Ray, G11, RDF International School

Richness is a word that everybody can understand easily. In most cases, it is simply determined by the amount of money or the number of cars, houses and jewels you have.

However, after I went to Pubei, a poor town with a small population in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, I realized the genuine meaning of richness. To be more specific, richness is not just related to your physical property, but more crucially to a person’s soul.

A few months ago, I applied for a yearly social activity held by a charity organization which required me to go to Pubei and visit some poor families.

On the first night, we delivered a lecture on Positive, Mental, and Attitude (PMA) to students from Pubei high school. During the lecture, I was moved by their desire to see the outside world beyond the mountains of Pubei through their eyes with hope.

The next day, we visited four students’ families who had suffered a lot. For example, the first student’s family made their living by pig-breeding, which led to a fine amount of income in the last few years, but the swine fever this year caused a huge financial loss to the family.

However, when we visited them, they did not show their anxiety or complain about their current situation, but instead treated us with great honor and hospitality.

When we asked about their thoughts on the current bankruptcy situation that took place overnight, the father’s answer shocked me a lot. He said, “That’s fine. We should be positive and optimistic and, in my opinion, we can overcome these difficulties and make a better life than that one before the swine fever happened.”

Instead of being overwhelmed by their family’s financial status, they maintained a positive and optimistic life attitude, which should be studied and cherished by many normal families.

To sum up, richness is not only about money, but also about your mind and your heart. People with a sum of money can only be rich for a while, while people with a remarkable mind and attitude can be rich forever.