Day 4:
Meet Angelor. He is 21 years old, and desires to finish High School. He is currently working at PeaceCYCLE in the mornings and going to school (8th grade equivalent) in the afternoons. His pay has helped enable him to go to school.
With his employment, Angelor has helped his mom to begin a small business preparing food (rice and beans) in the mornings and selling it. He is also known for spending money buying gifts for his family. (he is one of 7 children and is very generous).
You may notice the slightly precarious deadbolt affixed to the concrete wall in this photo of Angelor standing in the threshold of his door. The reality in Haiti is a difficult one. There are many insecurities of safety and security, but yet it is an extremely sharing environment. They have great trust for one another within the community, but feel the need to protect themselves from society at large. There is no confidence in law enforcement if something does go wrong, and certainly no insurance.
Today's Challenge: Consider all of the infrastructure that allows you to feel safe. Ponder as you go through your day today the lack of anxiety that exists just knowing that you do not anticipate danger, theft, and riots. Acknowledge that you do not feel threatened when you freely pull out your phone when waiting in line. Be thankful that you do not feel the need to hold your purse close to you at all times, or hide your wallet under your shirt. If you carry a credit card and minimal cash – think about how that simplifies your safety concerns if you have a make a large purchase and do not need to carry large amounts of cash.
If you lock the doors of your house/car, be thankful for the structure of the doors/locks that allow you to do so. If you live in a place where you feel safe enough to not lock your doors, appreciate that reality.
More concretely, find someone in your community that helps maintain law and order, that comes to the aid of people in need, that assists in crisis. (Police officer, fire fighter, parametric, or otherwise). Thank them for what they do and their contribution to helping you feel safe and comfortable in your community.
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