Visiting a Third World Country and My Experience There Essay

I’ve lived in places where healthcare was inaccessible, where doctors were not fully equipped with the tools necessary to preform regular checkups, and where people died chilling deaths from misdiagnoses or lack there of. I was born in Khartoum, Northern Sudan as my parents were in transit to come to the land of the free from Eritrea. In the midst of its 30-year war with Ethiopia, both of my parents fled the compromised country at the age of 18 and 20. The war had made it difficult for children to attend school, therefore my parents fled with what would be considered a middle school education. After two years and through much treachery, we successfully made it to America.

Going to Haiti is an incredible adventure and it really puts in perspective how much I take for granted everyday. Most Haitians my age have no bed to sleep on, a small shack which they call home and share with their extensive families, and not a clue what they are going to do that day when they wake up. In a way, which may sound selfish, I wish to live like them to feel what it’s like to always be happy and full of spirit regardless of the food they eat or the clothes on their backs. I have many memories and experiences similar to the ones shared and I had moments like those spent with Kata and the man during village ministry every day with various Haitians. The Haitians impact my life more and more every second I am there, and even though Haiti may seem like the poorest country in the world and the mosquitos are horrible, and the heat could drive one mad, I will always choose Haiti over any other place in the world as my happy place, and there is not a place I’d rather be than

As we age, we gain a greater ability to understand and acquire knowledge about the world around us. This is a natural process that transpires throughout life. Often associated with the coming of age, the loss of innocence is a single or set of events that prompts a sudden realization or new perspective; this is a theme occurs in many literary works. The loss of innocence is a prominent theme in the short story “A&P,” portrayed in the main character Sammy.

I felt so loved and deeply connected with God, and all I wanted was for others to feel the same way. In my heart I knew it was inevitable that in my life I would not always feel as free and loved as I did on this journey, but I hoped I would able to look back on my time at Kairos and be able to recall how much the retreat meant to me and be grateful for the time spent there. I decided that to live the fourth I would maintain this spirit of love and acceptance by understanding other’s stories and really getting to know people before I judge them. My first time back visiting St. Coleman’s after Kairos gave me a new perspective on all the people there, as people living in poverty are so often labeled as people who do not work or they must have done something to be in this situation, but in reality it is often not the case. This particular day in March that I visited Saint Coleman’s was the director of the meal program’s last day. The past twenty years that Eileen had worked at Saint Coleman’s she touched the lives of hundreds of people who walked through those doors on Saturday looking for a place to go and a hot meal to eat. Even I, who had seen Eileen work only the past three years, felt myself getting teary eyed as she said goodbye to all of the people. Eileen is an inspiration to me in my efforts to live the fourth through love and acceptance and she always

Nelson Mandela once said, “Poverty is not natural it 's man-made.” This quote states that a person can overcome poverty if one has the desire to live a better life. In a novel called Poor People written by William T. Vollmann, the author travels around different countries and places to learn about poor people and to get a global perspective view. While interviewing different kinds of people, Vollmann would ask them one question: why are you poor? Looking at people 's answers Vollmann noticed that some of the people gave quite interesting answers. Vollmann went through a lot of situations where he just couldn 't imagine what life would be if he was ever to live like that. Another novel that has a similar poverty situation is called Let The Water Hold Me Down, written by Michael Spurgeon. Hank, the main character of the novel, experiences a tragic moment in his life. Losing his wife and daughter while drowning, this tragedy left him feeling like it’s all due to his miscarrying about them. His life becomes full of sorrow, and the only way out it was to go to Mexico to his friend’s place and restart his life over. In a new country of Mexico, this story takes place. Even though he had money, a house, and friends’ support, he still experienced lots of pressure trying to survive in Mexico. Poverty has different meanings in everyone 's lives but by reading these two novels, there are three similarities that can be made about people living in poverty.

A couple years ago, I noticed something while my mother was taking me to the mall. It was an indigent man with a sign stating “Help me”. Often as a child, I wanted to assist needy individuals around me. This seemed like a substantial opportunity to make that into a reality, I opened my car window and held out change. He came running and took the money while uttering the words “God Bless You”. This hit me hard. I thought about this for a while and it occurred to me that we take our lives for granted, but don’t realize that millions and millions of people cannot enjoy life because money is an immense need. In third world countries, there are not enough money and facilities available. Being born and growing up in Canada, I didn't realize that

It was my first time in the Dominican Republic, away from my parents and traveling alone. It was also my first mission trip and I loved every minute of it. As I sat and looked around the village of slums and shacks, I saw that the people were so giving and friendly. They had next to nothing, and yet they were still volunteering to give more.

