I'm lucky to have a fairly constant reminder of how well I/we live because I support a school in Ghana, have been there and know exactly what they have and how they live. (And that's not even the poorest part of Africa.)
Don't worry - I'm not going to get all preachy on you, but I thought I'd just add a few of my "problems":
- I missed the Fed Ex guy yesterday and because the package (a case of wine, no less) requires an adult signature and can't be left on the doorstep, I have to stay in until he comes back. A right pain; good job the heating in my house works really well and I have a TV and internet to keep me occupied.
- I can't send anything to Ghana because it either mysteriously never makes it out of Tema port or is held ransom until my colleagues there pay more than the required amount of customs, and on occasion, are also required to pay for whoever happens to be sitting next to them in the waiting room. Sometimes this can take ten hours in the blinding heat.
- There are three pairs of boots left over from when the Man-Child was 9; unfortunately I stored them in a place where I was bound to forget about them and it appears they're all too small for the Little Guy. Now I have to trail around the shops before the cold weather and snow really hits, and I have to give those boots away.
- We never really need boots because even in the Ghana winter, it never gets cold and doesn't snow. This is just as well really as some of us don't have anything to put on our feet.
- We lost power last week for two hours on a school night, which meant that the Man-Child couldn't finish his homework and the Little Guy had to get up in the morning and have a shower. You can imagine how much running around this caused; he's slow enough in the mornings without having to squeeze a shower in on top. It was bedlam.
- We don't have electricity or fresh running water.