Wasted Away

This week I am with 60 kids working at Me to We's Take Action Academy- a week long social justice/leadership camp. Last night we did a Hunger Dinner; kids were separated at random into three groups representing different classes in the world. The elite (in reality... us) were given a meal of four courses. The middle group was given rice and beans. The largest group, those living in poverty, were given just one cup of beans. Presentations and discussions followed about the inequalities in the world.... about hunger, and about other issues facing us.

As we were watching one presentation, a video clip passed on the screen of a baby; wasted away, nothing but skin and bones.. lying in a hospital bed. My heart stopped for a quick moment as memories of Haiti flashed back. I spent a very short amount of time in Haiti; a quick bus trip over from the Dominican where I was living for 2 months. It was a short trip, but one that I won't ever forget as long as I live. The kids are burned into my memory. Two years later, I have forgotten many of their names and faces (with little staff and most being too young to speak, I never even knew many of their names), unfortunately, but I so vividly remember their skin.

Yes, I know it sounds strange. Of the few days I spent in this clinic for malnourished children in Haiti, the 2 things that stand out most for me were the despair, and the feel of their skin. In most places I travel, it is the happiness and the hope. Hunger has a way of breaking that down. I felt despair all around me. It felt hopeless.

When I saw that picture of the baby flash before my eyes, I remembered holding the babies in Haiti. I remember touching them and being shocked. The starvation and dehydration had made their skin like paper. It reminded me of how my grandfather's skin felt, a few years ago when I went to visit him as he was dying in a hospital bed. Silky smooth and thin, but strange. Fragile. I can't put words to how it felt, but when I saw that picture, I could almost feel it again; Hunger.

I spent some time today reflecting on my experiences. As the kids, today, are focused on action planning for how they are going to make a difference in the world once Academy is over, I find myself doing something similar.... Trying to pull together the experiences I have had around the world. Thinking about all the issues in the world I have come across- hunger, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, lack of access to education.... tying these together, learning more about the root causes, discovering my focus. And also taking bits of the strength I have witnessed and modelling myself on these incredible people. Making sure that the people I have met are not forgotten, and that I do something about it. Making sure that I never take for granted the experiences I have had. Making sure I take every opportunity to continue reflecting upon it, learning from it, sharing it, and doing something about it.