July 12, 2013
If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.
If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all.”
One day, a wealthy man took his young daughter to a small remote village to experience what it felt like to be poor and so that she could learn to give back. They spent a couple of days and nights at the farm, living with what he considered to be a poor family and tried to help them in any way possible.
ある日、お金持ちの男の人が、彼の娘が「お返しする」ことを学べるようにと貧しさを体験するために小さな遠く離れた村へ連れて行った。彼らは農家に何泊かして、貧しそうな家族と共に生活し、可能な限り手助けをした。
On the return trip, the father asked his daughter,
” How did you find our trip?
“What did you learn?”
帰り道に、父は娘に尋ねた。
「この旅はどうだったかな？」
「何を学んだかな？」
She replied,
“It was great! I learned so much.”
「素晴らしかった！たくさんのことを学んだわ」
He said,
“Did you see how the poor people live and have to go through their lives?”
父「貧しい人々がどんな生活をしていて、どのように生きていかなければならないかわかったかい？」
She said,
“Yes, I did.”
娘「わかったわ」
The father asked his daughter,
” What did you learn from our trip? Please share that with me.”
父「この旅から、何を学んだか？シェアしてくれないか？」
She said,
“I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches the middle of our garden, and they have a lake that reaches no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden that lights it up. They have the stars. The view from our window, you can see over a few buildings. From theirs, you can see the whole sunset. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls to protect us from the outside. They have friends and community to protect them.”
娘「私たちは犬を1匹しか飼っていないけど、彼らは4匹飼っている。
私たちはお庭の真ん中までのサイズのプールがあるけど、彼らは無限に大きい湖がある。
私たちはお庭を明るくするランプを輸入したけど、彼らにはたくさんの星がある。
私たちは窓からビルが見えるけど、彼らは夕陽が見える。
私たちは食べ物を買うけど、彼らは育てる。
私たちには外から守ってくれる壁があるけど、彼らには守ってくれる、友だちやコミュニティがある。」
The father was speechless. And then his daughter said,
“Thank you, Dad, for showing me how poor we really are.
父は、無言になってしまった。
そして娘は続けた。
「お父さんありがとう。私たちがどんなに貧しいかを教えてくれて。」
