All God's Children
Stories of Children at Risk in a World of Need
By Mary Batchelor and Ron Newby. Global Care Publishing. 183 pages. £12.99
ISBN 0 9533929 0 2
Suffering from a touch of compassion fatigue? Don't disregard this book. You won't regret buying it - the proceeds all go to the Coventry-based Christian charity 'Global Care', who since 1983 have been making a difference to suffering children in various parts of the world.
I was not too keen to read, let alone review, this book, as I felt I had heard it all before: all, that is, except the name of this charity. Yet as I began to get into the book, my cynicism faded - the motto of the organisation appealed to me: 'You cannot do everything, but you mustn't do nothing!' - and soon, the occasional irritating cliches lost importance as I learnt of the terrible suffering of little children and the great difference the kindness of Christians has made in their lives. At the same time, I realised that far from loading me down with an even heavier sense of guilt at my own feeble response, I was being encouraged to do my bit - however large or small that bit might be.
