Better To Light One Small Candle than To Curse the Darkness.

“Better To Light One Small Candle than To Curse the Darkness”

Every morning one picks up the newspaper to see a fresh yet distressing headline, screaming out at us from the crispy off-white pages. One such daunting headline that has suddenly grabbed the attention of the Western media in the recent days is that of poverty and starvation in the continent of Africa. This turn of events came about due to the labors of a few people who had the courage to shine a spark of change in the pitch, black cloud of helplessness that engulfs the everyday lives of Africans even today.

The ‘Live 8’ concert, held this year, was ridiculed by many as doing little in bringing attention to the cause of alleviating poverty and famine in Africa. It was thought of as being too small an effort in regard to the enormity in scale of the problem. However, I believe it was one man’s vision and strength of resolve that made the ‘Live 8’ concert not just one of the greatest concerts in the history of music, but also acted as one of the most important catalysts in speeding up the process of healing Africa. Bob Geldof is this exceptional man.

This gentleman lit a small candle of hope in the face of complete darkness. By this tiny act, he managed to divert the eyes of the world and its leaders to the frightful plight of starving Africans, which allowed them to receive relief almost immediately.

The moral of this essay is that it is always better to get up and do something (no matter how miniscule) to find a solution, rather than to let the sheer size of the problem overwhelm you into not acting at all. Do not be defeated even before trying.

BY: FARIHA RASHED