Extreme

A friend once told me she has a hard time looking past her own backyard. Some people aren't drawn to those in other countries and that's okay. We were all put here for different reasons. I've been reading a lot lately about poverty and how complex it is. There is no easy fix. Some believe that we should help the poor here in America first. I don't agree with that but we all are allowed our opinions. I'm not saying not to help our own but I feel America is VERY BLESSED with a lot of resources. The people in developing countries have so little compared to us. Their basic needs aren't even being met. Being poor in a developing country means being "dirt poor." It means literally living in the dirt--in crude shelters with dirt floors, no plumbing, and little or inconsistent access to food or potable (safe to drink) water. This is extreme poverty, and for as many as 50,000 people every day, it means too poor to live. 


Economists and organizations focused on developing countries define "extreme poverty" as living on less than US$1 per day at U.S. prices for housing, food, health care, etc. In 2004 approximately ONE BILLION people or about one in every five around the world, lived in extreme poverty. They struggle every day to survive and many do not. As many as 50,000 people die every day from causes related to extreme poverty. They die for lack of adequate food and clean water, lack of medications, and diseases that cannot be staved off by bodies weakened by hunger. 
Those living on between $1 and $2 per day are referred to as the "moderate poor." In 2004, this included another 1.6 BILLION people. Moderately poor individuals are just barely surviving from day to day. They have more of their basic needs met than the extreme poor, but they are at high risk of falling back into that category as a result of any number of possible setbacks. If a parent gets sick and can no longer tend crops or earn an income, the family becomes destitute. 


Our world is so different from Africa. Here is an example of what life looks like there. Bless is seven years old and one of six children. He's not the oldest so he can't go to school. The family can only afford to send one child. His country has been hit with a drought and his parents can't farm enough food for the family so Bless' father leaves to work across the border in another country. He comes home every couple months and the family has no way of communicating with him. They don't know if he's okay until he shows back up at home. While he's been gone the family has struggled. They are all malnourished and eat once a day if they are lucky. The oldest child had to drop out of school so he could try to find work or food to help the family. Bless' mother walks 3 miles one way for dirty, tainted water with his three sisters. This is the nearest water to get for drinking, cooking and bathing. When Bless' father comes home he gives his wife AIDS. His father wasn't faithful while gone and has now infected her. The six children watch as their parents deteriorate right in front of them. His parents haven't been able to work for a long time so the children scour for food and work. The oldest is the only one who went to school but it was for a short period of time. All the children are illiterate. Both of Bless' parents die and the oldest child who is 10 is now head of household and has to take care of his siblings. 


This is very typical to find in Africa. However things can be so different if the people are given the tools they need to grow and prosper. Africans WANT to work but they just don't have the opportunities they need. The story I told could be so different. If Bless' family had the tools and irrigation they need for farming, his father would never have left, and all the children could have gone to school and the family would have enough food to eat and SELL. If his father never left then he wouldn't have gotten AIDS and given it to his wife. If they never got AIDS then they wouldn't have died and left the children to fend for themselves. There is no simple solution but something as simple as the right farming tools and techniques can start the family on the right track and keep them going the right way. 


Helping one person or one family will have a ripple effect and it doesn't cost much to help! More on that tomorrow=)