Hola Everyone!

My name is Dominic and I had the special pleasure of being the leader of the day on poverty day. An alternate name for today is living on $1 per day. This means exactly as the name suggests, each Glimpser experienced a whole day just like someone who only has the resources and money to spend a dollar a day. Therefore, meals were very minimal, fans were prohibited, electricity was conserved and bucket showers were enforced. Overall, I think we all gained some new insight on how destitute citizens of the world don’t necessarily live life focusing on the things they lack but do live life focusing on the things that they have.

The question of the day was, ¨Is it possible to escape the cycle of poverty when a family lives on only $1 per day?¨ Through my experience and through the shared experience of the group, the delegation believes that is it possible to escape poverty. It is rare but it does happen. Very few ever leave the community but it does happen mainly for a select few who leave to get a better education.

Today’s agenda started us off with wake up at 6 AM and breakfast at 7 AM which only consisted of juice and toast. Next, we took the bus to Behuco Aplastado which is a community that lives on a dollar a day everyday. Upon arrival we were greeted by a group of very compassionate community members of Behuco Aplastado and then split up into groups and met various members of the households that were assigned to us. Each group had its own unique experience with the families that they met. Some of the things the different groups did were enjoy a piece of sugar cane, taste various fruits that the locals grow, weed yards, prepare lunch for the group and plant sugar cane, banana trees and other plants. One group even met a 93 year old man who makes charcoal.

After our time was up with our respective households, we each got to eat lunch with the locals and then play games with them. At first, many people were playing Dominos but then people decided to play baseball, which was a very fun experience. Sadly, our experience in the community had to come to a close and we all said our goodbyes to the people who made us feel a part of their community. We then drove back to the Fundacion, had some free time, ate dinner and, finally, reflected on the great experience that living on only a dollar a day allowed us to have.

I speak for everyone in my delegation when I say that today was a very enriching day.

Buenas Noches!
Dominic Diaz