There are many reasons why we should care about the poor. Most people who are well off with their life and can afford all necessities are intimidated just from thinking about helping lower class people. This is because the thought of disturbing their own little perfect world can seem scary, I mean why drop everything and put your life on hold just to help out poor people? A legit answer would be because they affect us all.
Where do you think our food comes from? No, supermarket is not the correct answer. Actually the "poor people" and "low-class" farmers are responsible for your dinner tonight. While not ALL foods are grown in the fields, majority is. These poor farmers work hard to provide you food just so they earn money, and because some of us don't pay attention to this we take it for granted.
Even though there are basic necessities like food that poor people provide us with, into a more "emotional" side, I believe, and probably other people believe as well that everyone deserves a chance at education. Even poor people, although they aren't fully equipped with all skills they'd grab at the slightest oppurtunity of having an education. I think we all can see that we take things for granted, but they would never. I can picture them already being very studious. These poor people would be grateful. And wouldn't it satisfy you to know that you placed hope into a poor person's heart?
Governments tend to spend a lot of money on things, while they provide for the poor then they always seem to be left with bits of money to provide for the urban areas. This tends to make people mad when they realize that not enough money is being spent on improvement. Well here's a thought for you, if you stopped pressuring the government and let them give enough money to the poor for each of them to start a new life, then they can finally take the remaining money, and start collecting more so then you can have all the improvments you want.
If that isn't enough, 1.9 billion people currently live below the poverty line, that's a 1/6 of the world's population. Close to 80% of "poor people" live in South Asia, including countries like India and China. These countries are supposed to be some of the most succesfull and wealthy countries in the world, if poverty is overtaking these countries what will our fate be? Hopefully, now you should see why we need to care.
So let's see why should I care about the poor? Maybe, because they help provide food for us, because if we help them and provide money for them then the government will stop worrying and be able to spend money on improvements on the city, because poor people are growing in rich countires like China, and also because we all have a heart, some of us just have to look deep for it. And I know for a fact you all would feel content by helping someone out. We need to start now.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
What Is Poverty?
Definition of Poverty:
To me poverty is a person and/or people who cannot afford the basic necesseties of life. Those include: shelter, food, potable water, clothing and education. But poverty can also mean families/people who have these things but are in a constant hard struggle to maintain them. Like not being able to feed your family and yourself regularly, or having to go through extreme measures to treat a sick person. It's also feeling powerless, like you yourself aren't even in control of your own life
Interview: What do you think poverty is?
1) My dad- "I go by what the World Bank declare poverty is, everything in their statement describes what most poverty is like around the world"
2) My sister- "I think poverty is not being able to afford everyday things, and not just about money. It's also about feeling powerless and not in control of your own life"
3) My mum- "Poverty is when people are living under the basic standard of life, they can't get basic necesseties of life"
Comparison: My family and I pretty much agree on the definition of poverty although some family members haven't thought about the fact that poverty is not just about money and affording things. It's about how you feel inside, freedom and power.
The current minimum wage in Jakarta is: Rp. 972,604
To me poverty is a person and/or people who cannot afford the basic necesseties of life. Those include: shelter, food, potable water, clothing and education. But poverty can also mean families/people who have these things but are in a constant hard struggle to maintain them. Like not being able to feed your family and yourself regularly, or having to go through extreme measures to treat a sick person. It's also feeling powerless, like you yourself aren't even in control of your own life
Interview: What do you think poverty is?
1) My dad- "I go by what the World Bank declare poverty is, everything in their statement describes what most poverty is like around the world"
2) My sister- "I think poverty is not being able to afford everyday things, and not just about money. It's also about feeling powerless and not in control of your own life"
3) My mum- "Poverty is when people are living under the basic standard of life, they can't get basic necesseties of life"
Comparison: My family and I pretty much agree on the definition of poverty although some family members haven't thought about the fact that poverty is not just about money and affording things. It's about how you feel inside, freedom and power.
