“Poverty is the worst form of violence”. – Mahatma Gandhi. We can define poverty as the condition where the basic needs of a family, like food, shelter, clothing, and education are not fulfilled or satisfied. Poverty is everybody’s problem. Everybody in a sense that boy or girl, young or old, even rich or poor, that is one of their problems. The rich ones are affected for the fact that they are irritated by the poor ones, isn’t it true?
Almost all of us Filipinos are already considered poor and it is so hard to accept the fact that innocent children are the one being affected too much. At their very young age, they are taught how to earn for a living, just for their own selves and for their family as well. At their very young age, they are already prone to accidents or diseases which can kill them and their future. No play, no childhood, no education, no progression.
As a student and one of the youths, poverty is a serious problem to deal with. If you are poor, your future is not secured. You have to pay first to have a security of your future, which is not present to the poor ones. Your education seems to be endangered when you are poor. There are instances that you have to be absent because your money is not enough. And of course, your grade will be affected. When a student is poor, his seems to be miserable. He cannot pay the obliged school fees for his money is only enough for personal necessities, but sometimes, it is not even enough. He cannot avail the required projects. Even a single peso is very important. Every single peso is his future. That is what a typical poor student is experiencing
CAUSES OF POVERTY:
• Unemployment
• Physical disabilities
• Lack of education
• Teenage pregnancy
• Government corruption
• Absence of social services
• Poor infrastractures
EFFECTS:
• Unemployment
• Malnutrition
• Domestic Violence
• Lack of education
• Child labor
• Disease
Poverty can lead to other problems like poor literacy, unemployment, malnutrition, etc. A poor person is not able to get education due to lack of money and therefore remains unemployed. An unemployed person is not able to buy enough & nutritious food for his family and their health decline. A weak person lacks the energy required for the job. A jobless person remains poor only. Thus we can say that poverty is the root cause of other problems
Financial problem is the hardest thing faced by the poor people. No money, no good future. But, there is always a hope. Poverty is not a hindrance to ones’ success. If you will work very hard, nothing is impossible.
Here are some few ways for us to help our community and to stop poverty
- Create Awareness
Social media has become an integral part of daily life, and now is the time to use it as a voice of social good. Sharing links on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms will allow people to learn more about global poverty and will increase the general consciousness of the issue. - Take Action on Your Own
There are a few simple ways we can help as individuals, such as funding a poor child’s education or by sponsoring a poor family and influencing others to do so. Raising money and donating it to a nonprofit can help as well. - Donate
Donations can help in so many ways. They do not always have to take the form of money. This can include donating books to a poor child or buying groceries for a poor family for a week to help fight hunger. Donating old clothes, furniture and toiletries can also help improve the well-being of the poor. - Eliminate Gender Inequality
With two-thirds of the world’s illiterate being female, the ratio of boys and girls should be made equal in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Girls that attend school are less likely to get married before age 18, thus decreasing child marriage rates by 64 percent worldwide. Similarly, literate women are less likely to spread diseases like HIV/AIDS due to a better knowledge of disease transmission, which helps to accelerate poverty reduction in the long run. - Create Jobs Worldwide
According to the International Labour Organization, 197 million people are without work worldwide. More employment options in a country mean more ways of how to stop poverty. To increase employment, non-literate people can be taught a few skills to make them employable. - Increase Access to Proper Sanitation and Clean Water
Access to clean water and sanitation directly affects health and education. Currently, 800 million people live without access to safe water and 2.5 billion live without adequate sanitation. Dirty bathrooms keep girls from attending schools, thus stopping them from receiving an education. Lack of clean water spreads diseases like diarrhea and cholera, which take the lives of more than one million children each year. - Educate Everyone
Education helps increase individual earnings for every member of a family. UNESCO points out that basic reading skills can lift 171 million people out of extreme poverty, ultimately reducing the world’s total poverty by 12 percent. UNESCO also mentions there are currently about one billion illiterate adults in the world.
These actions are just few from many ways on how we can avoid or battle poverty. It is essential for us citizens, especially for us youth to address this kind of problem. Being aware and educated about these issues can make us more aware of what is happening around us. Poverty has a big negative effect on us and it is important to address this topic. A world free of poverty can lead us to brighter future, better society and better citizens.
Determination. That is the word. One word that could change ones’ life. One word that can defeat poverty. If everybody is determined and working hard, no one is poor, no one is begging for help.
As what was mentioned, poverty is the greatest obstacle of ones’ life. But, let us just treat poverty as a challenge. When you are poor, that does not mean that you don’t have the right to dream big. When you are poor, that does not mean that you will never succeed. When you are poor, and you don’t have anything to pay for your education, make an action. Prove to them that they are wrong. You can escape from poverty because you are striving hard. You can beat the odds because you have enough determination.
Author: Nielsen Vhin Felipe
ETECH GROUP 2 