FALL 2009 Synergy 13
It was difficult to witness the harsh reality of poverty and its cruel ability to deny people what I view as basic human needs. It was perhaps more difficult to feel helpless in my service to villagers, to know that interviewing them would simply offer me a better perspective on their problems rather than a clear definite solution to their troubles. What I grappled with and eventually came to terms with is that life is different in Honduras. Unlike in the US where convenience trumps all and we’re independent and inventive enough to find a solution for our daily troubles, there is not a clear-cut solution to many problems in Honduras. As one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, Honduras lacks infrastructure and resources that we enjoy in the US – clean tap water, paved roads, hospitals, reliable education, welfare, and services for the poor. In the midst of this notion that no one issue is separable from the others because all are intricately interwoven into the fabric of life – I had an epiphany. It was not really grandiose or even gratifying, but it was true nonetheless. Life may be a filled with problems, but there is beauty in the strife to find meaning in surviving the difficulties. On a basic level we are all driven by the same essential emotional needs - we all desire to love and to feel loved.