Vilcabamba, Ecuador - Jose

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I watched this lad, Jose, the local shoeshine boy, as he tiredly trudged home to his family with two loaves of bread, bought with money he had earned shining shoes from morning to late afternoon in the suffocating humidity of the village square, stopping to peer in the windows of the school, knocking and tapping on the windows to the children inside at their desks, wishing he were in there, too. His wish, his longing, his aching to be part of a world that was, I suppose, out of reach for him, was heartbreaking.

A friend that I made in Cuenca is doing important work with KIVA, an organization that helps people with small loans so they can get their businesses off the ground. Please read about the important work that they've been doing with people around the world.