“What do the children of India most need?”
The question was asked of an earnest young teacher, at home on her first furlough. It was easy to see how quickly her thoughts flew back to that school for little low-caste children which had so recently been started, and with a far-away look in her eyes she answered:—
“What the children of India need is childhood itself. They are little old men and women, and they need to learn what it means to be happy, care-free children, to play, and to have good times.”
“What do the children of Syria most need?”
This time it was a beautiful, young missionary mother who answered quickly:—
“The greatest need of the children in Syria is educated motherhood. They are born, carried around, and then turned loose to do as they please as soon as they are able to toddle. It would mean that they would be kept clean physically, would be properly fed, taught, and trained.”
“What is the greatest need of the children in Persia?”
The answer came from a father of little children who had himself been a missionary’s child in Persia and knew well the country and its needs.
“What Persian children need is proper home environment.” A splendid Christian teacher was talking with one of the boys of our Moslem school about personal purity. “That is all very well,” responded the boy, “but what do you really expect of me with my training and home life when my father has had one hundred and five wives?”
“What do the children of America need?”