What's It Like to Be Poor?

Yesterday I had one of those incredible experiences where one of my favorite little girls asks me a rather interesting question.  ‘What is it like to be poor?’ I continued without asking her whether she ever felt like she was poor. I explained how when we handed out water to the homeless downtown that many of those people didn’t have much of anything. They didn’t have a home; a bed, food, friends or any money and that probably would be considered poor. I continued to say that real poverty is seen more in countries far away. It is hard to fathom kids going to sleep on dirt every night without any food.

I know that my special little friend doesn’t have much but seldom ever complains. It is clear from her inquisitive question that she didn’t consider herself poor. Yet, most of my volunteers coming from outside our community would consider 8 people living in a 1,100 square foot house to be poor. What I love about this story is that my little friend is being raised in a real family where she doesn’t have any fear or concern about anything. She is always very thankful for everything she gets.

My heart breaks for her because her dad died when she was very young. She is very fortunate to have an awesome uncle who has been there for her from day 1! She is also been cared for by her grandma from birth and understands the notion of real sacrificial love through her grandma’s daily actions. What stands out is wholeness has little to do with how much money you have in the bank or whether you have the largest flat screen on your living room wall!

I had the privilege to be involved with Habitat for Humanity for over eight years. It is during my Habitat involvement that I learned about the key to seeing the difference between giving a hand out and a hand up. The conversation about relief work versus doing development work is very difficult. There are circumstances where people are starving to death and need urgent medical care. It is these types of situations that you help someone regardless of asking questions and get them food and a doctor or nurse. The challenge is being able to step back and better understand what has caused the situation.

I know that the word poverty does bring up a picture of a little child who looks like they are four years old but is actually sixteen. I know that most involved with doing community work talk about the difference between giving someone a fish to feed them for a day instead of giving them a fishing pole. The reality is that even with a fishing pole there is no guarantee that the pond will have fish or be clean. So the path of helping someone become self-sustainable starts with seeing poverty as a series of broken relationship that led to someone dying of starvation or a disease that could be curable.

Yes, someone’s relationship with their family impacts their ability to get a job, stay in school, take good care of their home and be a doer and giver instead of a couch potato and taker in life. Our relationship with God is a huge factor in becoming someone that can have hope in life as they face difficult circumstances where most would quit or assume that someone else will rescue them. What I’m learning from little friend’s question is that too often we make excuses for our circumstances and don’t take ownership. She is able to see her life as being beautiful and full regardless of what others might think. I love to say that the cup can either be half full or half empty. My little friend sees her half full cup as being not just full but overflowing.

I know that my hope for my little friend is that she can grow up in a healthily environment where she sees her life as a gift from God with a bright future. I know that her mom, uncle and grandma have made this a reality.