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What I mean is....
What I mean is....
Blog Action Day 2008
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My parents moved to Canada when I was just entering senior kindergarten. I’ve grown up with clean water, a bed and electricity. I’m lucky. When I was in grade 6 I went to the Philippines, where my family is originally from, and I saw people who are not so lucky.

We were riding along in a jitney, a colourful cross between a taxi and a bus, and I am just minding my own business when I feel a rough cloth scrape across my foot. I looked down to find a small child, who was maybe 5 or 6, cleaning my sandals. At first I was surprised and then I just started to feel awkward. I felt awkward because this kid was cleaning another kid’s sandals, my sandals. Then I started to feel guilty, I wanted to give him anything that would take that look out of his eyes but my 11 year old self had to settle with having my parents give him a few pesos so that he could carry on his way.

I think that was my turning point in life when I realized that those kids you see on TV are real, they are in the streets, they are cleaning shoes, they are eating left over McDonald’s fries left on restaurant tables and they’re just kids- kids who are just minding their own business, just like I was minding my own business on the jitney.

I believe that the first step to alleviating poverty is through understanding. An understanding that we are in this world together; after all we all feel the heat of the same sun, all gaze up at the same stars and sleep under the same moon so why can’t understanding and overcoming poverty be something we all do together? It's time we open our minds and realize that poverty affects us all.





October 15, 2008 | 5:30 PM Comments  0 comments

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