Simple Joys

Guantes!  Guantes!  Mi, mi, mi!  I can’t imagine kids in the U.S. getting as excited about a single disposable glove, much less buying into the activity of trash pick-up with only the bribery of the opportunity to sing a simple song about putting trash into the trash can.  Yet these kids in Honduras soaked up the activity.  I had children climbing through fences to collect trash on the other side!  They would run to me with handfuls of trash to throw in the bag I was carrying.  They expected no reward in return – I think they just loved the excitement of a new activity, a break from their usual routine.  A single glimpse of their school and you can see that organized arts and crafts activities and other fun games are probably minimal.  There are only two single connected rooms for around 50 children.  There are few books, no computers, and only a single whiteboard with a few scattered old posters on the wall.  The wood on the student desks is fraying – it’s hard to imagine how a child can even write on them.  There is no playground equipment – just an open field.  Occasionally visiting volunteers bring a soccer ball and the kids will pay with it until is completely worn out.  Most kids sadly don’t get to go to school beyond the 6^th grade.  A typical daily routine of a 12 year old becomes washing clothes, preparing food, cleaning and taking care of infant siblings.  Is it any wonder then that these kids soak up the opportunity to wear a glove and run singling and collecting trash?  So you can only imagine their excitement when my mom brought out the arts and crafts and they got to create butterflies out of fun foam and clothespins and airplanes out of popsicle sticks.  I imagine it’s close to a U.S. kid’s excitement about Disneyland.  It’s memories like this that I try and hang onto so I can recall it the next time I am getting stressed about first world problems like my computer not turning on fast enough or what type of new flooring I’m going to put in when I renovate the living room.  I have a lot to learn about stressing less and finding joy in simple things when Honduran kids live in houses with dirt floors and find immense joy in wearing a single latex glove to pick up trash!

- Christina Kinnevey, Community Medicine and Global Health Fellow