Feeling compelled to give.

I read this story a few days ago in the Washington Post online edition. (And the link here isn't to the original site, but it's the same story.) I don't remember how I came across it--just wasting time online, as usual, I suppose. But after reading about Adwai Mulual and her situation, I couldn't not do something. I mailed out a check that will go a little ways towards diapers, wipes, or whatever else the babies need.

Please, if you are able, consider helping her too. Here's a website with the address to send donations. I'm sure that every little bit will be appreciated.

This is really something I never do, but her story touched me. My first few weeks of being a parent were so incredibly difficult that my heart goes out to this woman who is not only adjusting to first-time parenthood, but doing so in a foreign country, without her husband, with very limited financial resources...and she's got not one, but FIVE newborns to take care of.

I can't even begin to imagine what she must be going through.

I think what most compelled me to try to help were the nasty comments after the article in the original posting. There was a long section dedicated to comments, and I skimmed down through them, thinking that people would be saying, "How can I help?" and "Where can I send donations?" But I saw none of that. Instead, commenters were making cruel remarks about how their precious tax money shouldn't be going to this woman because she isn't a citizen of the U.S., and she probably took fertility drugs to get this many babies in the first place, and what the hell is she doing coming over here to leech off us... It went on and on. Many of the comments were racist, and all were heartless.

I'm not naive enough to think that I can save the world, or that the U.S. should try as a matter of policy to save the world. But I think it is important to show compassion for our fellow human beings, and to give to those who need our help when we find ourselves able. I don't care if Adwai Mulual is Sudanese. I don't care if she took fertility drugs. I don't care if she intentionally came to the U.S. seeking our medical care or "a handout." She is a human being. Her babies are human beings. I am a human being. And that is all I need to know.

Please send a donation if you can. Even $20 can buy a package of diapers. That's cheaper than a night at the movies. So stay home one night instead, and reach out your hand to a stranger in need.

That is all.