Seeing Poverty Through the Eyes of a Child

I am a nanny for two of the most wonderful (and sometimes terrible) children in the world. At nine and six years old they are constantly asking questions. They are growing up in a world where both parents love them and work very hard to provide for them. They have always had enough. They have toys worth more money than I make in a day, they have all the food they could ever need (even if it’s not the food they want), they go to school, and complain about things like going swimming or seeing a movie. Most days involve a complete meltdown and pouting fit from my six year old (who I will call Rocket in this post) because he didn’t get his way, someone did something he didn’t like, or I told him he cannot have more iPad time. These kids, through no fault of their own, live in a world where they are unaware of poverty.

The other day there were a few quiet moments while they ate lunch, and I decided to use that time to write a letter to the child I sponsor through Compassion International (if you are interested you can find more information here). She is a five year old living in rural India. I don’t have much information about her, but I know her father works as much as he can to provide for her family, at just five years old she runs errands, helps her mother around the house, and that she needs a sponsor.

When my kids realized that I was no longer giving them my undivided attention and was writing something down on note paper they began to ask questions.

What are you doing?

I am writing a letter.

Who are you writing to?

I am writing to girl who lives in India.

How do you know her?

I’ve never met her, but she lives in an area that is very poor and doesn’t have enough. I sponsor her through a program called Compassion International. Sponsorship means I send her money every month so she can get things she needs.

What does she sound like?

I don’t know. I’ve never talked to her. But I do know she probably doesn’t speak English.

What language does she speak?

Probably a language called Hindi or something that sounds like it.

You haven’t video chatted with her or anything?

No, I haven’t. I don’t think she has any way of video chatting. I haven’t even received a letter back from her yet.

Then why do you write to her?

Because I want her to know who I am, that I care about her and want to help her. I have a picture of her in my room. Maybe next time we go to my house I’ll show you.

I was surprised excited that my kids had shown so much interest in someone from a completely different culture; especially someone that is dear to my heart. I showed them where India is on a map and explained (to the best of my ability) how different the culture there is. I showed them what the Hindi language sounds like and by the end of the conversation they were contentedly listening to Indian music while they colored.

This morning I brought them to my house to play with my dog. After almost an hour of playing fetch with the dog and a lively game of memory (without the dog) we were getting ready to leave. As we cleaned up the game my nine year old, who I will call Jazzy, asked if I had a picture of the girl I was writing letters to.

I ran upstairs to get it. When I came down we sat on the couch looking at the picture. On the back of the card is a description of my sponsor child: where she lives, what she likes, and what her life and family are like. I read this description to Rocket and Jazzy and explained again why I sponsor her.

You give her money, right?

Yes, that’s right.

Why do you do that?

Because her family is poor and she doesn’t have things she needs. I give her money so her parents can buy the things she needs.

Like toys?

Well, they might use it to buy toys. But I think she needs things more like food or clothes, or school supplies.

But why do you do that?

Because I have enough. I have a job and a steady income and my needs are more than met. I know there are people in the world who do not have enough and I want to help.

Rocket became very quiet.

It was in that moment I realized it had never occurred to him that there are people in the world that don’t have enough. He knew what it felt like to not have what he wants- nearly every day he pulls out a Lego magazine and tells me how much he wants each and every toy in it- but he has never considered what it would be like to not have the things he needs.

I was amazed by my kid’s curiosity about those in different cultures and was proud of their unexpressed, yet obvious, concern for this five year old. They care. Their concern is so innocent and pure. It was a six year old realizing for the first time that there are kids in the world without toys and a nine year old considering what it would feel like to be hungry.

We like to think of the world as a giant Lego set. As long as all of our pieces are in the correct place everything is fine. Sure, our neighbors might not have their pieces in the right place, but that's not our business. Many of us have extra Lego bricks that we could use to make our set even better. What we so often forget is that there are many people around us with missing pieces or even missing sets, yet we hang on to what we have just in case we need it.

In our world of Lego blocks and complaining we forget that there are people in our towns, cities, states, country, continent, world that don’t have enough food on the table or money to buy clothes. Isn’t it time we saw poverty with the eyes of a child? Children don’t sugar coat things; I have hundreds of examples of these two kids speaking their minds and telling me exactly how it is. Jazzy and Rocket were startled and saddened by poverty. They didn't see the possibility that someone else could help, they simply saw need.

We have as much to learn from children as they do from us. I do not care what your religious, political, or economic persuasions are. Income, religion, and politics should not dull, sugar coat, or distort what we see. We should see poverty through the eyes of these children- with raw sadness and care- and it should touch us. There is so much we can do, even the smallest things, like giving up a Starbucks coffee once a week, not going to see a movie, or just setting aside a small portion of each paycheck. Each of these small sacrifices can make a huge difference in the lives of others.

As I attempt to instill the value of charity and generosity in these kids, I continue to learn what wholehearted and honest concern for a stranger looks like. I see a tiny piece of God’s character in these kids. We have been given abounding love and shown abounding generosity. Should we not seek to live in manner that reflects all we have been given? It is time to stop overlooking, ignoring, minimizing, or denying the need around us. Stop thinking that someone else will solve the problem. Take a lesson from a nine and six year old, open your eyes to see need, and make change happen.