The movie Living on One Dollar tells the story of two friends in college who commit themselves and two members of a camera crew to living in the rural village of Pena Blanca in Guatemala for fifty six days, with a fluctuating income of one dollar a day. The documentary was created to shine light on the extreme conditions millions of people gruel through every day. To open our eyes to the intense need that is dwarfed and obscured by our plentiful and fulfilling lives that we so often overlook and take for granted. I have had first hand experience in witnessing this kind of struggle all over the world, but I still remain struck by one prominent feature - the acceptance of a predestined reality.
Twelve year old Chino lives below the poverty line in Pena Blanca, Guatemala. To sustain his family, Chino's father, Anthony, holds a consistent job cleaning. However Anthony cannot provide for everyone on his own, and therefore needs Chino to work everyday farming on their small plot of land. The low income, divided among many people, along side the constant work, makes it impossible for Chino to attend school. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, the twelve year old boy who works every day simply said, "I will be a farmer." This one response took me aback, and sent me reeling. At the young age of twelve, when most boys are playing sports, attending school, and dreaming of being a football player or a doctor, Chino had already accepted his fate as a low-income farmer. The situation he grew up in had already chosen the rest of his life for him, and opportunity was a rare sight.
If asked if I could live under these conditions, I could easily answer (though with some embarrassment) that there was no way. Families who had lived in such poverty for generations, and had grown up not knowing any other way, continued to struggle not only financially but emotionally each day. As Anthony said, they were, "not just struggling to make our lives better. We are struggling to survive." I know that if these staggering troubles and continuous pains are enough to break and daunt the formidable spirits of the people who have grown up with them, that I stand no chance.
A part of living in poverty that makes it such a struggle, besides all the clear financial and nutritional troubles, is the education. Education, in my opinion, would be the most difficult part of poverty. Not only because there would be such a prominent lack of it, but because I would know that there are opportunities open, but only for those who attend something I could not. It would be heartbreaking to have hopes and dreams of a better future lying just on the other side of one boundary, but simply being unable to overcome it because of circumstance. A young woman, Rosa, in the documentary had to give up on her dream of becoming a nurse, because her family could not afford school.
It goes without saying that I live a plentiful life with great ease, and take my advantage in life for granted all too often. Especially when compared to the Guatemalans. Though they have so little, they find the greatest happiness in giving all they can to others. They live in a community so tightly bound that survival is a group effort, and each family gives everything only to receive nothing. Each second is a prize and an opportunity for the Guatemalans, and that is something I have always tried to pursue.
As said before, my perspective going into Nepal has shifted drastically. My hunger to serve and pour myself into the lives of anyone and everyone there has only grown, and time cannot move fast enough.
