Fabrica de Madera...

So yesterday in lieu of class in the afternoon we drove out towards Heredia and took a tour of a wood factory. It was incredibly impresionante and I really had another one of my reality checks. These people day in and day out sit in front of the exact same machines doing the same tasks over and over again. I can't even imagine how little they must earn, but at least the company is good to its employees. They also afford women who have babies or older people the opportunity to work by installing machines in their homes so they can put holes in beads and other pieces of wood to make place mats, jewelry, and many other things including baby mobiles. I was just once again struck by the level of poverty that these people live in.

A women who works in our university cleaning the building earns per month around $120. They work all day everyday to earn a living that is insubstantial. For a couple to buy a home here in Costa Rica it is necessary for both the husband and wife to work otherwise it is impossible. My Professor for the week Mariela Castro was telling us about a place near San Jose were they dump all of the trash from the Central Valley: Heredia, Alajuela, San Jose & Cartago next to this river. 4,000 Families live among this sea of trash, human waste and dirty water, while across the river there are literally mansions built on golf courses and the people who are starving have the ability to watch the rich ride around carefree day in and day out on their golf carts. The community is in the midst of building a wall so that they do not have to be reminded daily of the poverty that exists in Costa Rica.

Lets go over some numbers here shall we:

• 25% of the population respectively of Honduras, El Salvador & Nicaragua live with less than $1 a day
• 15% of the population respectively of Costa Rica, Guatemala & Panama live with less than $1 a day
• 65% of poverty is rural
• The 20% most wealthy of the population earn 30 times more than the 20% most poor

(Sorry I am translating all of this from English so I hope it makes some sort of sense!)

Needless to say there is a whole other world that lives among us whether we would like to admit it or not. The governments here are so corrupt that a few years ago they passed a law requiring the bus owners to put ramps on the buses for handicapped patrons by 2010 (this year), but since the bus owners make so much money, they decided to tell the politicians that they would either install the ramps or give them money for campaigns. Of course the law was changed and they now have until 2020 to install ramps and the politicians walked away with full pockets. It is astounding at how these people are able to sleep at night...do they have feelings, families or even eyes to see and hearts to feel? I would venture a guess and say probably not...they are way too concerned with money that they forget the people they serve. What this country needs and what all countries need is a reminder that government is supposed to protect the people, not rob them through taxes.

I never thought myself to be a political person or to feel so strongly about such matters, yes I have always been opinionated, but I tend to keep quiet and support silently the things I believe. I cannot live in a world that does not care about the marginalized or disadvantaged and I want to make sure that in the future I do what I can to help those around me. It is only through the efforts of the people that change is wrought and no I am not going to go completely Erin Brockovich on everybody I am going to do something and make a difference. I watched Invictus last night before bed and was brought to tears by the injustices that take place in our world, we are so blessed to live where we are and to have the families we have. Even the worst of the worst in the United States have it better than those in the rest of the world.

I may be only one person, but I can without a doubt make an impact in the world and change things for the better.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever God may be,

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,

I have not cried nor winced aloud,

Under the bludgeoning of chance,

My head is bloody but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the captain of my fate,

I am the master of my soul.

William Earnest Henley, 1875

I am the Captain of my fate and the Master of my soul and I will press forward with conviction and courage of character to make the world a better place.