A royal flush

Why am I posting a photo of the little boys’ and little girls’ rooms at La Buena Esperanza school? Because in the slums of Peru, indoor plumbing is as rare as an ipod in an Amish chapel.

After passing over dirt roads, breathing in dry, dusty air, and seeing the rows of simple wood shanties

and brick apartments where families don’t even have running water, let alone flush toilets, you can’t help but notice when you come across a bathroom facility more advanced than a pit latrine. It’s like you’ve entered a royal palace.

Meeting the poor on their own turf can give you a new appreciation for how the small things matter. Our “big picture” educational and economic goals are important; but it’s also about how we made a child’s life a little better today, because she has a meal to eat, water to drink, a toilet to flush, a book to read, and a safe place to go while her parents are at work.

It’s about smiles that seem to say, if just for that moment, all is well in the world.

-Tony M.