Fevers and Reflections

When I reflect back on this week, there isn't too much to reflect on. I was sick, I slept a lot, I couldn't really do much of anything.....doesn't make for that much of a reflection; but it did get me thinking.
Think back to a time when you were really sick. You probably didn't have much energy, and you probably felt pretty awful. You may have vomited until all that came up was a watered down form of stomach bile. You may have had a fever so high that the room wouldn't stop spinning. You definitely stayed home, or got sent home from school. You may have been hospitalized. You may have gotten medication, maybe it helped a lot maybe it helped a little - but chances are it helped some. You may have been cold, in which case you used a ton of blankets - you may have still been cold but hey, you tried.....or some one tried for you. Chances are you had some one to take care of you. If you didn't have someone to take care of you then you probably had some where that you could be where you didn't have to do much, if anything. If your reading this, then you got better.

For people living in severe poverty, this wasn't the case. They may have felt the same as you, at first. Then you got medicine, and they didn't. You got blankets, and they didn't. You had a hospital to go to if it came to that, chances are, they didn't.

When we try to rank what issues are most important when addressing global poverty, it is all fine and well to say the education will solve all the problems....but a person cannot get that education if they cannot get to school. They can't get to school if they don't have roads to get there, and they certainly can't walk down the roads if they are too sick to stand. While there is certainly an order of things that people need it is unquestionable that basic needs: food, water, shelter, and overall physical health are the most important. Imagine if you felt the worse you've ever felt. Some people feel that way every day. Think about it.