The Danger of Just Hoping for Change & Not Trying to Make It?

This story has been shared at E4A events in the past. This New York Times photo in the 1990’s showed a little girl struggling to reach an aid station while being stalked by a vulture during a horrible plague in Sudan. The reason we don’t know the outcome is because the man who took this photo later stated he didn’t know what happened.

The photo was published in The New York Times in March of 1993, and sparked a wide reaction. People wanted to know what happened the child, and if Kevin Carter, the photographer, had assisted her. The Times issued a statement saying that the girl was able to make it to the food station, but beyond that no one knows what happened to her. Because of this, Carter was bombarded with questions about why he did not help the girl, and only used her to take a photograph.

Carter estimated that there were twenty people per hour dying at the food center. The child was not unique. Regardless, Carter often expressed regret that he had not done anything to help the girl, even though there was not much that he could have done, in all actuality.

Edmund Burke said the following “The only way for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Regardless of whether our actions will produce change, or do good or not, let us choose to error on the side of trying. Eyes Up-Do the Work!