GO FORWARD 4

My Conversation with Don Cheadle

Okay, it wasn't really a conversation. It was one question and one answer in the May 28 edition of TIME Magazine. But the Q&A could not have been more ironic.

A couple of months ago, while reading TIME's "10 Questions" feature online with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, I submitted a question for the activist actor (Hotel Rwanda, Oceans 13). Cheadle has no idea how suprising his answer was, especially considering my background and life's work.

"What is the greatest need of the African people?" I asked.

"One thing they need is better p.r." Cheadle responded.

Public relations? The greatest need? Not water or food? Or perhaps stable, morally-upright government? Hmm. I'd better read on...

"The news loves to talk about all of the terrible situations, but it is very resistant to talk about the success," Cheadle continued. "Liberia has a female President. That is huge, isn't it? Cameroon has turned itself around."

I confess, I don't follow Liberian politics much, but a quick Google search reveals that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf graduated from the University of Colorado, received her Masters at Harvard, opposed the brutal thug Charles Taylor and was graced with the presence of First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at her 2006 inauguration. Sounds like a good thing to me.

But then the most unexpected part of Cheadle's answer.

"If people in this country think of Africa as a place with kids and flies swarming around their heads, then they won't understand that these people are you and you are them."

Alright. Should I feel guilty about the hours of "flies on children" video footage of which I've been a part? I'm trying, but I can't force myself. The simple truth is that without video that shows the harsh reality of millions of dying kids, viewers will not respond to change that reality. Yet, Cheadle does have a point about the imbalance of images Americans see on television.

So let me "talk about the success" for a moment.

LIFE Outreach now helps feed approximately 400,000 people every month from Sudan to South Africa. That's like taking the entire population of Miami, spreading them out across the entire United States, and then finding and feeding them every month. Major success.

LIFE drilled 230 water wells across Africa in 2005. I haven't seen the final numbers, but I suspect we surpassed that in 2006. One water well serves an average of 1,000 people, so we're probably close to a half-million people who now have clean, drinkable water in a place where water-bourne diseases are, collectively, the biggest killers of children. Bigtime success.

Hundreds of individual successes abound -- like the stories of the orphans who found a home at the Rwandan LIFE Center after the massacre documented in Cheadle's Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda (if you haven't seen it, go rent it tonight!) Then there are the massive crusades held by mission partner Peter Pretorius. A non-Christian may not understand the spiritual significance of these, but when you take the anger and malice out of people's hearts and replace it with forgiveness and love, it has very practical ramifications. Again, huge success.

Success is a good thing, but we cannot forget about those who are still dying. I've been to several countries in Africa and our mission workers are there right now providing food, water, medicine and shelter. The African people still have great need and we should never forget them. I applaud Don Cheadle and every other high-profile personality who seeks to help the people of Sudan and other desperate countries. But there is one thing they have never asked for when approached by any of our workers: better p.r.