Following is the winning entry from the 2020 Fountain Hills Coalition Essay Contest, written by Fountain Hills High School senior, Anya Feyrer-Melk. The selected topic was, “If you were independently wealthy and had no need for employment, what would you do to improve the quality of life for others?”

Do you admire the fruit on your counter at home? Feel the softness of your bedding? Or are you in awe by the newest technology that has you immediately replacing the “old” iPhone you already have?

No? Well, to the Guatemalan people that I met, they look at fruit in awe, only dream of having soft sheets (even a bed), have no iPhone to be addicted to, and can’t imagine having money to spend for just an “update,” let alone a toilet.

I ask those questions because the stories that I will share highlight how important the little things are within our lives that we take for granted.

If I were independently wealthy, I would dedicate my ambitions to start a foundation to help provide resources to the Guatemalan people. I would want to build a school, a food pantry, open a doctor’s office, and help boost their local economic welfare by providing jobs with steady incomes.

I never envisioned my mission trip to impact me so deeply. But first, close your eyes and enter into the world I embarked upon two years ago.

Driving through the streets of Guatemala, I pressed my hands against the glass, and peered out at the torn buildings, graffiti, and hunched people carrying fifty pounds worth of wood on their backs. I had never seen anything like it. We finally arrived in San Marcos, where we would eat, live and serve the impoverished for two weeks.

In the United States, we’ve come to confuse needs with wants in our daily lives. Our needs have become iPhones, Internet, robot vacuums, refrigerators that sing when opened, and even new acrylic nails each week. Those are dreams that the Guatemalans don’t think about. Their minds are only focused on the next meal, having pure water, dirt free clothing, and walls for their homes.

In Guatemala, we visited a young man in his house, a bamboo hut that fit a few people. He curled up on his wooden bed with a garbage bag blanket covering his lap. His fingers twiddled with the edges as he nervously spoke of his past. He never once looked up to see my face, but I could tell that tears were streaming down. I wish I could have helped him. Helped to provide him with a solid home that didn’t need new palm branches after every rain, that didn’t fill with water rushing down the mountain, or that had walls instead of bamboo.

At the local school, I played with the children in the courtyard, holding each joyful child up one by one, swinging them around in circles, where they spread their arms and fluttered their legs. How can the smallest of laughter mean so much? Reflecting on it now, I see how important this lesson was to me. I learned that the little things, the little actions, and the little smiles are what people need to hold on to.

At lunch time, the mothers all reached through the school fence to hand their own child a snack. I learned that the children in Guatemala have only one full meal daily. This explained their skinny stature and lack of proper nutrition. Oh, how I wished for enough food for each hungry child.

We visited an elderly man who was paralyzed on his left side. In the United States such a stroke has an easy trip to the hospital, but he had no hospital. Now, he sits on the steps of his house all day and then his bed all night, in a constant cycle. This helped me see the importance of a person’s circumstances determining their welfare. I wished I could help with the imperative need for medical care.

If I were independently wealthy, in a heartbeat, I would form an organization to fund special projects in Guatemala. This foundation would build water purifying systems, local food houses, housing for the poor, and even lumber yards for wood to build sturdy homes.

The facilities would hire local men and women to support the local economy. I would want to open a school for all ages to attend. This would help inspire the next generation. I would also like to open an affordable medical clinic.

Thinking of these goals helps us see the contrast between a need and a want. Though this hypothetical question sounds amazing to do, the reality is that I can only do a small part in helping the people of Guatemala. I fully intend to do so one day.