Sad Story

I saw on TV yesterday a touching story about how a producer thought of surprising a domestic worker in Hong Kong with a totally unexpected visit from her teenage daughter whom she had not seen in a long time.

The segment opened with an interview of the Filipina where she described her life. Not too bad except for the overwhelming desire to be with her "baby". She said that she was prepared to sacrifice indefinitely so long as her daughter was cared for by her parents back in the Philippines. Reminded me of what Mother Teresa once said, that it was not the poverty that sucked the life out of those unfortunate people in the streets of Calcutta rather it was the crushing loneliness.

Back to the tearful reunion, mother and daughter were treated to a day in Hong Kong Disneyland but what was most touching was despite all the rides and stuffed animals, mother and daughter were overjoyed just being together. They held each other closely and the daughter wished for her mother to come back home.

This is a story that is repeated millions of times every single day. Striving to escape poverty is a tremendously difficult process.