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Chase (3) and Beckett (1)[/caption]By Elizabeth Hopfinger Thompson, eduKenya CommunicationsNext Monday, January 21 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Reverend King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that he prophetically delivered at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. It has been several years since I’ve read his vision for racial reconciliation and equality, so I re-read his famous speech in preparation for the day. (Read the full speech here).Inspired anew by Reverend King’s dreams for his children and children everywhere, I was galvanized to dream for my children. What do I dream about for my two young boys? Who do I hope they become? My initial list included the following:

• I have a dream that my children will grow up to believe deep in their bones that they are loved not because of what they can do, but because of who they are and whose they are.
• I have a dream that my children will be joyful, content and hopeful people who purpose to live out love and grace in the world.
• I have a dream that my children will choose to see all other people as beloved children of God, made in his image and created by him.
• I have a dream that my children will find joy and purpose in their work, and have the courage to pursue their dreams.
• I have a dream that my children will invest their lives in communities of people who believe in them.

These are good dreams. Yet the list is conspicuously incomplete when I consider the dreams of countless parents around the world whose children were born into poverty and injustice. Crawling into the shoes, for instance, of a mother living with HIV in Anywhere Slum whose husband died of AIDS leaving her to care for their five children, I can see how vastly different her dreams might be from mine. I imagine her dreams might include the following:

• I have a dream that I will get lifesaving medications so I can live long enough to see my children grow up.
• I have a dream that I will learn a new skill to generate income for my children to eat, and so my children won’t have to drop out of school to work.
• I have a dream my children won’t become sick and die from a water-born disease because our water is contaminated.
• I have a dream my children will have enough food each day so they can dream hopefully about their futures, not be distracted by constant rumbling in their bellies.
• I have a dream my children will be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse, and won’t enter the sex trade by force or by choice because I can’t provide for their basic needs.
• I have a dream that my children will live to see adulthood, be more educated than I am and escape the vicious cycle of poverty.

There are countless women and men across our globe toiling each day, earning barely enough to provide for their children, who carry these fundamental dreams for their children. These dreams form the substratal for all other loftier dreams like the ones I listed for my children, and reveal extensive disparity between our realities. The list of dreams I hold for my children therefore must expand to include the following:

• I have a dream that my children will work for justice and equality for people around the world who were not born into privilege the way they were.
• I have a dream that my children will learn to sacrificially share, not their toys like they struggle to share now, but their resources, talents, lives and love with those in need.
• I have a dream that my children will value diversity and seek friendships with people who are different because they value the perspectives of others and want to learn from them.
• I have a dream that my children’s hearts will be broken by the things that break the heart of God, and that they will join with God in bringing about peace, justice and freedom in the world.
• I have a dream that my children will live in earnest response to Reverend King’s assertion that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
• I have a dream that my children will not lose hope and faith in the face of evil, but be buoyed by the One who is faithful and will right all wrongs and make all things new.

Fifty years ago, Reverend King proclaimed an exigent call for freedom to a country deeply divided along racial and socioeconomic lines, concluding his speech with the words of an old spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Fifty years later, we have the responsibility of carrying forward his vision of freedom, knowing that it is rooted in God’s own command that we loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share food with the hungry, provide the poor wanderer with shelter and clothe the naked (Isaiah 58). Today I join with parents around the world in dreaming for my children and for their children: for hope, justice, peace, joy, fullness of life and freedom.Stay tuned next week for a special series of blog posts highlighting the dreams of children, parents and eduKenya staff in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.