los niños
About a week ago, four young boys followed me home, asking for money or food. They sat down outside my house and watched me eat my lunch. I was almost in tears.
I have no idea how to deal with the poverty of this place sometimes-especially when I catch glimpses of the life of nearby Haiti through the lives of its émigrés. I could 'dress down' in Portland and comforted myself with the knowledge that even when I did not make time to go volunteer or donate food, I was still hardly living in excess when compared to the people around me.
In Portland, though, I was still acutely aware that I had access to worlds completely beyond the grasp of many people around me, and that no traditional measure of success would ever satisfy me as long as I knew that people were going hungry. What's more, I was very aware of the fact that I had arrived at my place in life largely through my karmic arrival in a life of abundance and blessing.
We must recognize how our fortune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contributions of others. Every aspect of our present well-being is due to hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us to enjoy and make use of were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, as does our empathy and closeness to them.
-His Holiness The Dalai Lama
In Portland, though, we have hunger projects and community kitchens, and sustainable job-training programs. Life in Oregon might be bleak, but resources (and opportunities) do exist for people in need. I realize now how important that is.
In the DR, there are no soup kitchens, no free job training, no free emergency medical care or community-access health plans-no safety net. I got a pretty loud wakeup call when I participated in the Urban Action volunteer trip at the beginning of my time at Lewis & Clark, but it was nothing like the experience of my family turning away kids begging for food while serving me more than I could eat.
I understand now why this culture values bigger people: it's a sign of nourishment and the luxury of excess food. The kids who follow me around clearly have no fat to spare. I'm friends with them now, and I give them bags of rice or beans for their families and granola bars for themselves, but it's hardly enough and it definitely won't last beyond my time here.
I think I want to start a hunger project here along the lines of the Oregon Food Bank, with sustainable contributions and resource-referral to other organizations that can help to put their fellow community-members on their feet. I don't know where to start-my Spanish abilities are hardly stellar, and I don't know how to navigate the social ladders or business environments of a country like this. I do, however, have the ability to inspire people with the possibility of no hungry people-I know I can speak powerfully and engage people around me such that they are touched, moved, and inspired.
And I'm starting tomorrow.
People should be able to live without enduring poverty. Grain and other necessities should be given to farmers. Capital should be provided for traders, and proper wages should be paid to the employed. When people have security and can earn an adequate income, they will be contented, without fear and worry. Because of this, the country will be at peace and there will be no crime.
-Digha Nikaya
I have no idea how to deal with the poverty of this place sometimes-especially when I catch glimpses of the life of nearby Haiti through the lives of its émigrés. I could 'dress down' in Portland and comforted myself with the knowledge that even when I did not make time to go volunteer or donate food, I was still hardly living in excess when compared to the people around me.
In Portland, though, I was still acutely aware that I had access to worlds completely beyond the grasp of many people around me, and that no traditional measure of success would ever satisfy me as long as I knew that people were going hungry. What's more, I was very aware of the fact that I had arrived at my place in life largely through my karmic arrival in a life of abundance and blessing.
We must recognize how our fortune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contributions of others. Every aspect of our present well-being is due to hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us to enjoy and make use of were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, as does our empathy and closeness to them.
-His Holiness The Dalai Lama
In Portland, though, we have hunger projects and community kitchens, and sustainable job-training programs. Life in Oregon might be bleak, but resources (and opportunities) do exist for people in need. I realize now how important that is.
In the DR, there are no soup kitchens, no free job training, no free emergency medical care or community-access health plans-no safety net. I got a pretty loud wakeup call when I participated in the Urban Action volunteer trip at the beginning of my time at Lewis & Clark, but it was nothing like the experience of my family turning away kids begging for food while serving me more than I could eat.
I understand now why this culture values bigger people: it's a sign of nourishment and the luxury of excess food. The kids who follow me around clearly have no fat to spare. I'm friends with them now, and I give them bags of rice or beans for their families and granola bars for themselves, but it's hardly enough and it definitely won't last beyond my time here.
I think I want to start a hunger project here along the lines of the Oregon Food Bank, with sustainable contributions and resource-referral to other organizations that can help to put their fellow community-members on their feet. I don't know where to start-my Spanish abilities are hardly stellar, and I don't know how to navigate the social ladders or business environments of a country like this. I do, however, have the ability to inspire people with the possibility of no hungry people-I know I can speak powerfully and engage people around me such that they are touched, moved, and inspired.
And I'm starting tomorrow.
People should be able to live without enduring poverty. Grain and other necessities should be given to farmers. Capital should be provided for traders, and proper wages should be paid to the employed. When people have security and can earn an adequate income, they will be contented, without fear and worry. Because of this, the country will be at peace and there will be no crime.
-Digha Nikaya