It’s not easy to look straight into the eyes of extreme poverty and hopelessness. It is easier to look away and pretend it doesn’t exist.
If you do stop long enough to fully see it, something deep inside you aches and the feeling of despair can incapacitate you. That was my experience when I visited the Philippines in 2010. The overwhelming poverty and desperation in people’s eyes left me broken deep inside. Sustainable change for individuals and the masses seemed impossible. The corrupt government had recently brutally murdered their political rival; a woman that was gaining popularity for her platform advocating change. The abuse of women in the sex trade was evident in disturbing abundance. Children swarming my taxi for a handout and people begging me to take them back to Kuwait with me was overwhelming.
The weight of that hopelessness is something I have never forgotten and always carry with me.
By contrast, this trip left me feeling very hopeful for the people of El Salvador. Despite seeing similar levels of extreme poverty in El Salvador I couldn’t help seeing evidence of Shelter Canada homes everywhere we travelled. With an average of 5 people per home and rapidly approaching 5000 homes built; nearly 25,000 people have received a home. Shelter Canada is currently fabricating 16 homes per week and are realistically on pace to complete their 10,000th home within the next 5 years (currently at 4,700 after 20 years in El Salvador)! 50,000 people given the gift of hope, security, comfort and opportunity to focus on thriving more than survival. Corruption and gang violence has plagued El Salvador historically, but the new government has also given the country new hope by arresting 60,000 people with any affiliation to gangs. The people we met and Shelter employees all expressed feeling safer since the new government has been in power.
Watching twelve homes be assembled by our team in less than a week and witnessing the impact on the families receiving them, was quite emotional and so encouraging. Imagining that same experience happening 800 more times this year is so exciting and powerful. The momentum Shelter Canada has achieved as an organization in El Salvador and the tangible profound impact it is making left me feeling an overwhelming sense of hope.
Dave Archer
