty in the dirt…unattended.

As the crew wondered who these two skeletal children belong to, Jane, a wizened 8-year old, appeared from the bushes, carrying some water. Jane was “big sister” to Sam and Esther and she had left them for a while to fetch water to bathe her dirt-ridden siblings.

One has to have a heart of stone not to be moved by Jane’s story. Her story is one of sacrifice of a child for her two siblings. Jane was forced into the role of care-giver for Sam and Esther and she could not give them food but she gave them the only thing she had left…love.

The San Damiano crew, one of whom unashamedly burst into tears watching this haunting scene of despair and deprivation, gave Jane some biscuits from their supply of food. Without hesitation, Jane gave a biscuit each to Sam and Esther before enjoying one herself. Even though she was hungry, she knew she had to feed Sam and Esther before attending to her needs.

The message in this heart-tugging video is very powerful indeed. It speaks of the ultimate sacrifice of an 8-year old for her orphaned siblings…it speaks of compassion that some of us no longer have in our hearts as we engage in the exclusive pursuit of material things…and it speaks of a religious-based Charity organization doing what it could to make a difference. There are so many ways to make a difference; yet some of our religious organisations chose to spend time to engage in a lengthy discourse on why Poco-Poco should be banned as HARAM rather than do whatever it can to make this world a better place!

To quote from the San Damiano website:

“The vision for San Damiano films is twofold: to raise funds for Christian charities aiding the world’s poor and to awaken the hearts and minds to the plight of the poor, hopefully inspiring viewers to serve those in need through acts of compassion and mercy. Please remember that “every act of mercy and kindness brings us closer to the reality of God”.

(This video first appeared in a posting of a FB friend, Mior Rosli…thank you for helping us to open our eyes)

“There is none so blind as he who will not see….” (Anon)