The current minimum wage in Jakarta is: Rp. 972,604
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Poverty Stimulation Follow Up
POVERTY SIMULATIONFOLLOW UP
Name: Minah
Now that you’ve been a part of, and completed, the poverty simulation, its time to think about what happened and your reactions and feelings as well as some ongoing action you may want to take.
Individually and/or in groups think about and answer the following questions/statements.
How did it feel to be poor? It felt really bad and very stressful. It's like you want to stop and take a break but you have to know you're competing out with other poor people to, whether it's trying to get to the buyer first or something else. But, you also have to understand it's essential to work very hard, even if your're poor and weak and don't feel like it, because you feel responsible for feeding your family. It made me, and probably everybody else, very grateful and privileged for what we have.
Do you have a better understanding about poverty? What specifically did you learn from the simulation? I specifically learned, that although sometimes, it seems like to me, most of the people in poverty resort to begging. But from the facts that Mr.Collet also told us, lots of people, use their very limited resources, efficiently and as neat as possible to create cheap products. That's how they manage to get by everyday.
Is poverty just about not having money? If its not, what else is involved? Poverty is not only about money. Although the things you need can be acquired by money. Like a potable water source, shelter, food, these things can be acquired by having a good income. Although there is a part to it that involves your moral code, like stealing. During the activity some people "stole" but in a business like this, stealing would be your last option because even though you are going through poverty you still want to do it honestly. And it's a very tempting option, and a hard decision to make.
Who had the most and least power in the simulation? The buyer for sure, had the most power at the end of the day, because even if you worked really hard the buyer could just reject your offer, if he/she doesn't need it. The least power, has to belong to your family probably, or somebody waiting back home for your money because as much as they wish for it, they cannot be in control of how good the quality of your work will be because they're not there physically to help you. And therefore they don't have power over the way you work, which could affect your salary for the day.
What are possible (and realistic) ways out of poverty for those like the paper bag makers and millions of others in their situation in the world today? Remember almost one billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. A possible way would probably be that, even though it can be difficult, but job oppurtunities be provided for everybody. And for there to be a rule that in local schools, they have free education given to the children aged under 10 years old. Slowly, then when kids get education and share around knowledge will it be easier for them to get jobs and collect the needed money for the family and the tuition after they turn 11 years old.
Poverty Game: "my name is Minah, I'm now 13 years old. I don't go to school because I don't have enough money and neither do my parents. When I am helping them out on the family farm, during the rainy season I make an income of the average for poor living, my parents only make below the average of decent living. My eldest sibling goes to school, but only for a year because we realized we cannot afford it right now. My mother gets sick very often so most of our income is taken out so she can go to the hospital and get the local medicine for her condition. But I cannot complain because there is not point, I do not have clean water to drink, and every second or third night I have to go without food. I don't have friends here, because I do not have time to interact with people that live near our shed, during the rainy season crops grow very good. But during the winter they die and the winter here is followed by summer which also makes the crops die. But in my life this is all normal, I just hope one day that my income rises to the average of a decent living so I will be able to not only be happy, but also be able to finally attend school."
Name: Minah
Now that you’ve been a part of, and completed, the poverty simulation, its time to think about what happened and your reactions and feelings as well as some ongoing action you may want to take.
Individually and/or in groups think about and answer the following questions/statements.
How did it feel to be poor? It felt really bad and very stressful. It's like you want to stop and take a break but you have to know you're competing out with other poor people to, whether it's trying to get to the buyer first or something else. But, you also have to understand it's essential to work very hard, even if your're poor and weak and don't feel like it, because you feel responsible for feeding your family. It made me, and probably everybody else, very grateful and privileged for what we have.
Do you have a better understanding about poverty? What specifically did you learn from the simulation? I specifically learned, that although sometimes, it seems like to me, most of the people in poverty resort to begging. But from the facts that Mr.Collet also told us, lots of people, use their very limited resources, efficiently and as neat as possible to create cheap products. That's how they manage to get by everyday.
