Sally Sees a World of Need
By Sally Dunsworth

Life here in Belize is different in many ways, and yet many things remain the same. Sometimes I stop and wonder: "What would I be doing right now if I was in Canada?" And unless I happen to be snorkeling off the world's second-largest barrier reef, picking mangos or coconuts in the yard, or trying to kill a cockroach, the truth is that my life is not all that different.

In Belize City there is an obvious distinction between the rich and the poor. As you drive through a rich neighborhood you will see big, grand cement houses with central air conditioning and beautifully maintained yards. These houses have fancy cars parked in the driveways and hired security guards to protect the property. But right next door or maybe down the street, might be a one-room shack with no toilet and a yard of mud.

The first time I saw some of the terrible conditions that people live in, I was shocked. We were in Costa Rica headed out to a Habitat affiliate, when along the highway, it seemed as though a little town had appeared, made of more shacks than I had ever seen in one place. There must have been 100 houses made out of rusted corrugated tin sheeting, scraps of wood and street signs. There was no electricity or running water, and garbage was scattered everywhere. Children were playing in the dirt next to clothes hung on barbed wire fences to dry.

We came to Habitat from a well-off neighborhood, a big house and plenty of material possessions. It was unbelievable to me that people could live with so little. In my home in Canada, I had no idea that people lived in such poverty. In my home in Belize, I am living right in the middle of it. I have friends who live within this poverty; many are the first in their families to attend high school.

I have made a lot of friends here, although it was tough at first. I was prejudged by many of my schoolmates and rumors spread quickly about the new "white girl." I am one of the only white girls at my school, but once they got to know me, color didn't make a difference.

I realize now that I have many things that I previously had taken for granted. I know that not everyone has the opportunities that I have had -- to go to university, to travel. But with Habitat, I know my family is helping to better the lives of people in need.


Two years ago, the Dunsworth family radically changed their lives. They left an affluent lifestyle in Canada to become international partners for Habitat for Humanity in Belize, Central America. Sally Dunsworth, 17, is preparing to return to Canada to attend college, taking with her an admittedly new perspective on life, poverty and helping others.



Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, April/May 2000.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International