Let's Stop Talking About the Poor
Mariah (one of our summer volunteers) & Niva It is hard for me when we talk about the poor. I wouldn't want to be characterized and defined by my financial status, because there is more to me than how much money I do or don't make. So why do we do that to some people in the world? To be honest, I sometimes wonder if “the poor” or “people in 3 rd world countries” or any of those phrases should be used at all. Saying “the poor” is actually very impersonal. So I want to break that open today, and shatter it a little bit. Let me introduce you to some people I love. When I try not to waste food at a restaurant, it is not the poor that I am thinking about. I am thinking about Niva. Niva is a sixteen-year-old girl who lived a couple miles down the road from me in Haiti. Niva is very shy and sometimes covers her mouth and hides her face when she talks to me, which means I can’t hear what she says. I have to ask her to repeat herself often. When she repeats herse