Global Poverty Monitor

We flew for around 45 minutes, and then had a stopover for about 45 minutes before flying the rest of the way, slightly longer in the second half. The plane did not change during the stopover, and was the smallest plane I have ever been on. There was one seat, and aisle, and then two seats. I counted 10 rows, so in total the plane carried 30 people. When we disembarked at Maputo, we got our luggage quickly because there were not many people to compete with. When we went outside, our old van was there waiting for us, but unfortunately with a different driver.

We were taken to the Holiday Inn, and on the drive there I realized that only days before, we had driven the same route on the way to the same hotel, but on that occasion it was the first time we had actually seen poverty. I remember we all stared out the windows in amazement, and I videoed the whole trip because I was worried that there was no way I would be able to explain what I saw to everyone back home. It amazes me that we have become so conditioned to those sights in such a small amount of timer, only a matter of days, that they hardly have an effect on us anymore. Is that why the few wealthy people in third world countries often do little to help their own people – because they are so used to the sight of poverty that it no longer has any meaning to them? It makes me wonder if there is anything that I ignore or dismiss merely because I am so used to it.