I have not heard from any professional to whom I sent an email – therefore, I have not been able to get to know an international contact and learn from them. Further, I have not heard from any professional in relation to the podcasts listened to. So I had to choose the alternative of going to the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre.
It was heart-breaking to read that an estimated 1 in 4 children live in absolute poverty worldwide. This is frightening and a sorry state of the world, if the most vulnerable cannot be protected. The fact that over 10 million children under five still die every year from preventable diseases is evidence that we have not fulfilled the mandate of Christ to “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not”, in essence saying that they must be protected.
The cycle of poverty is unending with poor parents giving birth to poorer children. How can we help our fellow man, how can we educate others and address and eradicate poverty once and for all?
Robert Kennedy once said “I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil”. If we all believed that poverty is evil, then possibly we would take greater steps to eradicate it the same way that we seek to eradicate crime and violence.
In the Case Study of Nanuram – the schoolboy ice-cream seller of Rajasthan, India on the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre website, the following things stood out to me:
- The scholarship of 150 Rupees (US$3.30) with which Nanuram buys his school uniform is substantially less than the sum of 60,000 Rupees (US$1,320.00) borrowed to pay for a funeral feast for a grandfather – are our priorities misplaced at times?
- Nanuram sells ice-cream during the summer holidays and on average makes 30-40 Rupees a day. His father is a casual labourer and farmer but it would be interesting to know how much he makes from his ventures and whether it would help if he assisted his son in sales on weekends. Scope for a new entrepreneur?
- Poverty can lead individuals to other vices – alcohol and violence. Without the proper support and education this does not help a family unit as those who are victims of the violence are unable to contribute to the family’s welfare due to physical injuries and they themselves become disheartened.
- It is heartening to note that Nanuram has noted the connection between studying hard, a good education and the pathway to a better life. This realisation is the first step out of poverty and with the right attitude and determination, change can occur.
Resources:
Brainy Quote. January 20, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/poverty_2.html#ixzz1k3WCGLqK
Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre. January 20, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/
When I went to the Bahamas I was surprised and saddened by the amount of children that were hustling for money on the street. I was also sad to see the conditions that people lived in when this was such a beautiful place. I wonder why we have to keep seeing these types of conditions and yet nothing ever changes?
ReplyDeleteHi, Sheryl! Yes, it is sad to see these situations and yet see no change, as I live in a country with similar situations like the one you described. yes, fighting poverty is and should be a collective effort. I also wonder sometimes why most families living in poverty seem to have so many children, more than those who could afford to send them all to school. In the Philippines, most families in the slum areas have around 4-6 children. Can it be because they cannot even afford family planning alternatives? Then it, poverty, really is a vicious cycle.
ReplyDeleteHi Sheryl,
ReplyDeleteOne in four children is unspeakably shameful. I don't think I will ever understand the reason for the great chasm existing between the "haves" and the "have nots". There is plenty of money to go around if only things were more equitable.