Some thoughts...

This is Jeff. I found myself awake early this morning pouring over thoughts about poverty and this trip to Tierra Santa. As a group we’ve had several discussions about what we’ve seen in Honduras in comparison to what we see in the states and it’s made me question my definition of poverty. So, after mulling it over, a few thoughts have come to mind. Let me know what you think.

In some ways I’ve started thinking about poverty in both an absolute and a relative sense. To me, absolute poverty looks like lack of clean water, lack of housing or at least lack of housing that keeps rain and pests at bay, lack of clothing that is clean and in good shape, lack of enough food to allow bodies and brains to develop, limited or no opportunities for education. I’ve seen absolute poverty here in Honduras. Or at least I think I have. It’s possible I’m being presumptuous. I thought $12 a day was a very low wage until Annie told us that the poverty level in Honduras was closer to $2 per day. In any event, the Hogar provides children a place where absolute poverty is put at bay most days and in many ways. The kids have clothing although they could use more, they have clean water to drink but it comes in jugs and it’s expensive and they don’t have as much as they could use, they have a roof over their heads and beds to sleep in but the walls have termites and brick would be better than wood, they have food to eat but some suffer from the effects of inadequate nutrition before they got to the Hogar.

The difficulty I was having with the word “poverty” stemmed from my experiences in that states. There is poverty in Eden Prairie and in Minnesota and across the U.S. And, while I know there is absolute poverty in the U.S. it is not so easy to see. It is not around as many corners in the town in which we live. It’s harder to see and in some ways harder to have an impact as a volunteer. Instead, I think we see and react to relative poverty. What looks like poverty in Eden Prairie or Minnesota may not look like poverty in Honduras. Many who are in poverty in the U.S. have clean water, have a place to live that is tolerable, have food and education. All may be limited in some way but for most there are clear differences between what the poor have in the states versus a place like Honduras. At the same time we can’t diminish the stress and strain that too little money and too little food and a sense that opportunities are nonexistent put on any family in poverty, whether in the U.S. or not.. In that sense, I think every country has people who are relatively poor, who seek a better life for themselves and their families, and who suffer gravely from the effects of poverty. The family in Honduras making $2 per day may dream of $12 per day while the family in Eden Prairie that has accepts food from PROP may dream of buying their own food all the time.

I’m getting long-winded and I’m not sure I’m getting my point across but to close out the thought…. I think we can all draw circles starting with a circle around Eden Prairie and choose to have an impact that makes good use of our time and resources. There are families in Eden Prairie who need food, clothing and shelter. By Honduran standards of poverty they may be living a more decent life but they have needs that put great strain on their lives and cause physical and emotional damage. We can draw a circle that extends to Louisiana or south Texas and find people in need who are without basics and who have had their lives turned upside down by hurricanes. They are poor in by any definition but have opportunities greater than a large portion of the population of a place like Honduras. Yet, spending time and resources to help them is clearly a noble endeavor. And then, we can draw the circle globally and catch a place like Honduras. Not everyone here is poor, of course. Most aren’t. There is commerce and education and health care and all the things we might use as markers of prosperity. But, by our standards, the needs are great and it is worth our time to find ways to help in place like this as well.

I guess my point is that at various times in our lives we can draw different circles and find different ways to have an impact. Absolute poverty or relative poverty, Eden Prairie or Texas or Honduras or wherever. We can’t get hung up on local versus global and whether we should help at home or 3000 miles away. We should do both. We should change the size of the circles we draw and today, have an impact inside a small circle and tomorrow have an impact inside a big circle.

For what it’s worth.
Jeff