Weaving straw into gold

Remember the Gothic fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin?

As a child I was fascinated by it -

weaving gold with straw!

Although as an adult I find the tale

quite gruesome laced

with greed, deceit, coercion,

ill treatment of women and blackmail.

(Eeek! we grown ups have too much on our minds.)

The crafty little elf appeared as an angel of light

to the hapless miller's daughter

(victim of child abuse, we would call her now).

But the elf 's demands could not match

the poor girl 's resources

(modern day struggle between the rich and poor)

Anyway I am glad the story has a happy ending

with the heroic mother saving her child.
Many times life hands us a bundle of straw

in the form of disabilities, illness, poverty

abuse , rejection, tragedy,family problems or divorce.

And we are required or challenged to turn this straw into gold

tarnished and dulled as it may be

with our blood sweat and tears.

Whenever we need our cane chairs fixed , we

ask this polio stricken man to do the job for us.

In India the little health care provided by the government is inadequate

or non existent for millions of disadvantaged people.

Disabled people have to fend for themselves or

live at the mercy of their family.

Many are rejected or thrown out.

He walks painfully with the

help of a stick

And travels on this rickshaw wheelchair.

These vehicles are distributed

free

to handicapped people

by charitable organizations.

There are other kinds too like a flat trolley.

Read more about the polio scenario in the article below.

Health - Who will win? India vs. Polio
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Who will win? India vs. Polio
By LISA A. SWENARSKI DE HERRERA

Just three decades ago 350,000 Indian children were paralyzed from polio each year. Parents throughout India woke up to discover their children's legs suddenly floppy, unmovable, while fever took hold and changed their lives forever.

Millions of families are still caring for children and adults who cannot walk.Today, thanks to the enormous efforts of health care workers and volunteers, only a handful of families suffer from new cases of polio. After 10 years of intense eradication efforts worldwide, health care workers knocking door to door, millions of vaccinations administered, and billions of dollars spent, polio continues to haunt only four countries, including just two states in India. Yet, the moment eradication efforts weaken, India and the world could return to the dark days of the 1970s.In fact, the four endemic countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are those that have never interrupted transmission of their indigenous poliovirus. In recent years, many countries that had become polio free were re-infected following importations from Nigeria and India.Polio fighters say the greatest challenge remains in India.

"Western Uttar Pradesh is the hardest place in the world to eradicate polio," says Dr. Hamid Jafari, project manager of the World Health Organization's polio eradication program in India.Poverty, population density, illness, poor sanitation, and people susceptible to misinformation and rumor allow polio to continue to destroy families. In western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the only two Indian states where polio circulates, there was actually an increase in polio during 2006 because some communities refused the vaccine based on false rumors that it was harmful. And now these communities are paying the price, with 676 children paralyzed by polio in 2006, a huge increase over the 66 cases in 2005. So far this year, 281 children have become paralyzed by polio in these two states, but the good news is that none have been stricken in the core endemic districts of western Uttar Pradesh by Poliovirus Type One, which is the most virulent strain. The pain of these families makes Indian health care workers determined. In the highest risk villages, families can expect a visit from a polio worker every month.

Community leaders, journalists and mullahs are urging families to get the vaccine. Why is there some resistance?"There are some very poor communities that refused the vaccine as a protest," says Jafari. "It is an expression of frustration because, understandably, they want clean water, sanitation and roads. Their refusal has nothing to do with religion, although many of these poor families are Muslim.?In fact, the vast majority of Muslim families and other minorities do accept polio vaccination during every campaign round."Also difficult to reach are the thousands of families in western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who migrate for months out of the year to work in other states. Now, the government is focusing on these families so that their children will not miss the vaccine even if they are not at home.The Indian and U.S. governments, UNICEF and Rotary International are working together to eliminate polio from India and the planet forever. If they succeed, it would be only the second disease eradicated. (Smallpox was eliminated in the 1970s.)

The U.S. government is the biggest donor to this effort. Why do Americans care? "Americans have very clear, horrible memories of the pain and suffering of polio in the U.S.," says Jafari. "Also, Americans are humanitarians and they know it's a disease that can be eradicated and there is a tool and the tool is? affordable and easy to use."
Courtesy: SPAN Magazine

HERE IS A LINK with a slide show

Can I weave my straw into gold.

Yes I can.

My earthly problems are my pile of straw

On the other side of eternity , in heaven is my treasure

Problems on one side

gold on the other.

In the middle is a kind of spinning wheel

where you and I sit

If the problem side seems overwhelming

focus your eyes on the glory side.

Our afflictions are our divine spinning wheels

and we are Rumpelstiltskin's

weaving our straw into gold.

"These little troubles

(which are really so transitory)

are winning for us a permanent,

glorious and solid reward

out of all proportion

to our pain."

2 Cor 4;17

(inspired by Joni Erickson Tada)