Making Poverty History

13 years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Nepal. I spent six weeks in Kathmandu, as part of the fieldwork for my master's degree. I spent it as an intern-consultant for a program on rural water and sanitation. What a wonderful, wonderful six weeks it was!

I stayed with my cousin's partner, Jake, who had been living there for sometime as Chief Technical Officer of the programme. He lived a a two-level brick house that was small but very homey. I loved it.

I loved my entire stay in Kathmandu. It was life changing. So many things happened. I dreamt vividly, and my senses were heightened more than they had (and have, since) ever been. I also wrote a lot during that time, and hopefully I will find my writings and be able to post them on this blog.

One of the most profound life changing experiences I had was at Bouddha (pictured above), when I was brought by my Tibetan meditation teacher to visit a Dorje. But that is for another story.

What I wanted to share here is related to having just watched a 2-hour feature of American Idol Gives Back, a charity evening that raised millions of dollars. By the time the show ended, I believe it was 30 million dollars...and still rising.

Close to the end of the program, Melissa Doolitle - one of my personal favourites of the contest - asked Bono what one event in his life changed him. Bono told of an experience he had in Africa, where he had worked at an orphanage. When he was leaving, a man came up to him and while holding out his little boy to Bono, said, "Take him. Take him with you. If he goes with you I know he will have a chance for a better life. If he stays here, he will most certainly die." Bono didn't take him. But in different ways, he says, he thinks he has through the work he has and is doing. Among others through the Make Poverty History campaign.

As Bono was telling his story, I remembered my own experience in Nepal. We were visiting a village that had received assisstance for water. The women had gathered with their children, the men sat separately. Most of the conversation was in Nepali, so I spent most of my time communicating with the women and children by simply sitting with them.

When we arrived, I had noticed a little boy sitting on his mother's lap. He was very weak, pale, and had a hard time standing up. But the other children tried to keep him entertained, even though he was obviously not very happy. I thought to myself, "I wonder how long he will live, whether he will make it to his fifth birthday," worried to see how weak and jaundiced he looked.

By the time we were ready to leave the village, the women were openly taking to me. As I stood up to say goodbye, one woman who had noticed me carrying the little boy, said, "Take him. Take him with you. He will have a much better life." I was taken aback. And for a split second the question popped in my mind, "Should I?"

As soon as that question popped into my mind, I heard an inner voice reprimand me, "How dare you. How dare you think that you can give him a better life, while taking him away from his mother and all these people who love him." His mother, by then, had gently taken the little boy from me and was holding him closely to her bosom.

I have thought often of that little boy, of his mother, and of his sister who is holding him in the picture here. I hope and pray that they are okay.

My visit with the Tibetan Dorje not long after this incident helped clear my mind and heart. There are other ways to help the little one I knew wasn't meant to be mine, through my work, through others, through things I was to do later on.

One way that INSPIRIT might be getting involved in is through educating children. One of the women I admire most is now back in Indonesia and working with an organization that focuses on children. It is my hope that we will work together again. So I can continue to contribute - in my own way - to making poverty history.