World News

By Auston Chhor

The home of a very poor child is often filled with dirt, disease, hunger and boredom. The house is coated in a thick layer of grime and full of insects flying and crawling like a busy street. The water is very dirty and the child must work with no pay and no school.

Being a kid in a poor area is very hard.

I wake up to the sound of the chirping crickets and my master yelling in my ear. I get up and wash my face in a dirty old bucket. I then go out to my work. I work in the hot patties of rice where there is a danger of disease, snapping turtles and worst of all, water snakes. I have no friends to play with and my day is nothing but planting and pulling. I trudge through the thick mud that goes up to my ankles. It is very hard work cutting but it is even harder with no food. I wear no shoes and also thin worn out shirt and pants. Once the harvest is over I still have to work in the rice processing plant where they package it.

After I plant about 20 rows of rice, my muscles are screaming for me to stop. We only have 2 breaks, one for lunch and one for sleep. When it is lunch, my master throws us some leftovers that the rich master said was spoiled. We drink from a contaminated tap and continue working. The worst part is when a snake attacks and the poison makes me very sick. Luckily, my brother is always there and gives me some of his food and takes care of me. The poison is not lethal but it hurts a lot. My master does not care if one of us gets sick. He usually just kicks us and tells us to get back to work.

I have no parents and I usually wonder who they are. My brother says they will be coming soon but they never do. When I go to sleep in my old little barn, the animals always make such a racket I sometimes don?t get sleep. My master left some thin porridge for my dinner and I hungrily devour it. I go to sleep and dream about having a real home and one day having fun.

The next day

Today I have received news that my parents are coming! My brother and I were so excited. We could finally live in a real home! I have waited so long for this day to come! When my parents come they are so happy to see us. They say they are sorry for leaving us there and say that they are very rich. We drive to my real home. It is nice and clean and has no trace of dirt. I have my own room and a nice soft bed. Our house is very big and can support lots of fun. I tell them about my time and the plantation and they fell sorry to the other kids and decide to donate money to them. We have lots of fun at our new house and we finally know the meaning of home.