Poverty definition: “The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.”

This is most likely what people think when asked “what does poverty mean to you?”, even I  thought this when asked the question. Today us glimpsers learned poverty was way more then not having money or being poor, poverty can also mean not having love or not being cared for. I never thought of poverty in this way but when this was explained to me I totally agreed. Poverty  not only has to do with not having money or the basics needs that are needed to survive, but also means being invisible from society.

Todays activities included going to the dump and going to an orphanage. As leader of the day I had to wake up at 6am and get ready in order to wake everyone else up at 6:30am…yes I was tired! But my tiredness didn’t stop me from sharing my high energy with the group. After waking everyone else up and allowing them to get ready for the day, we all headed for breakfast at Imabite. After enjoying a delicious meal we came back to our “house” for our daily academic seminar, which was focused on poverty. We discussed some of the factors that may have contributed to the current rates of poverty in Nicaragua, focusing on the people, politics, place, peace, and the past.

When the seminar was over, we headed to the dump. The dump was the place people went to separate through all kinds of trash in order to collect and sell certain items for money. We met some of the families/friends that worked there and they were all very welcoming and friendly. They all joined us in a soccer game and we almost won the match! I was able to present the manager of the dump with a gift to show our appreciation followed with kind words. We all enjoyed being there due to the amount of fun we all had. Even though the people working at the dump were living in poverty they all were in such high spirits, which was very motivating for all of us. We were able to realize even though ones situation might be bad that doesn’t mean you focus on the negative and feel sad for yourself, you keep smiling and preserving. Coming back from the dump we all had to take mandatory showers due to the dirt from the dump. After refreshing showers was lunch, back to our “house”, then we all self reflected on our experience at the dump.

Next on our agenda was the visit to the orphanage , I unfortunately don’t recall the name at the moment but I digress. On our way there I had the opportunity as leader of the day to take a taxi to the orphanage along with Kirsten, one of the GG leaders, so we can bring water for the group and a piñata for the children. I must admit taking a taxi while the other glimpsers took a ride on a full bus was definitely quite the treat. Me and Kirsten were the first two to arrive to, the others eventually arrived and when they did we were able to take a tour of the building with one of the caretakers. While on the tour we met the cutest puppies! Everyone instantly fell in love. When the tour ended we all engaged in a mini party with the kids at the orphanage, they were all filled with so much joy. At first they were shy but after seeing us get up and dance they totally broke out of there shell which was an amazing thing to witness. After tons of dancing the kids were able to bust the piñata that was brought for them which brought them even more happiness. What kid doesn’t like candy? Even after getting their energy out before busting the piñata, they still had tons of more energy and decided to do even more dancing, pure comedy. Along with candy and dancing we all took tons of pictures (sorry mom, I don’t think I’m in most of them.) We eventually had to leave which was so sad because we all really wanted to stay. Dinner was after the orphanage and then English tutoring which was fun for all of us. We then ended our long day with dancing, cake, ice cream (Happy Birthday Birthday Bryan!), our nightly meeting, then even more dancing. Our day was full but I believe we all enjoyed it and had tons of fun along with getting knowledge that furthered our thinking.