透過舊鞋救命的活動，我常常有機會和我的家人朋友們分享非洲的美麗與掙扎。
記得某天朋友看完我們物資送達的村莊照片後問了我一句話：“那邊會不會有很多人自殺？”
我想了一下：“不會啊，他們的自殺率比我們還要低。”
在那時我才深刻體驗到一件事；只要人們不在病痛和饑餓當中，其實再多的物質生活也未必能帶給人們希望。
一個住在草房的肯亞居民有可能正悠閒的和家人們躺在半山腰的青草地上牧羊，而一個開著百萬名車的台灣上班族有可能正緊繃的在前往公司的路上，準備面對業績和房貸的壓力。
舊鞋救命的心態不是一群先進國家的人由上往下的看著第三世界國家，然後說“哎呦，這些人好可憐哦，我們這裡有很多用不完的東西可以給你們拿去用。”，而是我們了解每個國家所面對的困難不同。今天上帝給了我們這個機會彼此學習，希望他們能看見在受到祝福的時候該分享給其他有需要的人，也希望我們能體會物質不代表一切，更透過這個善行來教育我們的青少年，讓他們因此看見愛、希望與信仰。
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舊鞋救命 www.step30.org
贊助鉛筆 www.an9.com.tw/Dream/1287
Through Step30 project, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to share with my friends and family about the beauty and struggles in Africa.
I remember one day after showing some pictures of the poor villages we work with, my friend asked: “Are there a lot of people trying to commit suicide?”
“Not really, their suicide rate is lower than ours.” I said.
Right then I realized something; As long as people are not suffering from diseases and hunger, owning better materialistic things doesn’t necessarily bring hope to people!
A Kenyan who lives in a mud house might be lying on the bottom of a beautiful hill, joking and laughing with his family as they shepherd a herd of sheep. On the other hand, a Taiwanese who drives a million dollar car might be on his way to work, trying to catch a breath from the pressure of his boss and the mortgage bills that are piling up at home.
Step30 is not about developed countries looking down on the third-world and saying to them: “Oh, look at these poor people. We have so much stuff here, let’s give them some. ” It’s about understanding that each country faces different challenges, and how God has given us this opportunity to learn from each other. We hope to show them the way to share the blessing when it’s given to us, and they have been helping us to see that materialistic things are not all there is, and hopefully through this act of kindness, both of our youth can experience the lesson of love, hope and faith.
