a little perspective

maslow's hierarchy

this is one of the only things i remember from the 2 education courses i took at a&m. the theory basically states that we prioritize our lives based on what needs are being met and that those basice needs at the bottom of the pyramid need to be met before we can focus fully on the the ascending levels.
makes sense.
most of us can probably honestly say that the only place we "struggle" would be in the belonging, esteem and self-actulization levels. . . .that's where jesus comes in, but that's a whole other post for a whole other day.

this article was in the dallas morning news sunday, may 4.
African man's instincts led to death
on Dallas freeway

this man was the father of some students of mine. there is a picture of them in the paper, i wish it had been online. here are some cliff notes to the article that i would like to point out:

But a confluence of cultural misunderstandings, linguistic isolation and simple bad luck led to the death of a man whose widow and 10 children are now struggling to survive in a country that is both unfamiliar and, often, incomprehensible.

His wife, Signe Kallafo, still lives in the apartment with nine of the couple's 10 children. Beds and couches line the walls, there is no television, and a small coffee table and a fan serve as furniture.
The air conditioning and lights are kept off to conserve money. Only one picture adorns the walls – a photo of Mr. Bilay. Two crosses made of palm fronds are wedged in the frame.
"With my husband dead, there is no money. I am sick, and I have a 3-month-old daughter, so I cannot work," Ms. Kallafo, who speaks no English, said through a relative who acted as an interpreter.
"I don't know what to do. Everywhere, darkness is around us."
Two of the older children, who are in high school, work part time and are the family's sole wage earners.

"But obviously no orientation course could possibly prepare a family from rural Eritrea for a life in a big American city," he said.
To Mr. Bilay, a man who was virtually illiterate in his native language, Dallas was a bewildering place, family members said.
"He didn't know how to live in a city. At first he didn't know how to ride in a car," said Mr. Kallafo. "People at home ask me if they should come here. I tell them that America is a very hard country to live in."
"His only dream was to find a job," Mr. Kallafo said. "He wasn't happy because he didn't speak the language, but he was happy for his kids, that they would get an education.
"He said he hoped someday that his kids would grow up and they would have an education and get good jobs, and then he could rest."

Staff writer Holly Yan contributed to this story.

honestly, this story could have been written about any one of my students. i teach in a very unique area of dallas commonly referred to as "five points". this is a mostly unknown area of dallas, where over sixty thousand people are crammed into three and a half square miles. dwelling in apartment complexes, the majority of the population is hispanic, which together with international refuges makes the area 25% non-english speaking. In fact there are over twenty different languages spoken in this area.

in addition to all the issues stated above, you have your typical inner city woes: poverty, drugs, crime, prostituition. you can imagine the volatility of this area...

85-90% of my students struggle with the physiological and safety level of maslow's hierarchy.
they aren't concerned about the taks test.
they aren't concerned about college.
they are merely trying to survive.
this is why i love my job. if for only 45 minutes out of their day, they can put all that aside and enjoy being a kid.
they play.
they talk.
they forget.
my sphere of influence is tiny. i know that. and honestly, i don't know where most of these kids will end up. but as i get to know them, and as i listen, it really changes my perspective. they challenge me. they challenge my faith, they challenge my priorities, they challenge my views. . . . they don't know this, but they do.

HOW TO HELP
Anyone wishing to help the Musa Bilay family may send a check to the "Bilay Ebbit Family Fund" at Wells Fargo Bank, P.O. Box 3488, Portland, Ore. 97208-3488. Or call Mr. Bilay's cousin Stefano Dago at 763-443-3954.

if you haven't yet, go see this