The first night in Africa I woke up to someone trying to break into our house and our security guard Cartwright chasing them away. Cartwright has been a pleasure to have around our compound. Every time we walk past him, he greets us with a big smile. The one thing that caught me off guard was one night when I asked him if he wanted an apple. His jaw slightly dropped and he responded with, “I haven’t had an apple in over three years”. This made me realize how little I understand what poverty looks like.
A lot of times we get mad when our server takes too long with our meal at a restaurant. Or we throw food away instead of taking the left overs home. However, Cartwright ate half of this apple I gave him and then gave the other half to a kid walking past. I’ve learned that most of the people in Zambia are happy with what they have and don’t focus on the materialistic wants our American culture proclaims we need to have, but instead on relationships within the community.
