Blog 01.29.11
Poverty
I don’t know if I can actually say I lived in poverty when I was growing up. But I know, when I was younger my family did not have a lot of money. There were 6 kids, out of those 6, one was going through college ( I was about 6 or 7). Another lived with our Gia Gia (grandma), another one was in high school, on in junior high, and myself, I was in grade school. My mother was a stay at home mom, which left my father to work. It’s almost unheard of now in the United States to only have one parent working. We only had one car, so when my dad worked midnights, my mom would wake me up to go pick him up from work. My mom would make my clothes (she was very crafty with everything from clothes, to making dolls, to anything a person can think of, she could probably make).
I do remember, my parents having us roll change, although, they used it as way to help me count money. But now that I think about it, I remember them talking about not having the money to buy bread or milk sometimes. But I still don’t remember thinking anything of it. But I do wonder if this is why I hold education to such importance, because the more education a person has the better of a career they can possibly obtain, therefore, they don’t have to count change to buy groceries. But maybe, having an education is just that important these days, which no matter how I grew up, I would still hold it to high standards.
Comparing my life growing up to the lives of children in Africa now, I have nothing to complain about at all. According to the article “A Troubled Decade for Africa’s Children” written by Michael Fleshman, the children in Africa are more likely to be ill, and less likely to go to school. Not only are the children suffering from poverty, but they also have to deal with war and disease. (Fleshman, 2002). It’s just a continuing downward spiral. Adults are more likely to get sick, and unable to afford medication, which leaves the children alone. (Fleshman, 2002).
Mother’s are dying from pregnancy, malnutrition is at disturbing numbers, one out of eight babies in Africa are born underweight. (Fleshman, 2002). In 2001, from the 580,000 children under the age of 15 that died from aids, 500,000 of them were from Africa. (Fleshman, 2002).
Those who live in Africa, suffer not only from poverty, but from war, diseases, hunger, and many other stressors. I believe that once one of these happen, many of the others will shortly follow; they work hand in hand together and is very difficult to reach a healthy state, if it can be done at all.
References
Fleshman, Michael. "A troubled decade for Africa's children." Africa Recovery, 16.1 (2002): 6. http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol16no1/161child.htm. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
Hi Chelsea! It's interesting that you chose to look at children in Africa who struggle with/ from poverty. I chose the same country. Thank you for bringing light to this devastating situation. Also, I agree with you about growing up. I have never truly experienced poverty (and I give God praise for that). I do recall my mother working to provide for our family but nothing like the children in Africa face. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.
ReplyDeleteHi Chelsia, you provided excellent information on the topic of stressors in Africa. I think many in the United States take for grantid how well we have it. Infact, the only huge stressor I had in my life growing up with noise and lack of privacy. This pales in comparision to poverty, war, hunger, and the medical issues experienced in Africa. All of these stressors do have a major impact on all levels of a child's development.
ReplyDeleteMary