How are the children?
Re “Complete coverage of the Vinton County child endangerment case” July 9: As details continue to emerge about the heartbreaking situation in Vinton County, I was struck by The Columbus Dispatch’s article on Ohio’s emergency funding to help care for the sixteen rescued children.
There will rightly be investigations, accountability and difficult questions.
But one part of the story deserves recognition now: one of Ohio’s first public responses was to ensure these 16 children were safe and received the care they need.
That reminded me of a traditional Maasai greeting: “How are the children?” The expected response is, “All the children are well.” It reflects a belief that a community’s well-being is measured first by the well-being of its children. Whatever we eventually learn about this case, that remains the right first question.
Before politics. Before blame. Before debate.
How are the children?
The answer, in this case, is that they are finally safe and beginning what will likely be a long journey toward healing. We owe them that care, and we owe them honest answers about how this happened. Perhaps we should measure our communities the same way the Maasai do.
Until we can confidently answer, “All the children are well,” our work is not finished.
Kimberly Tice, Mt. Gilead
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Vinton County child abuse case: Ohio kids are not well | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Letters to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
