What do we really need?
Mark Pavilons

Despite the harsh economic winds that seem to be blowing outside, one thing has become clear, as crystalline as the ice patterns building up on our windows.

For most of us, we really don't need or even want anything this holiday season.

That realization could help save a life, literally.

I've said this repeatedly for the past couple of years, on my birthday and as Christmas approaches.

Apparently, I'm not alone. While it's understandable that households earning more than $100,000 annually don't really need anything, those in the lower income brackets seem just as comfortable.

Canadians admit the greatest necessities are health care, food, education and shelter - things we take for granted, but are mere dreams for millions of souls around the globe.

I can't fathom such disparity. We can spend trillions on war and space exploration, yet we can't stop millions of preventable deaths from hunger and disease.

It's not right. And I think we need to do more than just shake our heads and pucker our lips at such daily tragedies.

Not wanting anything should not be construed with having everything. My family is far from well off, so there are things that would definitely help our situation. We're trying to teach our children about the importance of caring for others and the global realities. They are involved in every school and community fund-raiser that comes along. It's important for everyone.

"We all have the means to bestow on others the most lavish gifts; love, joy, peace, hope, kindness, acceptance, encouragement, laughter, forgiveness, time. The more you spend, the wealthier you become; yet nothing will cost you more than what you freely possess to give."

Eden Eliot To understand a greater, universal need is worth its weight in goats, chickens and clean water.

I guess you know what I'm getting at here.

World Vision Canada is hoping the majority of Canadians who say they don't want or need anything this year turn their attentions outward. The majority of civic-minded Canucks also prefer to share a meaningful gift with the less fortunate.

That's very encouraging.

In fact, 86 Bolton residents last year spent a total of $13,289 through World Vision Canada's catalogue to help less fortunate people in the Third World. While encouraging, that number represents only three-tenths of one per cent of Bolton's population. More of us complain about traffic on a daily basis. We likely throw away veritable fortune in Third World equivalents on monthly basis. We don't give it much thought in our unfulfilling, disposable society. And that makes me sad, too.

I wonder what percentage of the local population buys a coffee each day; plans to buy a new vehicle, or will opt for a top-of-the-line plasma TV this holiday season.

The comparable life-saving values are incredible.

Yes, a new digital camera would be nice, even though it may be out of date in year or so. That $450 camera would feed 300 hungry children for one month!

And that $4,000 TV and entertainment centre would build a home for children orphaned by AIDS.

Wait, for the more budget conscious among us, there are some real bargains in World Vision's catalogue.

For $30 (a new DVD release), you could provide a teacher with a set of textbooks to teach an entire class for one year. Another $75 would outfit that same class with desks and chairs.

For $200 (the cost of a nice dinner out) you could provide two families with roughly 150 eggs a year, from eight hens and four roosters. You could provide access to medication to help three HIV-positive mothers avoid infecting their babies, plus clothing for 50 children.

For $2,000, roughly the equivalent of a nice piece of workout equipment like a treadmill, you could stock 20 medical clinics with vital supplies, including syringes, IV kits, painkillers, bandages and medicines.

How about mosquito nets, warm blankets and antibiotics ($10 each)?

Hard to believe, isn't it?

I've found it very unnerving that we in the west get fatter and richer, while the plight of the less fortunate hasn't changed one iota.

I would think that the more wealth there is to go around, all would benefit. Why would we keep it all to ourselves and not share with our brothers and sisters? Do we really need more and more?

I am at a loss to explain this aspect of our society. In my household, I remind my kids every chance I get. They will only read about depressions, post-war struggles and being born into poverty. They need to feel it in their hearts.

It's estimated there's enough gold in our oceans to give each human being nine pounds of the stuff. At current prices, that's more than $110,000 apiece. Can you imagine the dent that would put in world poverty?

We are in an era of the have-nots and have-mores. No one said life was fair.

Tell that to goopy-eyed African toddlers; emaciated Asian single mothers or an entire Latin village.

Don't reach for your remote. Reach for phone, or hop on the computer and visit World Vision's Web site at WorldVision.ca.