Today has been an incredibly emotional day so far. It was one of the days I had to visit homes in the community of William Galeano (subdivision of Managua, Nicaragua). I was delivering bags of rice, bread and other life saving items to peoples homes. Extreme Poverty is the short phrase that describes what I witnessed today. Almost the entire time I was in someones home, the one recurring thought that would not leave me was why do some people have so much and others have less than nothing? To me, it seems that simply being born in this part of the world condemns a person into extreme poverty. What did I personally do or deserve to be born in comparative wealth and others into desperate situations. Yet, everyone who I visited today treated me like I had been their life long best friend. We smiled, talked and laughed with each other. The visit alone seemed to move something in their spirit. I am rarely or ever that happy to see someone who I do not know. And when I inconspicuously glanced around their homes, some without roofs or with partial walls, I also wondered if I could survive in the same situations. boiling hot weather and of course not air conditioning (as there are no solid walls), i could almost not stand that 5 minute visit to each home. Some homes I visited had no inside bathroom, most had dirt floors (now that I think of it i believe all did), and because almost all I visited were amputees, it tore my heart in pieces to see that most homes, seemed to me, were prisons. Until some smiled and laughed, I honestly felt that some were just waiting for the end. And I felt all of my thoughts were confused judgments. I felt relieved that I did these visits this during the morning because it may have been too emotionally taxing had the children been there. They were in the school and clinic where I work. I have already seen too many hungry children and I often feel absolutely helpless to do anything to help. Today, i have almost completely forgotten it is almost Thanksgiving in the United States and i cringe when i see posts of never ending menu items and i wonder if any have any idea how bad it can get. A refrigerator and stove are high luxury items and there is very little food to cook that needs to be refrigerated. cold water is more valued than expensive champagne. And yet, if i was force to measure happiness, it just seems to me that something exists in their spirits that I do not often see. Im sure i do not have it. When they received the rice, bread and their blood pressure readings, the reaction was as if i was handing out bars of platinum. And for those who had pets, I remembered thinking had those dogs or cats been in the states, anyone humane person would have offered them death. And tonight like every night, their homes will be pitched in darkness, as I will go to bed full, wondering what would they do if they suddenly woke to a thanksgiving day table, like I usually have at home in the United States. Anyways, today was a bummer. and its not my attention to bum anyone else out but i wanted to talk. it just makes me sad. But I must find a healthy way to deal with it. tomorrow is another day. Like
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:04:08 +0000
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