I had the great privilege of travelling to Pucallpa, Peru on a humanitarian trip in March of 2010 with the Pure Art Foundation and a group of volunteers to build a home there for a family in desperate need of a roof over their head. Pucallpa is immensely poverty-stricken. There is a city area, however the majority of this town is made up of slums. There are people there with barely what you would call a home. Some made out of garbage bags, others of scraps of wood with sheets, leaving large area uncovered from all types of weather. The younger crowd of volunteers stayed in a mission with the lovely man and priest, Gérard, a missionary who moved to this unknown town to help those in need. He lives with very little, but he is happy. That is the thing I learned there during those 2 weeks; that it doesn’t take much to be happy, and it shouldn’t. Because we are so “privileged” to be living in North America, or Europe or wherever else, sometimes we forget that all our possessions mean nothing in the end. We forget that, deep down at our core, without ANYTHING else, we should be happy. The children of Pucallpa showed me what it means to truly be happy. Despite living in poverty, having little food and shelter, they are smiling and laughing and enjoying life. They are ALIVE. They are LIVING. There are times where I have to remind myself of that week and be thankful for what I have.
Here’s to happiness!
Great story, great picture!
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Thanks for sharing this experience!
Great post. I love what you did, and you’re so right that we must never forget to be grateful for the comfortable lives which we enjoy. Good Job!
Amen to that one, my friend!
I agree…that picture depicts a hundred stories to tell…=>
I love the beaming smiles on these kids. Great article… so inspirational
That’s what happy looks like, us grown ups could use a refresher course at times