Poverty

Poverty- is living with a lack of resources financially, medically, etc.   Living without enough food, clothing, appropriate shelter, or security is devastating to a family.  If as a child you have known nothing else it may be easier to deal with but I doubt that.  As a teacher I have had the unfortunate experience to watch families struggle with this.  The parents would go without food for a day or so just so their children could have something to keep the hunger pains away for a little while longer.  As a school we provided food backpacks to go home with the students on weekends that had snacks and some basic supplies to help get them through the weekend.  Most parents appreciated the offer; one particular family demanded that it come home more often.  We even offered our time and abilities to help parents fill out welfare forms (some parents could not read or write), apply for insurance, or other resources that we knew might help.  The families took advantage of the meals provided at school to help feed their children.  There were still the families that would not let us help them.  I understand the issue of pride and the feeling of embarrassment.  The devastating feeling that you are unable to support your family on your own is one that can send you into a depression that can make things worse.  The families that I was fortunate to be able to help were grateful and worked very hard at keeping the children from knowing what dire situations they were in.  They loved their children more than many families who had everything they needed.  Unfortunately I had the displeasure of working with families who did not work hard to get out of the situation but expected the school, church, and others to support them.  They encouraged the children to beg for handouts and did not use the money they did have wisely. 

Living in poverty can cause a wide range of medical and psychological problems.  Living without clean water to drink or wash in does not help keep an individual healthy.  Germs and bacteria flourish in this environment.  Depression can set in and cause and individual to give up.

The stressors that are a part of the daily life of a child in Africa due to poverty are hunger, lack of health care, lack of education, and improper sanitation.  BUT change has begun.  It may be slow but it is in motion. Organizations such as African Union, donor nations, and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) have made some great progress. In Kenya they have started free primary education which has allowed 1.2 million children into school.  Tanzania has built 1000 new schools and has recruited 18,000 teachers.  Also there is a movement to provide basic health care for free where the countries choose (Fighting Poverty).   

Resources:

Fighting Poverty-What is being done to help Africa.  Retrieved from http://www.fightpoverty.mmbrico.com/facts/africa.html