Poverty

What do you consider to be really poor? Recently we found ourselves in a very remote area north of Arenal near the border of Nicaragua. We had passed the last tiny town, the last house, the last light post, and had even run out of roads maintained with gravel. The only sign of people were the loads of trees, cut and waiting to be hauled out. When we arrived at our destination, we were greeted with a little wooden house surrounded by jungle. The weathered structure stood proudly with a tiny metal chimney puffing out signs of inhabitants.

As we approached, a young man walked out, followed by an older woman. She explained to us that they had lived there a year now, previously they were in Nicaragua. I contemplated their situation, and wondered about what they had left, and if they were better off here or not. Most North Americans would have considered this house as no more than an adequate storage shed, yet here was this family who had uprooted themselves and now called it home. Were they better off? I could not imagine deciding to leave my country, my community, my home, family, and friends to arrive at this place. As poverty goes, around the world, this family was probably middle of the road.

We had agreed to come here with our neighbor who owns the land and had asked us for help to sell it, because he is in need. He lives with his mother in a tin room added on to the back of the tiny house of his niece. There are nine people living in that little house, they have electricity, a bathroom, enough food, and fresh water. Are they poor? How about us. We live in a small house, we have an older car, we are conservative with our spending. Are we poor? A friend of mine is in the process of a divorce, and her soon to be ex-husband has had a hard time finding the means to support both his fine dining, Mercedes sports car lifestyle as well as his children. What is his explanation for not meeting the needs of his family? He claims poverty.