Yesterday was Blog Action Day -- a day for bloggers to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion on the subject of poverty.
Two blogs that I read daily were active participants. And neither one surprised me. (There may have been others that I missed.)
Laurie of Laurie´s Blog Spot is working in Honduras to alleviate poverty. She is surrounded by people who have so little, any small gesture is appreciated.
Two blogs that I read daily were active participants. And neither one surprised me. (There may have been others that I missed.)
Laurie of Laurie´s Blog Spot is working in Honduras to alleviate poverty. She is surrounded by people who have so little, any small gesture is appreciated.
Wayne of Isla Mujeres: Gringo in Paradise, as we know, has been arranging knitted gifts for the children of Xico, and urged his readers to donate through the PayPal link on Viva Veracruz .
I have written on this topic several times over the past week. But I will stick my oar in again.
There is poverty in every community. In some rich communities, it is camouflaged by wealth. In poor countries, such as Honduras, the poverty is overwhelming in its ubiquity. Mexico is somewhere in between.
Most of us get overwhelmed by the travails of the poor. Even if I were to give away everything I own, I could improve the lives of very few. What I can do is help when I see opportunities arise.
And that includes big gestures like reaching into my pocket and giving a homeless person as much as I can spare (or more), or helping the elderly woman get her groceries into her rolling cart. The trick is to look for people who have problems, rather than looking through them.
Last night in the park, I ran into James and Candace, a couple who has been camping in the park for a week. (I think I have been able to get hem readmitted to a shelter. It is a long story.) They were having their dinner. When Candace saw Jiggs, she jumped up, ran over to him, and gave him what was left of her sandwich. I tried to stop her, but Jiggs is a very gracious (and eager) receiver of all food gifts.
I felt awful. They had so little, and they gave part of their food to my pampered dog. Her response almost made me tear up. She said: "I could have eaten it. But it makes me feel better to give."
"It makes me feel better to give." Candace understands how the root of poverty can be solved by healing relationships one person at a time.
It does feel good to give. We may not eliminate poverty, but we can help those put in our path.
I have written on this topic several times over the past week. But I will stick my oar in again.
There is poverty in every community. In some rich communities, it is camouflaged by wealth. In poor countries, such as Honduras, the poverty is overwhelming in its ubiquity. Mexico is somewhere in between.
Most of us get overwhelmed by the travails of the poor. Even if I were to give away everything I own, I could improve the lives of very few. What I can do is help when I see opportunities arise.
And that includes big gestures like reaching into my pocket and giving a homeless person as much as I can spare (or more), or helping the elderly woman get her groceries into her rolling cart. The trick is to look for people who have problems, rather than looking through them.
Last night in the park, I ran into James and Candace, a couple who has been camping in the park for a week. (I think I have been able to get hem readmitted to a shelter. It is a long story.) They were having their dinner. When Candace saw Jiggs, she jumped up, ran over to him, and gave him what was left of her sandwich. I tried to stop her, but Jiggs is a very gracious (and eager) receiver of all food gifts.
I felt awful. They had so little, and they gave part of their food to my pampered dog. Her response almost made me tear up. She said: "I could have eaten it. But it makes me feel better to give."
"It makes me feel better to give." Candace understands how the root of poverty can be solved by healing relationships one person at a time.
It does feel good to give. We may not eliminate poverty, but we can help those put in our path.
