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ECUADOR|
Community Internships in Latin America
5
of 6 reflections
By
the end of three months of seeing street
kids, beggars, and hungry babies, I thought
I wouldn't be fazed anymore. But in the
last few days of my trip, I realized how
profoundly the poverty affected me. While
I was eating dinner at a street café,
several kids asked me for food. I told
them I would when I finished. They waited,
and as I stood up with a bag of leftovers,
they dove for the chicken bones on the
plate. 8 year olds fighting for a chicken
bone on a plate. I gave them the food,
but remained shaken up. I realized I had
already begun to tune out so much of the
suffering around me. After this, I knew
I could not do that. I knew I had power
and privilege that I had to use to change
things. I still feel that urgent need
to be active and contribute all I can
to my community.
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