In my travels of the world I have found myself immersed in many cultures and varieties of ethnicity; I have been very fortunate to live in a day and age where such communication and experience is possible in one lifetime. I have seen La Cathedral de Notre Dame, the Statue of Liberty, the home of Da Vinci, and so many more wonderfully spiritual and historic monuments. Yet still I can say with the utmost certainty that no location has left such a lasting impact on my soul as the quaint, simple country of Costa Rica. Although many places have penetrated me with a sense of what the majestic earth and her inhabitants are capable of and have forced me to question whether or not anything is beyond the grasp of human ingenuity, none have brought

Seeing a kid who will hold a gun before they hold their first book. Seeing a teenager my age injecting himself with heroin instead of injecting himself with knowledge. Seeing an elderly person who, when looking back at their life, will remember nothing but memories of misery. These things can't be read in a book or seen on a television. The truth is, you will never understand what people are truly going through until the day you look at them in the eyes. With members of my team, I worked tirelessly to build a home for a man named Serafin who no longer had a roof to live under in the slum. It was both the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and the most rewarding. Serafin now had a home where he and his family could live in, and I had a new set of eyes to look at the world through. Later that day, I experienced what life was on the other side of the spectrum. Ironically enough, hours after being in Ciudad Bolivar, I found myself at a family wedding in one of Colombia's most luxurious country clubs. Most people were wearing articles of clothing and accessories that individually were worth more than everything a person in Ciudad Bolivar would own in their

The first half of my lifetime took place in Chimbote, which was once the industrial port of Peru. Due to low budgets and no government planning, this resource rich port turned into cesspool of industrial waste. The area of Chimbote in which I was raised, La Caleta, is still underdeveloped and lacks urban infrastructure. Although I was young, I remember seeing the poverty in the rural area around me. Outside of my neighborhood was a pool of waste, and every morning on my way to school I would see children searching through the waste trying to find a meal. The other half of my lifetime took place in Dallas, Georgia. At the time I moved there, the area was still bare and lacked many of the amenities you can find there today. While I was a resident

However, nearing the end of my stay in Myanmar, while serving food at an orphanage, I had one of the most inspirational conversations I have ever had in my life. When I had finished my task, I was given the opportunity to interview a homeless man. His parents abandoned him at the age of 4, and he was forced to live at a nearby orphanage. When he had reached the age of 16, he left the orphanage due to the abusive caretakers. He spent the next 5 years living as a wandering nomad. He was living and finding food wherever he could.

One night, I asked my dad and mom what their lives were like. Both my parents came from poor families and left their homes in Trinidad and China because of rough times. My mom left China because of its communist state, and my dad left Trinidad because of revolts and riots. When they came to Hawaii, they lacked resources, English language skills, and money.

From the moment I set foot outside San Jose Airport, I knew this trip to Costa Rica would be an amazing experience. Mountains which surrounds the airport was breathtaking and signaled the great experienced that was in stored for us. Our tour guide Daniel was very helpful and explained in vivid detail about the surroundings. The environment resembled very much about my home country Sri Lanka, and it gave me an overwhelming feel of happiness, almost like I came back home. I was feeling a little sad because my roommate Shannon missed her flight, but on the way to the hotel, Dr. Rhodd announced that she would luckily be joining us the next day.

Upon arrival, our first activity was to work in the trailer park. While these people were not homeless, they were in quite severe poverty. However, they were nothing like one may expect. One was a very friendly older woman who had worked and gone to college in her younger days but she had been abducted and hurt severely in her twenties. Even though that happen, she was cheerful and had poetic talents. Another was a family whose screen door we replaced because they could not afford a new one. The father was hard working and was made sure all of his children had an education and a roof over their head while the mother cooked and cleaned. Each was doing their part to make the best of their lives. The last was a middle aged couple who needed their trailer badly cleaned. They not only were thankful but they prayed over our group before we left. We a blessing to each of their lives but, they were to ours as

After watching the video on Mary's meals and the poverty of children all over the world it almost opened my eyes to problems i've never noticed before. First of all, I realized that my life is great and that everything that I have is amazing and I should cherish every minute because people have it much worse than me. Next I came to a realization that poverty is much worse than what I ever could expect. For example this one girl was only 12 years of age and both of her parents had died. This meant that she had to take care of her both her younger brothers with no job and no money. The only way that they could get food was through the power of Mary’s meals with supplies about ½ a million meals every to school children and orphans with no food.