Poverty

"Auntie Auntie Auntie!" exclaimed 3 kids.

Yup, I had 3 new siblings today and it was quite a morning for me. I was struggling to complete my court report but these 3 siblings walked in and out of my office. I put them out of the office and they come in again. In less than an hour, I was tired out. Their attention span was one of the shortest ever. Every 5 minutes, they need to do something new. Finally, I gave up and kept my office door open so that they know that there is no barrier between them and me.

As I was mulling over my report, the eldest of the 3 came into the office, talked to me and walked out and I thought I saw something in the small hands. By the time it hit me, gone and hands emptied. Soon, I realized that the child was a little light fingered.

Before I judge, I thought I better know a little of the family history and it turned out that the eldest of the siblings have more or less been parentified (being the parent of the rest of the younger siblings). Having food to eat was a concern. The best way to keep the stomachs filled was to have money and what better way to have money?

I recalled my exploratory trip to Zambia for missions in November 2002. I remembered that we were nearly cheated of US$50. As my team and I sat down to reflect, we realize that that is what poverty could do to a person. Survival skills.

Coming back to October 2008, these 3 siblings, I thought they were fantastic! A small secret: I stole when I was young too. But I DEFINITELY did not steal to survive. I stole because it was exciting and fun. But these kids, it's about surviving. They survived better than me but helping them unlearn the things that they have learned would be a tedious process.

Poverty. It's probably not the best state that anyone would fight to get into. I am truly thankful that my parents were able to provide for me.