Ashley Cecil

Jump to Comments

One of the highlights of my 10 days in Venezuela was my stay with a family in the small rural town of La Magdalena, in the mountains overlooking Charallave. There is certainly something to be said for experiencing, with your own eyes, what living in poverty is truly like. Poverty is relative, but juxtaposed to my own standard of living, staying with a farming couple who have 4 children and a live-in grandparent all in a patchwork house of metal and scrap wood was humbling, to say the least. We bathed with a bucket of water and a bar of soap, and ate eggs conveniently laid for us by their chickens one thin wall away from the kitchen.

What I found most surprising was this family’s pride and happiness. Initially, when I approached their home, thoughts of pity crossed my mind. By the time I left 2 days later, I realized they didn’t feel they were lacking anything. They gladly opened their home to us with no shame whatsoever. I ended up feeling ashamed of myself because I assumed they would be ashamed. They smiled and laughed nonstop, which is more than I can say for many people who have an abundance of material wealth.

The father worked in construction when he wasn’t harvesting crops. He told us about the loan he received from the government for farm equipment that has made a positive change, and then about some of the hard times he has struggled through (related to changes in the government, as well as poor crop yields). The family now seems to be on their feet; they have means to grow more crops, their children go to good schools, they have access to a nearby health clinic, and many people in their extended family have taken advantage of literacy and GED programs for adults.

The father also told us alarming stories of violence in the nearby city that they choose to leave for their current country town. They now boast a spectacular view of the city from up and afar. They were glad to leave the urban setting that required the father carry a firearm with him on his commute to work. He said crime is still a major problem the government has not resolved. He did have multiple complaints about the Chavez government (although he was in favor of the president), but as I heard from many Venezuelans, you can’t expect everything to happen overnight.

Some argue that promises made by the Chavez, which have not come to pass, never will, and the president’s campaign selling points were empty rhetoric. I suppose validation of that perspective is yet to be determined, and may prove to be true. In the meantime, my host family is experiencing a new lease on life.

One of the highlights of my 10 days in Venezuela was my stay with a family in the small rural town of La Magdalena, in the mountains overlooking Charallave. There is certainly something to be said for experiencing, with your own eyes, what living in poverty is truly like. Poverty is ...