Nicholas D. KristofI went back to the women and said, 'Tell me exactly what you want us to do.' And they said, 'Don't do anything for us, do somethingfor our children'.
About This Quote
The actress-turned-activist Shirley MacLaine was speaking about her efforts to help children in war-torn Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010. She traveled to the country where the aftermath of the disaster had been reported as "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II." What she saw was terrible. After spending time with the people, she came back to America and met with some of the members of Congress, including President Barack Obama. In a talk at the University of Pennsylvania, she said: “I went back to the women and said, ‘Tell me exactly what you want us to do.' And they said, ‘Don't do anything for us, do somethingfor our children.' My reaction was: 'But how can you live without water? How can you live without food? How can you live without shelter?' They said: 'We have been doing that for years…don't do anything for us.
Do somethingfor our children. ' In her new book about the trip, My Life So Far , MacLaine acknowledges that some people say that her efforts are not enough. But how much more does anyone need? It is better than nothing.
This is what we should all be doing for one another.
Source: Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide
Some Similar Quotes
- A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.
- I would always rather be happy than dignified.
- Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like...
- It’s probably not just by chance that I’m alone. It would be very hard for a man to live with me, unless he’s terribly strong. And if he’s stronger than I, I’m the one who can’t live with him. … I’m neither smart nor stupid,...
- I am not an angel, ' I asserted; 'and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me - for you will not get it, any more than I shall...
More Quotes By Nicholas D. Kristof
- I went back to my room and spent all night contemplating whether it was possible in life not to be constantly let down. If it could ever be worth pinning your happiness to another person, when all other people ever seemed to do was disappear.
- I became convinced that I was being watched. Because self was still leaking everywhere, a part of me began to think it was Mizuko rather than a stranger. I hoped that there might still be a reunion. I hoped it in the shy, sly way...
- It never ceased to amaze me how she just had the facts always, in her head. It occured to me that if, or when, she died, a whole load of facts, a body of knowledge, might disappear without a trace.
- Or maybe it was already too late; you only get one first love. She was mine, but I had not been hers. She was only going to look for some echo of it, and if I had made the right noises, that echo might have...
- That night I dreamt about the roses laid at the wrong feet–the feet of the nurse. Each bit of the dream was like a hyperlink. I pressed on one, wanting answers, and it took me to another. I could never get to the meaning at...