At a Tea Stall

Dear friends,
there are certain events which drive us in a certain direction, which push us to set new goals and to pursue new dreams. But often we struggle so hard to realize those dreams that we forget why we started on these paths to begin with! We work very hard to make Basic Needs a reality, but if I don't take time to reconnect with why we do our work, then I quickly lose my motivation and my effectiveness.
Fortunately, today provided a keen reminder of why we do what we do. I was sitting in a tea stall with some friends, enjoying some refreshments. The boy who served us was quite young, and so I asked him his age. 9 he said. Why do you work here, I asked. He said his mother had been dead for a long time and his father couldn't care for him, so he was taken under the employ of the tea stall owner. I asked him how much he works, and he told me all day long. I asked him if he went to school, and he said he wanted to, but his boss said no. He made for about $8 a month plus room and board, which I can only imagine to be meager at best. As he and his little friend were talking to me, one of the older employees came up behind them and smacked them in the back of the head, telling them to get back to work. They meekly did as they were told. The lives lead by these two boys is exactly why Basic Needs exists.