I am no stranger to poverty, coming from a place where it is breathed in the air and served daily. Slums and cramped spaces; poor wages; dirty and chaotic city streets; local farmers, fishermen, and laborers toiling to feed their families at least once a day; diaspora of people to other countries; and poor, if not lack of access to health care and education. These are but some of the palpable realities faced by many back home. As such, I often need to reconcile what I see here in Kyrgyzstan countryside with their own realities. The greeneries, spacious white-washed houses, orderly villages, well-dressed residents, and sprawling jailoos are somehow tricking my mind into believing that people here live very easily. However, behind the beautiful façade are communities and people who are also very much struggling to
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