Deconstructing Poverty Day

Hello everyone! It’s Mackenzie and Zaday your leader del Dias! Today we woke up at 7 AM and we had breakfast which was cereal and fruit at 8 AM! Then we had a mental warm-up to prepare everyone and get them excited for the day which was very moving for all of us. We started off visiting the Dumpster where we talked to Frank about what his job entails and learned the things people have to do in order to make a living. It was very motivational and emotional for all of us to see and Frank helped us understand and see a different perspective we don’t normally get to see.

After we returned to Dilenia we gathered together to talk about the root of poverty and ways we think we could break the cycle which were our questions of the day. After having a wonderful lunch of chicken, rice, beans, macaroni salad, and regular salad, we prepared for our next activity which was visiting a local school. When there we got to talk to the director of the school, Wanda. Many of the topics we discussed were very heavy and impacted several of us deeply. It was also very eye-opening to see the way the school system was here, as there was only one teacher per grade who taught every subject. While very impressive it gave us insight onto how stressful their lives may be. We applaud all of the teachers in Constanza and around the world.

After this very emotional experience, we headed back to the hotel and got three hours of free time where some kids headed to the military base basketball court and others went shopping at a local grocery store. At around 7, we ate dinner, which was hotdogs! We reconvened at 8 in the community room to have our daily nightly meeting where we discussed what we did throughout the day and how everyone felt about it. We also celebrated Yunkun’s birthday! Happy birthday Yunkun! Despite all of the intensity of the day it was a very informing and educational day!

Hi Mom I love and miss you! – Zaday

Hi everyone! I love you all lots and I’m having lots of fun with my new friends! I’ll see you soon – Mackenzie