You don’t have to be poor to fight Poverty
How does Poverty look like? How does it feel? Does it smell or taste different?
Today’s global Blog Action Day focuses on that – Poverty. Hundreds of thousands of blogs will go up today to bring the world’s attention to an issue that knows no borders. Yet, I wonder, of the hundreds of thousands of us who will blog about efforts to alleviate the situation – how many have really known poverty? How many have faced it? Who has endured and overcome it?
But that’s not what’s important, is it? The significance of this day in the blogging world – to the whole world, is not who shares the sorriest story or who paints the ugliest picture. It’s not about the drama of poverty. It’s about what each person can will do does to address the issue of poverty.
I get it though, we need to show people what poverty looks like. There are many out there who just don’t feel the need to act unless they see something tangible. Unless they see what poverty is aside from a general construct.
In a third world country like ours, one doesn’t need to look too far to see the face of poverty. In some areas, there is even the sense of it. Here’s a news story that almost a year ago had brought to fore the issue of poverty in the country.
I spent many years of my young life working with child-focused NGOs. We were advocates for children’s rights; we fought against the sexual exploitation of children. In that world I had met a lot of interesting people. I had made friends with many children – Children who were as old or were younger as I was, but children of entirely different circumstances than mine. At a young age, I realized that it is the children of the world who suffer most from poverty. And lacking food to eat isn’t always the worst thing about it.
You hear it all the time, poverty has alwasy been one of the many push factors for child exploitation. Thus, many organizations have developed programs that will help alleviate the situation by bringing in alternative and sustainable livelihood.
Wealth isn’t the opposite of poverty – empowerment is. It isn’t just a matter of filling their hunger, or clothing their backs.There is so much to be done.
What am I doing? Not much.
I visit the Hunger site everyday. You can too.
I play a vocabulary game to give Free Rice. It’s fun, and you should try it.
I also play a vocabulary game and it’s fun. You should try it:
My Mom works with our Church and helps the dioceses with their community-based programs. My Dad works with Catholic Relief Services. Their work directly affect people’s lives. Someday soon, I will do something significant again. I am just glad that today, I had the opportunity to reflect on this again. I hope you do too.
Good thing there are thousands of people who are able to contribute something. At least I know that no matter how big this issue is, there is hope that it can be overcome. It may be true then that we can end poverty in this lifetime.