Recently I went on a cruise. It was a whole new experience with so many good times. However, there was more to it. While getting a tour of Roatan (the island off of Honduras) I had seen something that I have never known before. Driving up a hill my family and I stopped to take pictures of the view when these little kids came up to us. Just like the many people we had seen in town, the children were selling jewlery. We were told that if the parents cannot afford to pay for their children to go to school the children go and work.
I got to speak to the brother and sister Omar and Jessica. Omar who was 4 years old and his 10 year old sister made me see a different side of things. With sympathy and wanting to help my family and I gave the two siblings money without buying anything. I was exposed to a different side of life. One that left a big impact in my life.
For some reason despite anything that we saw on the tour all that was on my mind was the fact that majority of the kids of Honduras didn't even make it passed the 6th grade.
Seeing the conditions of the homes was heartbreaking. Looking at the fact that I had just graduated from high school not even a month ago and knwoing that these kids aren't able to do the same. Everyone deserves to get an education. Everyone deserves a chance to make it in this big world. It's hard to accept that the schools in Honduras were charging hte families for the kids to get an education.
It's amazing that starting out as young as 3 or 4 years old, the kids work. I am sure that if a lot of teenafers from the U.S. went to Honduras they wouldn't be able to last. It's unbearable to see kids on the side of the streets any where like that.
I have seen poor, ghetto, wrong side of tracks types of neighborhoods and for some reason I was never really affected by it. When visiting a foreign country you learn something new. You are exposed to something new.
I hope that if you look through the pictures from my cruise, and you see the conditions of the homes, and the boy on the tree that everyone becomes appreciative that we are able to go to school. We are givent eh opportunity to go even further with attending college.
I would so love to take another trip to Honduras but not empty handed. I would like to take money and sports equipment to Honduras for those children. We should keep those that don't have the opportunity like us to go to school in our hearts and prayers!!
