Poverty

This weekend I was able to spend Saturday with Nita, the woman whose house I am staying in along with Eva, another volunteer who lives with me who is from Germany....and two other woman Abigail and Laura who were from Nigeria and Namibia who were staying at Nita's house this weekend.

We had an amazing day together, talking, having lunch, shopping....really an amazing day! At one point we were talking and the topic of poverty came up. It was such an amazing discussion to me. Here were 5 different women who all grew up in different places and we all had a different opinion on what poverty really meant.

How do we really define poverty? Do you tend to define poverty as a physical state or something bigger than that? As an American there are so many people here that I would say live in poverty.....but why? Simply because I look at them and see how little they have?

Abigail was talking about how a tribe close to her does not wear clothes....simply cover up with mud...but even if they were to be given clothes they would sale them. They are completely happy with how they live...they do not have need for clothes that we see as necessary...then there are the people who use animals for transportation...we may say they are in need because they do not have a car...but they have a way to get around....

I know my words are not even touching the surface of our conversation. But, I wanted to attempt to share it with you...maybe get you thinking about poverty in a different way. Is poverty really such a state of physical need or more a state of spiritual/emotional? Even to the level of being in a place where you do not think you can do better than what you have...a place where in America at least people will stay un-married so they can receive more government help?