Dear visitor,
A very warm welcome to our website! With this letter dedicated to you I would like to introduce myself and talk to you about my philosophy of life. The philosophy that caused my husband and I to found the philanthrophic humanitarian charity CHILDREN FIRST, Our charity takes care of disadvantaged children thanks to the kind, loving help of many generous people. Our paths of life, yours and mine, have met (only virtually for the moment) because both you and I have a special inner strength and sensitivity that inspires us to do good. In my opinion, in order for our lives to function properly, we must follow one simple rule, and that is, the rule of balance. All that we are given; health, family, polite, healthy children, a house, food, drink, a chance to work and much, much more, should not only make us appreciate our privileged situation, but should be (at least minimally) shared with those who, for various reasons do not have the same privileges we do. That way, the balance of wealth is not always one-sided, and we can achieve and maintain a decent equilibrium.
My husband and I are aware that the Lord has given us a lucky life. We are aware that day after day, we continue to receive many wonderful gifts: our seven children are healthy and well, we have a family, a house, jobs. Since the true wealth of our lives (and I am sure that this goes for you as well) consists of the affection and love we feel for our children and for our family – being able to give them our love but above all, receiving love from them, the least we can do, and must do, is to return a “small piece of our luck” to poor, starving, disadvantaged children. We must act as though the world’s children were our own vulnerable children. Because they are vulnerable, they need to be protected responsibly by us. All of us, as members of a single universe that should respect the rule of equilibrium, must reach out to suffering children with commitment and love, helping them with concrete actions and enthusiasm. Only then can we consider ourselves an integral and vital part of human civilization. Part of a society of great values that is committed to laying the foundations for the future of these children and, consequently, for the future of our own children.
Just as the present is in the hands of us adults, the future will be in the hands of today’s children. So let’s give ourselves and our children a lesson in human solidarity. The satisfaction of being able to be useful to those who are less fortunate than us. The satisfaction of being able to give and to lend a hand to the part of humanity that needs our help. Let us never tire of leading our children by the hand to encounter the many poor children in need to help them with friendship, love and hope, and remind them that the way forward is by responding effectively to the myriad cries for help.
We must all be aware of the existence of others and especially of those who are worse off than us. The people who often have no chance to communicate their problems. Thanks to the many types of media, we hear of tragic events. We cannot afford to ignore them just because they are not on our doorsteps. We must overcome our mental laziness and selfishness and do something to make these tragic events less traumatic. We must remember that something we do not necessarily need could save one or more lives. So, let’s learn to use our superfluous goods to help people. We can avoid accumulating unnecessarily stuff which could end up suffocating our lives.
I ask myself and I also ask you. Could we be the first generation that no longer accepts that a random factor such as geographical latitude be allowed to determine whether a child lives or dies? Will WE be that generation? We Westerners could use our full potential or continue to sleep soundly in apathy and indifference, lulled by our own wealth. Only future generations will be able to judge the way that we have answered these questions, and the results will be found in the world around our children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren. History will be our judge. This judgment will depend on us, and will be about us, who we are, who we were and how we wish to be remembered. We cannot just say that our generation could not afford it, even in times of economic crisis, or that we had no reason to do something. It all depends upon us! We can choose to walk the humanitarian path by refusing to accept the “Status quo”.
Our history is made up of countless small acts of courage and faith. Every time we help a suffering child, we create a small wave of hope. And these small waves create a current of brotherhood and love that breaks down the most solid walls of injustice and oppression. Each of us is a precious drop, and together we form a raging river that sweeps away violence and poverty.
I hope my thoughts have given you a little bit of insight into my philosophy and the charity’s philosophy, and I hope the great joy I feel inside may have even contributed to your enthusiasm and willingness to accompany us to try to save more “helpless little ones” in need of love. Come on! Together we are stronger! Together we can do more!
At the end of our meetings, I always give the poor children I meet in different places a hug to bond with them. So that’s why, at the end of this letter I have decided to say goodbye to you with the same perfect embrace, certain that I can transmit the special energy we share called LOVE!
Sylvia Eibl