A wise man, named Eli Khamarov, once said, "Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit."

Even after all the poverty I've witnessed in America, this quote has never been as clear to me as it was after seeing the poverty of Third World countries. I spent this entire past week in Nicaragua on a Reach Out service trip wondering why it is that some people are blessed with such luxuries and comforts, while others are left with absolutely nothing -- nothing but struggles, hardship and adversity every day of their lives.

For someone who has adamantly abhorred going to school for as long as I can remember, it was nearly unfathomable for me to understand children's ravenous hunger for an education in Nicaragua, a country where nearly 40 percent of the people are illiterate and many can't even write their own names. In addition to the vast deficiencies in its educational system, Nicaraguans face serious health risks because of the lethally strong pesticides that are used in their sugar cane fields and that pollute the water they drink and use everyday. Such pesticides have been declared illegal worldwide for both sale and use, but because of Nicaragua's corrupt political conditions, it has continued to be used regularly -- a callous result of corporations valuing profit above humanity. Watching Nicaraguan children pump and drink this water from pesticide-polluted water wells, and noticing how few of them had the opportunity to go to school, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to stomach. It forced me to acknowledge the things I take for granted on a daily basis and inspired me to consider possible solutions to the problems faced by those less advantaged than me. My classmates and I met with political leaders to discuss and address the problems while in Nicaragua, but the unmistakable corruption within the government makes significant improvement seem unlikely in the near future.

In the span of just one year, I've visited Africa, China and Nicaragua and have learned more about the world and its people than in any history or humanities class I've taken thus far. This is in no way an attempt to brag about my travels, but rather an effort to show the community that has nurtured me since birth what it has made possible in my life and to express my genuine appreciation for the unique perspectives it has given me.  Without the lessons I've learned here, I wouldn't be able to appreciate any of the valuable experiences I've been blessed with since.  Nicaragua, its government, and its people were one such experience.  And as politically unstable as the country may be at present, I am immensely grateful for having had the opportunity to travel there and learn about a population less advantaged than my own.

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