Thoughts on poverty

But first I just have to say that one cool advantage of living in Nicaragua is that there are so many volcanoes, lakes, oceans, and jungles to explore. I am happy to be taking advantage of it whenever I get the chance. Check out Mombacho Volcano that some friends and I climbed over Christmas break:

At the beginning...

There was a coffee plantation halfway up with free samples, so good!

Check out the view from the top, Granada is in the background

The top of the volcano is a cloud forest


It was so green, with moss and ferns covering everything

What is poverty?

After living in Nicaragua for almost two months I am beginning to get a clearer sense of poverty and the different approachs used to fight it. Here are some thoughts on what poverty is from the book, When Helping Hurts, as well as from talking to people working in development organizations, and talking to the poor themselves:

• the lack of education
• money
• clean water
• food
• medication or access to any form of healthcare
• aduquate shelter

BUT, it's more than the physical, it is also

• powerlessness
• humiliation
• inferiority
• fear
• and depression

It can be caused by both personal choices as well as the system (government, economy, social, and religous) that surrounds the poor. It is interesting because people's view on the cause of poverty directly affects what they do about it. I feel honored to work for an organization that understands the complexity of poverty, recognizing that change requires long term work. I guess thats why they call it development! More thought on this later...

A waterfall that was in the backyard of a family that sometimes struggles to feed themselves.