Poverty is a huge stress on many families all over the world. Staying out of poverty. Feeding your family. Keeping your house. Our economy is making it hard for families and individuals to stay out of poverty. In the area we live it there has been a down turn and many are leaving or they are becoming homeless. I have family members that are considered to be in the poverty level of economy. My in-laws are helping a man and his family find a place to live and work. He was injured on the job and has been out of work for a month. His boss told him that his job would still be there when he was ready. Due to huge cut backs and the economy he does not have a job to go back to. My husband is lucky to have a job but he has to work in a different state then where we live. It is tough times and in our area it will get worse before it gets better. In our county we have more people on unemployment then 1 year ago. I chose poverty because it is close to everyone's heart and we have had our struggles but my family has always stepped up to help us out. Many people do not have the support and that is why they end up in poverty. People end up in poverty for many reasons and it is hard to climb out.
Poverty is not only a reality in the United States but in many countries around the world. My father in-law and I were talking to a man whose has been to Samoa on a mission. During his mission he worked among the people and was there to educate the older children so they could attend college and come back at teach other children. They want to break the education cycle by educating and bring people back to their own community to make a difference. The Church of Lateran Day Saints is working to educate and help break cycles.
Samoa has a huge population of poverty and the goal for break the cycle of poverty by the country has not been met. By 2015 they wanted to cut poverty in half and put people to work. It is 2015 and there is more children begging on the street then last year. Reason for poverty in the pacific is:
The SBS report goes onto say “After extensive consultations…a working definition of Pacific poverty or perhaps more correctly hardship was defined in Human development terms as: An inadequate level of sustainable human development, manifested by: a lack of access to basic services such as health care, education and clean water; a lack of opportunities to participate fully in the socio-economic life of the community; and a lack of access to productive resources and income generation support systems (rural credit, capital, markets, skill) to meet the basic needs of the household, and/or customary obligations to the extended family, village community and/or the church.” (samoaobserver, 2013, p.1)
The government wants to break the cycle by getting rid of the hardship. The way they want to do that is by developing Somoa. By bring in more private sector jobs. Now that it is 2015 and the goal was not met I can not find and information on why and what the government is going to do. I found an article that speaks about how the government is reporting they have reached their goal but this is not true. After digging I found another article written this year and it states that due to inadequacy access to trade routes, poor nutrition and relying on other countries is why the poverty rates have not changed. Plus the report that said it was correct was read wrong. This was very interesting topic to research because I learned a lot about the country and its people.
References
The borgen Project (2015) Five factors that contribute to hunger in samoa Retrieved on September 13, 2015 from http://borgenproject.org/five-factors-contributing-hunger-samoa/
SamoaObserver (2013)Report finds Samoans living 'below poverty' Retrieved on September 13, 2015 from http://samoaobserver.ws/other/food/4863-report-finds-samoans-living-below-poverty
Samoaobserver (2013) Of hunger and poverty in Samoa Retrieved on September 13, 2015 from http://www.samoaobserver.ws/editorial/4478-of-hunger-and-poverty-in-samoa
Our economy definitely has a lot of work to do. There will always be something that needs done until nobody goes hungry and everyone has a place to call home without constantly fearing when the next paycheck is coming.
ReplyDeleteWherever we go, there will always be people who are less fortunate than us. I think what some people fail to realize is that poor people are not "bums" like the stereotype leads them out to be. Sometimes, they just had a rough year, lost a family member who was the provider for the family, is a single parent who cannot figure out how to make ends meet, or someone who got let go of a job they invested years in. With a topic like this, it is essential that nobody points fingers or judges, because we often do not know the whole story. The difference between those people and you is that you clearly realize that this economy does not make anything easy on anyone.
Really great post- thanks for sharing your personal thoughts.
Charissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information about Samoa and the hardships that are occurring there. I am interested in knowing what the government has to say in regards to failing to meet their goal, and what they are going to do about it.
Hello Charissa,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! Poverty has affected many lives in the world. Children living in poverty are at greater risk of emotional complications, like depression, anxiety, and lower self-esteem. They are at risk for various physical health difficulties as well, like low birth rate, inadequate food, which leads to hunger and malnutrition. They may even be exposed to environmental contamination, like lead paint, and toxic waste dumps. I agree with you, it is necessary to have a support and fight poverty. It can be a family, a friend, a community, or even a society. Together, we can fight against poverty! Thanks for sharing!
Purvi.
Charissa,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very informational and I really enjoyed the information you shared. I like that the Latter Day Saints are helping countries like Samoa to build through providing them with resources such as education. A lot of people talk about Pay it Forward. An education will allow those who receive it to go back and give others a chance. This is something that also needs to be done here in America. We need to push the importance of an education and the importance of helping out our communities. Education is not going to end poverty but it is a great way to start the fight.