- Team Impact
What kind of view do you have when gazing out the windows of your home? Although it may not be something most of us think about very often, our immediate surroundings probably have more of an impact on how we view the world than we realize.
And for those who have not had a chance to see typical communities of developing countries firsthand, getting a glimpse into the daily views of Children International kids around the world can be a real eye-opener.
Thirteen-year-old Christian (seen above peeking out of his house) overlooks a home that offers even less protection from the elements than his own. The unpaved roadway passing directly beneath Christian’s home was recently flooded by rains that frequent the Bicol region of the Philippines where he lives.
Yensy (8) lives in a community in Honduras located near the banks of the Naco River. Although the community itself is not dangerous, the access point to it can be. Gang presence at the entrance to the area is common.
The Naco neighborhood has a rural feel to it, even though it is actually urban. Hilly and heavily wooded, it lacks the usual sights and sounds associated with city life. Singing birds and music from the running river permeate the environment.
Over the rooftops of neighbors’ houses, the Philippine Sea is just within sight for 7-year-old Avriel when she looks out her window in the Bicol region. Her father is a fisherman. Most of the primary income-earners in this community perform work that is related to fishing.
The water tap that serves the surrounding dozen neighbors is just outside 10-year-old Angad’s window in this shared alley. Residents fill water buckets here in the morning and evening. They also wash clothes and utensils by hand, so the alley is rarely empty.
Angad lives in a fairly typical poor urban community of Kolkata, India. With just two rooms in his family’s small house, this is the only window beside which the family can sit. The other is high above and serves as extra ventilation in the other room: the bedroom.
In Manila, 4-year-old Christian lives with his parents and younger sister in a barber shop that sits beside a major road. The family lives in a small room at the back of the shop, where there are no windows.
These large windows reveal the nearly constant passing of people and vehicles all day long. A relative owns the barbershop. In return for the living space, Christian’s mother and father clean and care for the property.
Nine-year-old Yefrey, in Barranquilla, Colombia, looks out at a group of his friends who often play and talk on the unpaved roads and alleys of their underserved neighborhood. The ramshackle building on the right is where one of their neighbors keeps livestock. Yefrey has mostly become used to the smell — though he admits that some days are worse than others.
Reporting and photo assistance by global CI Field Reporters.
