Monday, January 3, 2011

it's all relative

Walking through Chris's neighborhood I see a young girl in a sweet pink dress and pretty little braids making her way home from school. The street she walks on is made of dirt, a now familiar orange sand that creeps up to the doors of the houses. The building in front of which our girl is walking is partially built, with a front walk of broken tiles and rubble, wet cement and stray rebar. This is the type of image the CCF broadcasts on television to evoke pity and solicit money. And I admit, from my couch it's a pretty pitiful sight. But our little friend is happy. As are the great majority of people I pass in Senegal each day. What a misconception - the grand suffering of every African child. Citizens of Senegal might be poor, but they aren't walking around miserable. Life is simple. Pictures of children holding broken pieces of bread, surrounded by flies don't necessarily indicate poor quality of life. There are really just a lot of flies in Africa.

1 comment:

  1. How interesting to see the world through your eyes! What a beautiful gift. Thank you.

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