A very dear friend of mine had told me of his childhood and although he had a very rough time, he was lucky in that his father stepped in and helped him for a time. While listening to his story, I was shocked to hear about poverty and hunger from someone that I knew and that it happens more than we think right here in our own country. He said things were never that great, as a child he remembered being left alone for short periods of time while his mother worked. He also remembered not having very much most of his youth. However, when he was about nine years old, he told me that the weather had started to turn colder, he had no shoes or coat to wear and it was a good three days since his last meal. He said that this was the longest he had gone without food but he will never forget how he felt. He did not know his father because his mother never stayed in one place very long and his father was Navy man. Well his mother broke down and called his father and my friend said the next thing he knew he was on a bus toward Charleston SC to live with his father. He said he traveled by himself from Texas to here with nothing, still no shoes or coat. When he got off the bus, he said his life changed for the better in so many ways, but he still will never forget how he began in life and the difficulties he overcame to be where he is today. Living in poverty not only deprived him from food and clothing, but it took him a long time to catch up in school as well. I believe that his father was his biggest supporter through his transformation, and even though he only lived with him for about 3 years, it changed his path and his life forever. Although he was given a chance to change his life, he still to this day gets worried about not having enough food in the house, especially for his own children. He also will not allow his children to go to bed without eating something because of the many times he went to bed hungry. He stated that he knows his children are fine, but the thought of them going through what he did kills him and even if they just have a piece of toast before bed, it makes him feel better. He also went on to college, even though he did not finish, he was very proud of that fact considering where he came from. He says his children will go to college, even if it kills him. I hope they do!!
Once again, I chose to look into the Philippines because of my husband and my children. I also chose poverty as a stressor just to gain some insight on how the children live there. Unfortunately, the problems with poverty in the Philippines are not getting any better and according to another blog I read entitled
Poverty in the Philippines, "Even during periods of stronger economic growth, such as 2004-2008, poverty continued to rise. Various factors have contributed to the lack of progress on poverty reduction in the Philippines." So even though poverty in the Philippines is known world wide, the only thing I have read so far about fixing this situation, are donations from countries like ours. I believe the country needs help and support for many areas, that would lead to a stronger nation, one that maybe would help the build a stronger foundation for entire country. The following is also from the blog
Poverty in the Philippines, and it includes the many reasons why poverty is still on the rise, instead of falling.
- an agriculture sector that has performed weakly and failed to raise the incomes of the rural poor
- growth that is primarily based on consumption and not creating employment opportunities for the poor
- high population growth, which averaged 2 per cent annually over the past decade, and places additional strain on the cost of household living and demand for basic services
- income inequality, which increased in the 1990s and remains relatively high—the poorest 20 per cent of the population accounting for only 5 per cent of total income or consumption
- inability of the government to provide sufficient basic services, especially to people in poorer remote regions
- vulnerability of poorer communities to natural disasters and civil unrest which adversely affects livelihoods.Survive any disaster without leaving home.
K-blogger (May 15, 2011). Poverty in the Philippines. Retrieved from
http://povertyinphilippines.blogspot.com/2011/05/poverty.html
Just by reading your post makes me sad because I understand what he had to grow through. I was not one that had to grow up like that, but I see and hear about it everyday. There are so many young children raising themselves and their siblings in the world because the mom is never home or at work. I also hear about children not getting enough of food at home, sometimes the only meal they may eat is at school. My heart goes out to does children that are living in poverty and I want to help them any way I can.
ReplyDeleteIts unfortunate that children anywhere in the world have to go to bed hungry. I am happy to hear that he had the opportunity to live with his father and had a better quality of live. When he lived with his mother, why didn't have a meal for three days? Is he in touch with his mother? I know it must be a difficult task for an agency to ensure children and people are safe, out of harms' way and at least have food on a daily basis. Hopefully one day, the United Nations will have the ability to do more. A strong government is important to ensure the proper procedures are being carried out by the right people.
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