From executive editor Marvin Olasky: A former public relations exec at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently bemoaned the Trump administration’s shutdown of the program and complained that “most Americans won’t notice.” One reason, he said, is that “communication efforts were aimed entirely at Congress and other government insiders” who got private briefings and special tours.

I’ve seen, in countries ranging from Peru to Ethiopia, meetings of delegations where Land Rovers lined up to carry Americans to organizational suites and show them selected sights. Our goal at CT is to proceed in a grittier way: We hope to show you what’s happening on the streets. 

I liked the beginning, middle, and end of one of our African stories headlined “The Accelerating Cost of a Traffic Accident.” We introduced a man with only one leg, in part because after a motorcycle hit him he did not get speedy hospital care.

One reason for his disability grows out of human nature: “Crowds gathered at the scene, blocking the road and causing a heavy traffic jam. A mob attacked the motorcyclist, focused on beating him up instead of helping Wachana’s bleeding leg.” 

CT also looks for the redemptive thread. Wachana told CT, “The Bible assures me that God will never abandon his people.” That’s hope, happening at the street level, not the suite level.