Love is to show affection to someone or something. If only we can show Love to each other, several human lives can be saved. Consider the following examples:
In 2000, the Ebola hemorrhagic virus struck the Gulu district in Northern Uganda, killing over 250 out of the 425 infected persons. Most of the medical workers ran away in fear of the relatively unknown disease. Dr. Mathew Lukwiya was enjoying an interlude of study and family life after seventeen years of fourteen-hour workdays of service as a physician when he heard of the Ebola fever, and left his wife, Margaret, and their five children behind in the country’s major city and headed back to the hospital in Gulu. He took important steps to curtail the spreading epidemic, alerting authorities in Kampala to it, isolating victims in a special ward, and tightening safety precautions for medical personnel, whose bodies must be completely covered in protective gear before encountering patients. Dr. Lukwiya was one of the people who tried to make patients comfortable, but in doing so committed a fatal error, leaving his face uncovered. He became a victim of the Ebola Disease out of his Love for Service and to save his fellow countrymen. He however saved lives of thousands of individuals who could have contracted the disease had he not exhibited leadership and courage to curtail the victims of the virus. He had Love for his work and for the people he served and died doing that on the 5th of Dec 2000.
“I am HIV Positive,” said Philly Lutaaya, shocking the country by admitting that he had the dreaded virus. He became the first Ugandan to declare that he was HIV/AIDS positive at the time when stigmatization was at its peak. He created awareness about the less known deadly disease by singing and addressing community gatherings. He was one of the pioneers in the fight against HIV/AIDS and stigmatization in Uganda, eventually leading to a drop of HIV infections and deaths from 28% to 6.4%. He succumbed to his death on the 15th of December 1989. For the Love of his country, he challenged the fear of man and gave himself to serve a higher purpose of educating communities on positive living.
Amidst strong opposition from some circles, President George. W. Bush committed colossal sums of money to fight HIV/AIDS in the developing world. The first beneficiary of PEPFAR became a Ugandan from a different continent to that of the president and his compatriots who took the noble decision to save lives. In working towards achieving a free HIV/AIDS generation, President Bush showed great Love for mankind.
Noerine Kaleeba, the Founder of TASO Uganda – the first organization in the world to start a community program to fight HIV/AIDS; Nelson Mandela of South Africa – the liberator of Black South Africans from apartheid; Wangari Maathai – the Kenyan environmental activist; Uganda’s medical Practioners, who spend 10 hours daily working for only US$ 280 per month; and our Own Barbara Bush – the Founder of Global Health Corps, are among several other individuals have utilized THE ART OF LOVING to touch thousands of Lives in this world.
Thousands of orphans, special needs persons, mothers, the elderly, the displaced, the hungry and the sick desire for your Love and affection. If only we can show some Love for our work and to mankind just like the mentioned persons did, the world would be a much better place to live in and raise our children. Let’s give some Love for the good of humanity.