Is poverty just about not having money? If its not, what else is involved? Poverty is not only about money. Although the things you need can be acquired by money. Like a potable water source, shelter, food, these things can be acquired by having a good income. Although there is a part to it that involves your moral code, like stealing. During the activity some people "stole" but in a business like this, stealing would be your last option because even though you are going through poverty you still want to do it honestly. And it's a very tempting option, and a hard decision to make.
Who had the most and least power in the simulation? The buyer for sure, had the most power at the end of the day, because even if you worked really hard the buyer could just reject your offer, if he/she doesn't need it. The least power, has to belong to your family probably, or somebody waiting back home for your money because as much as they wish for it, they cannot be in control of how good the quality of your work will be because they're not there physically to help you. And therefore they don't have power over the way you work, which could affect your salary for the day.
What are possible (and realistic) ways out of poverty for those like the paper bag makers and millions of others in their situation in the world today? Remember almost one billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. A possible way would probably be that, even though it can be difficult, but job oppurtunities be provided for everybody. And for there to be a rule that in local schools, they have free education given to the children aged under 10 years old. Slowly, then when kids get education and share around knowledge will it be easier for them to get jobs and collect the needed money for the family and the tuition after they turn 11 years old.
Poverty Game: "my name is Minah, I'm now 13 years old. I don't go to school because I don't have enough money and neither do my parents. When I am helping them out on the family farm, during the rainy season I make an income of the average for poor living, my parents only make below the average of decent living. My eldest sibling goes to school, but only for a year because we realized we cannot afford it right now. My mother gets sick very often so most of our income is taken out so she can go to the hospital and get the local medicine for her condition. But I cannot complain because there is not point, I do not have clean water to drink, and every second or third night I have to go without food. I don't have friends here, because I do not have time to interact with people that live near our shed, during the rainy season crops grow very good. But during the winter they die and the winter here is followed by summer which also makes the crops die. But in my life this is all normal, I just hope one day that my income rises to the average of a decent living so I will be able to not only be happy, but also be able to finally attend school."
Who is Minah Kausar?
Who does Minah consider as her best friend? Since I've lived here forever, it's normal to make new friends and have them move away, so I have lots of good friends. I'd consider Maddie Taslim, Grace Detwiler, and Shannon McCarty along with many others, to be my best friends.
Where does Minah come from? I come from Pakistan, but I have Italian nationality. Although I have never lived in either countries. I've lived in Jakarta my entire life but I was born in Singapore.
What sports does Minah play? Usually at home I'll just play basketball because it doesn't take up much equipment. But at school I really like doing volleyball, basketball, soccer and badminton in P.E, I also really like touch rugby and I was on the team last year.
When did Minah start going to JIS? I started going to JIS when I was about four or five years old, I went to the elementary school Pattimura, and then I've started going to the middle school campus.
Why does Minah like going to JIS? I really like going here because everybody is international so it's really easy to fit in and relate to other people when they've just moved here. And even though the campus is big it's easy to find your way around because everyone is willing to help and they're really friendly.
How does Minah like to spend her free time? Basically all of the time I'll go over to a friend's house or they'll come over to mine, and if one of them is having like a birthday party then I'll go to that too. Other than that, I normally do sports or go over to the American Club.
Where does Minah come from? I come from Pakistan, but I have Italian nationality. Although I have never lived in either countries. I've lived in Jakarta my entire life but I was born in Singapore.
What sports does Minah play? Usually at home I'll just play basketball because it doesn't take up much equipment. But at school I really like doing volleyball, basketball, soccer and badminton in P.E, I also really like touch rugby and I was on the team last year.
When did Minah start going to JIS? I started going to JIS when I was about four or five years old, I went to the elementary school Pattimura, and then I've started going to the middle school campus.
Why does Minah like going to JIS? I really like going here because everybody is international so it's really easy to fit in and relate to other people when they've just moved here. And even though the campus is big it's easy to find your way around because everyone is willing to help and they're really friendly.
How does Minah like to spend her free time? Basically all of the time I'll go over to a friend's house or they'll come over to mine, and if one of them is having like a birthday party then I'll go to that too. Other than that, I normally do sports or go over to the American Club.
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