Bamboo House Travis Cole Mosher

Picture your dream getaway: White sandy beaches, crystal blue water, palm trees swaying in the breeze, waiters acting on your every command to bring you the finest foods and drinks available. If you ask any travel agent to send you to this paradise, they will undoubtedly suggest the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now picture your worst nightmare: Destitution seen in no other country, food shortages, no clean drinking water, minimal shelter made out of leftover tin that bakes in the day and freezes at night.

Surprisingly, if you turn around 180 degrees in your beach chair back in the U.S. Virgin Islands, you would see just that. A mere mile or two away from the lavish lifestyle of the international tourist is a world of misery and pain. A personal account by Bishop Herbert Bevard of the Virgin Islands is chilling, and will forever drive me to never allow myself to fall into an attitude of entitlement. He was handing out food to the children and after he ran out, a boy ran up and asked for food. The Bishop, not knowing what to do, told the boy that he was all out and that the boy should ask his mother for food. The boy then said, “I don’t get to eat today; it’s my sisters turn.” Personally, I’ve never been unable to access food a day in my...