Your problems are my problems too...

originally uploaded by Rabujee.

Yes, we've gone through it before in the news: the ongoing energy crisis is a menace for drivers around the world. We all know how its been affecting OUR lives presently. But do we really know what others around the world are experiencing?

In Central Asian countries power generation is solely dependent on water based plants, which meant that the sub-zero temps and harsh winters this year froze over the water supplies that had not already been depleted.

So what were citizens left with? Not much. In some villages of Tajikistan, the residents received a max of only 2 hours of electricity in a day. During the nights, many reported layering up in jackets and sleeping under one blanket as a family to keep themselves warm. Sadly, hospitals were also affected by the outages so maternity wards had to pronounce many babies dead soon after birth (although the government will deny this).

Uzbekistan villages report reverting back to old ways to provide heat and cook food. The logging however has resulted in whole villages without a single tree intact. Of course that can't be good for their economy since villagers rely on selling fruit grown on those very trees to make a living.

Moving on down to Southeast Asia, Pakistan's power cuts averaged 10 hours daily and are still ongoing, even as the summer sets in and temps reach (and surpass) 3 digits.

I'm sure many similar stories reverberate across the world, for now these are enough to make us cringe. If that is the effect on us, imagine living through it all.

Lesson: Always look at those less fortunate than you, not out of arrogance, but to practice humility. Then count your blessings, become empowered, and make a move to HELP them in whatever ways, big or small.