I’ll return to writing about my work shortly, but I’ve enjoyed reading blogs from other international volunteers over the weekend and wanted to share one I found particularly inspiring. Here is a short excerpt, and I’ll link to the full post below. As I read it, I couldn’t help but re-think my time in Kibera and in the villages outside Kiminini and agree with Taylor. Despite their rough conditions, the people here take comfort in what they do have, and are happy simply enjoying the company of their friends and family. I know I could personally stand to remember this more when I return home. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
“I used to talk to people on the ground all the time. I would ask them – what is poverty to you, and what is wealth? You see you could have a house with a cement floor and hardly a roof. You and your family eat rice and beans on the hard floor, maybe not even swept. And someone sees that and thinks – my, you have a house! And that is something, and you are rich.”
“Poverty is relative,” I nod.
“It is, indeed. Not just relative to others who have more or less than you, but relative to your expectations. It’s a question of vision. When you look at your life and it doesn’t look like your vision, it’s then that you feel poor.”
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2010/04/30/microfinance-skeptics-rethink-your-vision-of-success/
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