Monday, December 2, 2013

If it were my home

There is a website I found when I was studying Geography with Isabella, which is called if it were my home. It compares basic living conditions between any two countries in the world. While quite simple, it is a useful tool to get an idea of how people live around the world and how much we have in developed countries.  Yet, nothing compares with witnessing poverty first hand.
Today we visited our sponsored child "Glendy" and her "house" which she shares with her mom and 5 other siblings. One room made of cinder-blocks, with three beds, a stove, one light bulb hanging precariously from the ceiling and connected using two or three extension cords and electrical tape for the wires strapped around the extension cord's plug-terminals... There is an open-air dirt area that she shares with three or four other families where water is available, but not clean water, along with a stone toilet. Corrugated metal is used for the roof and rusted pieces lay here and there. Mom, who cannot read, works picking vegetables, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week and walks 1 hour each way. 
And Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." (Luke 6:20-23)
This family surely fits all these categories. Does ours?
What if it were my home
I need to find a way to remember this even in the midst of my daily life, once I am back home.








No comments: