Be The Change

I recently got to visit a replica of a slum in a third world country. I had no idea what to expect, because at the time I barely knew what a slum was. What I saw shocked me, so I wrote about it. It was an eye opening experience and it really made me realize how messed up our world is. Please take time to read this and spread the word, and feel free to leave some feedback. It would be really appreciated. (By the way, I wrote this in an hour and it hasn't been edited... If you see a mistake please let me know.)

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The smell was what got to me first. It reaked with the stench of garbage and reminded me of a sewer. I wanted to hold my breath, but what I saw when I turned the corner caused me to gasp, breathing in sharply. There were people everywhere; young and old, male and female. One body was laying on the ground just a few inches away from me. He was shaking, but I could tell that it wasn't from the cold. Needle marks, bruises and scars were clearly visible on his body. I wanted to reach out and help him, to tell him that everything would be okay, but I continued walking.

"You, get back here!" A man shouted. He pushed past me and grabbed a small girl by the arm. She looked like she was no more than seven years old. People behind me pushed me along before I could say anything. As I turned my head to look back, I the girl's wide brown eyes, which filled with desperation as she was pulled out of my view.

"Want to have some fun?" A new man asked, stepping forward. He was holding a bag, and I had a good guess of what was inside it. I turned my head and began walking again, feeling sick to my stomach.

"You have money? Please?"

I looked down and my heart broke at the sight. Two little boys were kneeling beside me, hands cupped in front of them. The same look of desperation from before was in their eyes. I shook my head with sorrow and watery eyes.

I slowly continued on my way, looking at the ground and houses around me. There were at least five dead bodies laying on the path that I was walking on. Garbage littered the ground around them, mostly needles and plastic bags.

The houses were made of rotting pieces of wood, and the windows were no more than empty spaces. Some didn't even have any form of a roof, and the ones that did didn't look safe to be under.

I wanted to get out of the room. I wanted to forget what I was seeing. Most of all, I wanted to pretend that it was all fake. It was difficult to believe that there were actually placed like that in the world, some even worse than what I had seen. It made me want to scream out to God and ask why. Why would you let this happen, why aren't you doing anything?

That was when I realized something crucial. It's up to us to reach out and help them. We can't put up walls and convince ourselves that it's not real. Poverty, abuse, homelessness, human trafficking... These things are reality. We can't stop it all, but we sure can help to make a difference.

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