{non:inspirational}

my mom called today about one

of our distant relative's passing in Laos.

she had diabetes but was not aware of. 

the sad part is that she was only in her early 30's.

one day while working in the farm

she accidentally scraped her leg

and created a open wound.

when she was asleep,

not sure if it was flies or mosquitoes,

laid eggs inside her wound.

because she was too poor to get medical attention, 

she went ahead and pour pesticides

onto her wound hoping to get rid of the bugs.

by pouring pesticides into her would,

it then caused her breasts to enlarged

in a one week period, 

which in turn caused her

to have a hard time breathing;

as a result it killed her.

sounds too horrifying to be true.

my mother explained the condition

of their home the last time

she visited them in Laos.

the house was muddy, wet and dark inside.

sounded like a third world country to me.

i can almost pictured the house;

i've seen one like it; i almost lived it.

just the thought of it melts my heart

and say to myself how thankful

i am for a happy, comfortable home.

my mother is gathering money

to help with this woman's funeral 

and her family.

this is not the first time

and will not be the last time

my relatives/cousins will be asking

for help and my family reaching out to help.

even though we're not well off here in America,

but these people have close to nothing.

i am always more than happy to help.

i know they have a diffcult life

in this place they call home

where it offers them

no hope and despair come easily.
i told my mother we can help fix their roof
as a gift from our Saeyang family.
my mother was excited to hear that idea
and made it one of her goals
when she visits Laos again next year.