The Healthy Wealthy Corner

Back home in the states my family has two cats. I make fun of them for being obese. The dislike is mutual. They lounge around and get hair all over my clothes. I do not do much to help take care of them. We have automatic feeders for them in the basement.

There are two cats in our house here: one belonging to each of my roommates. I do not like either of them. They are always meowing and wrestling with each other. On my way to the fridge they never fail to be underfoot. I had to feed them for a week when my roommates were both out of town. I gave each cat one scoop of food twice a day.

I am currently in Tegucigalpa at the second session of my class with Red Viva. This session covers human rights, children’s rights, poverty and inequality in Latin America and globally. Talk of inequality and wealth disparities globally tends to make me feel guilty. I grew up in suburbia, where Honda Odysseys roam freely between white picket fences and PTA moms thrive. I was a girl scout, played soccer, and spent as much time as possible with my nose in a book. My childhood looked like all those around me, and so too did the people. My neighborhood is a predominantly white, upper-middle class, American community. I spent much of my life with little exposure to anything different. I never worried about my next meal or where I was sleeping at night, and it seldom occurred to me there existed people who did. Here, for the first time, I am the minority. I am the only gringa at Montaña or the only North American at Red Viva. Everywhere I go I am different.

We watched a video charting global GDP and life expectancy in 200 countries over the last 200 years. On the vertical axis: lifespan; on the horizontal: income. Every country strives towards greater wealth and health: the top right corner. But how do we all achieve this? Right now there is a huge difference between the best and worst countries, and even huge inequalities within countries. It is not hard to acknowledge poverty and inequality around the world. We are all aware it exists. It is hard, for me at least, to know what I personally can do to make a difference.

Following several seminars and presentations we participated in an activity. Similar to Cross-the-Line, but we were given cards and followed someone else’s story instead of our own. Some of us took steps forward because ‘our fathers were diplomats’ or ‘we went to the most expensive bilingual school’. Some of us took steps backward because ‘our parents were murdered and we grew up in an orphanage’ or ‘our brother is in a gang and soon we will join too’. At the end, we were told to look around at where we all ended up. The people at the front of the field turned around to see those of us who had backed up almost to the fence.

I realized then my guilt does not stem from being ‘at the front’. I was born into a wonderful life for which I will never stop being thankful. My guilt comes from not turning around for so long. For knowing poverty and inequality existed but being perfectly happy to stay facing forward at the front. And now, even though I am here and living and working alongside people who are food insecure or worse, I have guilt knowing that at any moment I can get on a plane and return to my healthy wealthy corner in Columbus.

Guilt is not a productive feeling. Guilt does not help the people I am working with or myself. Instead, I am reminding myself to focus on my appreciation for the opportunities I have been given in life and how I will make the best of all of them. My hope is to work from my corner, in whatever capacity I can, to help close the gap and bring others closer to the front of the line.

My cats did not ask to live in Ohio, much like the cats here did not ask to live in Honduras. These are simply the cards they were dealt. It was in my cards to grow up in Ohio and eventually come to live in Honduras. My time here has irrevocably changed me in many ways. I have learned to see inequality but not be angered by it. I am encouraged. I can see this will influence my thoughts and actions from whatever corner of the world life takes me next.