I'm not sure exactly why I quoted Uncle Ben (from Spiderman, for those Marvel-challenged individuals that may be reading this), but I feel like I could use his Barry White-like, manly voice for some support on my own life-changing quote "Humility will save the world." I know this probably sounds like the next Heroes tag line or perhaps Diddy's next name and therefore album title, but it's definitely something worthy of being quoted. Since being here, I've been exposed to some of the craziest things I've seen in my life, each breaking my heart every time. I've seen the humility that people with nothing cling to and the pride that blinds others from lowering themselves to help out. If everyone in the world could give this a try, maybe, just maybe, we will be alright and maybe, just maybe, the poorest people can actually begin to live like human beings.
Three weeks ago we went to Oaxaca for the weekend, one of the several trips included in our program. Sunday night, we went out to dinner in the portales in the zócalo of downtown Oaxaca (pretty much a big park in the center of everything with tons of people.) While waiting for our food (sitting at a table outside as goes the environment there), we were approached by several older women trying to sell bracelets and what not and "musicians" trying to make a living by serenading people who don't necessarily want it and therefore don't help foot their bills. As bad as I feel for this people who toss their pride aside and do whatever they can to survive, I'm slowly becoming desensitized to these "tele-marketers" of the street that don't take "no" for an answer. However, what caught my eye most this night and has tugged on my heart ever since can most appropriately be described as the Mexican version of the orphan cast of Annie ("Tommorow, tomorrow, I'll love ya..") belting out what seemed to be a song but sounded more like a kindergarten school play gone horribly wrong. The reason why I feel I need to mention the lack of Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrus stardom (yes I went there), helps emphasize the fact that these kids are out there, deafened by the blindness of their circumstances, doing what they can, or are forced to do, in order to support their families. One older girl continues to hopelessly struggle to find the right pitch while the others (ages of about 5-8) spread out, approaching every table within earshot of the girl to collect their night's earnings. Now it was my turn. A 5ish year old boy, covered in dirt and dust from head to toes, walks up next to my chair and without hesitation pushes his hand on the table and places it in front of each of our plates, carelessly touching our utensils in the process. Lowering his head, he begins his minute long spiel about his family not having money or food, only taking a quick breath to grab his "coworker" and ask what the next part was. Upon finishing, he put his hand back on the table again, looked at each of us and after realizing none of us where reaching into our pockets, simply said "malo" and proceeded to the next table.I sat there for a few seconds, stunned. What could I have done to make this kid's life just a little bit better? Truth was, I had no idea. We didn't want to throw money at them since we have no idea whose hands it would end up in or what propina (tip) jar in the nearest bar it would politely accompany. However, before I could fully get the thought process started in my head, I saw the director of our trip stand up with two little girls at her side. She walked over with them to a snack cart across the path from the restaurant and began purchasing tamarindo candied apple (a snacking favorite in these parts) after tamarindo candied apple for what seemed like the line of "It's A Small World After All" in either of the Disney theme parks. Aka, the line was long. And full of children. Wow. That was truly the perfect idea. Two hundred pesos later, she returned to her seat at the table, leaving 15 of the most innocent, brightest smiles I have ever seen, which I swear lit up the zócalo that night, even causing The Big Guy to unveil his pearly whites. A minute later, one of the little girls returns, holding the hand of the cutest, most disheveled two year old girl in Mexico (and probably the whole world). She walks up to Paola (our director), pulling her shoeless sister by her side, and says that her sister would like one also.
I would like to say that this one incident changed my life. I have been exposed to this level of poverty before in Jamaica and another time I visited an orphanage in Mexico a few year back, but this hit me hard. I need to do something. I want to express the love that God calls us to share with others and I want to do the best I can to be that light in someone else's world. The world needs us to take a stand in God's name and get out there to help save people's lives. My journey has already begun.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15
Now you know the ambivalence that your father and I endured. When people used their talents or sold items for food and money, I gave heartily. I often gave food because I knew who received it and knew that the money wasn't going to alcohol or an addiction. When beggars had their children pretend to be lame or just beg, I felt used but gave something. When I developed a long-term relationship with needy people, I taught them a skill or introduced them to someone who could so that they could use the skill to earn for themselves. I supported missions who taught people skills for income.
ReplyDeleteGive a man fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.
Wow. That was a powerful experience that almost brought tears to my eyes... I can still imagine the dirty faces of the children in India who come up to you, tugging on your clothing and on your heartstrings, simply asking for money or some food to get by. Or the children in Ghana who waited for us to finish eating our meal just so they could finish our scraps to live for another day. I have constantly asked myself why there can be so much poverty in the world and how come we haven't been able to give everyone at least the most basic necessities of life - food, water, clothing, and shelter - each and every person needs to survive. How can almost half of the world's population be living on less than 2 dollars a day when in the U.S. we have so much and can so carelessly throw away something that could potentially benefit someone elsewhere? I have never been able to come up with an answer. The best we can do is, as your mother said, teach people to fish for themselves. Or, even better, help them and their home countries build the infrastructure, social networks, and safety nets needed for any nation to prosper. While I don't know if we will ever be able to solve this problem of global proportions, or help every single person we meet on the street, the best we can do is try, hope for the best and stay positive. In a speech Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave us on our ship, he left us with these words of wisdom: "Continue to be idealistic…Dream, dream, dream the craziest dreams, for often the craziest one's are God's dreams." Maybe with our dreams and aspirations we can make the world a better place.
ReplyDelete- Nate