Focus on the Family - Southern Africa

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Focus on the Family Africa Email Newsletters : July 2006

Dear Friend

It’s July and we have already hit the halfway mark for the year 2006.

Did you know that July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month, National Hot Dog Month (in the United States), Anti-Boredom Month, National Culinary Arts Month, National Picnic Month and Nutrition Month (in the Philippines). At Focus on the Family it is another month that holds the potential to impact lives and make a difference to families in Africa.

Our very own Dr Amon Kasambala has been asked to be the keynote speaker at a family conference. He will be addressing the topic "The Family in Crisis” during July and August. Click here for more details.

Our radio broadcasts are having an amazing impact on listeners and everyday we receive phone calls and e-mails in response to the programmes. With programmes in English, Afrikaans, Zulu and more recently Xhosa being broadcast on over 60 stations in Africa, we trust that God is using this ministry to touch the hearts of millions.

As usual you will find below a Question and Answer excerpt by Dr Dobson.

Please click here To find out what exciting radio programmes will be broadcast during the month of July. To find out which stations in your area broadcast our programmes, please click here.

Sincerely

Danie van den Heever
Executive Chairman

QUESTION: You have said that children and young people are experiencing an epidemic of self doubt and feelings of low self esteem. Why do you think this is true?

DR. DOBSON: It has resulted, in part, from an unjust system of evaluating human worth now prevalent in our society. Not everyone is seen as unworthy; not everyone is accepted. Instead, we reserve our praise and admiration for those who have been blessed from birth with the characteristics we value most highly. It is a vicious system, and we, as parents, must counterbalance its impact.

At the top of the list of the most highly respected and valued attributes in our culture is physical attractiveness. Those who happen to have it are often honored and even feared; those who do not may be disrespected and rejected through no fault of their own. This measure of human worth is evident from the earliest moments of life, when an attractive infant is considered more valuable than a homely one. For this reason, it is not uncommon for a mother to be depressed shortly after the birth of her first baby. She had hoped to give birth to a beautiful six week old Gerber baby, having four front teeth and rosy, pink cheeks. Instead, they hand her a red, toothless, bald, prune faced, screaming little individual who isn't exactly what Mom expected.

As the child grows, his or her value as a person will be assessed not only by parents, but also by those outside the home. Beauty contests offering scholarships and prizes for gorgeous babies are now common, as if the attractive child didn't already have enough advantages in life. What a distorted system for evaluating human worth. As author George Orwell has written, "All [people] are equal, but some [people] are more equal than others." 97 The real tragedy today is how often this statement is proven true in the lives of our children.

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