Delayed Blog Action Day Post – Poverty
Yesterday was Blog Action Day, but I was too sick to move for most of it, so I ended up not getting my post done. I`d still like to do it though, because, living in Guatemala, poverty is something that I see every day.
Third world countries like the one I live in are wracked with poverty. It`s shocking when you first arrive . . . the little children dressed in rags,people missing arms or legs begging on the street. After a while, though, you start to get used to it . . . almost immune.
I`ve learned that the majority of children who beg here in Antigua are actually not that poor. How do I know this? Well, I`d been told this, but never believed it until I saw two of the children that used to come begging, sad and dirty, around the bar where I worked. They got on my bus, dressed in private school uniforms! Now, if their begging from gringos was helping them achieve a better education, I`m not really against it, but the truth is, it`s disheartening to think that some beggars are just greedy.
That doesn`t mean that poverty isn`t a big issue here though. I`ve seen first hand families who didn`t have milk to feed their babies and in some cases the mother isn`t able to breastfeed. They give the babies cornstarch cooked in water to fill them up. And people wonder why infant mortality is so great here!
Did you know that women entrepreneurs are more likely to give back to the community than males? I think that being a mother gives work at home moms a special place in our hearts for helping people, particularly little ones or moms like us. At the moment, I don`t earn enough to do a lot, so I donate to Kiva, usually choosing single moms who need a loan for their business. But in the future, I`d like to set up a foundation to provide prenatal vitamins and later formula and milk for mothers and children here in Guatemala.
What do you do to give back with your business?
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