Understanding Poverty
How can we define poverty? Well in this article I'll share to you about my thoughts in poverty. We can actually define the word poverty by mainly see if that person is financially and essentially stable in living. Which means that the income level from employment is so low that basic human needs can't be met specifically the basic needs of a family such as house,food, clothes and lastly which is the most important thing, education. And yes I am aware that poverty is not a hindrance when it comes to that because there are lots of opportunities like scholarships but we can't deny the fact that not all people are privelige to have that, that's why out of school youths' data base are keep on increasing. And if that happens many will be unemployed due to lack of education. An unemployed person cannot be able to afford enough & nutritious food for his family and their health. A weak person lacks the energy required for the job. A jobless person remains poor only. Thus we can say that poverty is the root cause of other problems as well.
CAUSES OF POVERTY
According to the Noble prize winner South African leader, Nelson Mandela – “Poverty is not natural, it is manmade”.
In my opinion I agree to his statement because as I read the book of Genesis, as God made the humans he already gave us the freedom to make choices so meaning to say being poor is a choice and it is indeed man-made. There are various causes of poverty but the most important is population. Rising population is putting the burden on the resources & budget of countries. Governments are finding difficult to provide food, shelter & employment to the rising population. One of the best example of this is no family planning, if people only think the consequences in having a big family can lead to poverty rising population can be prevented. Unless if they're financially stable then they can actually make children as many as they want.
The other causes are; lack of education, war, natural disaster, lack of employment, lack of infrastructure, political instability, etc. For instance, lack of employment opportunities makes a person jobless & he is not able to earn enough to fulfill the basic necessities of his family & becomes poor. Lack of education compels a person for less paying jobs & it makes him poorer. Lack of infrastructure means there are no industries, banks, etc. in a country resulting in lack of employment opportunities. Natural disasters like flood, earthquake also contribute to poverty.
In some countries, especially African countries like Somalia, a long period of civil war has made poverty widespread. This is because all the resources & money is being spent in war instead of public welfare. Countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are prone to natural disasters like cyclone, etc. These disasters occur every year causing poverty to rise.
EFFECTS OF POVERTY
Poverty affects the life of a poor family. A poor person is not able to take proper food & nutrition &his capacity to work reduces. Reduced capacity to work further reduces his income, making him poorer. Children from poor family never get proper schooling & proper nutrition. They have to work to support their family & this destroys their childhood. Some of them may also involve in crimes like theft, murder, robbery, etc. A poor person remains uneducated & is forced to live under unhygienic conditions in slums. There are no proper sanitation & drinking water facility in slums & he falls ill often & his health deteriorates. A poor person generally dies an early death. So, all social evils are related to poverty.
Government Schemes to Remove Poverty
The government of India also took several measures to eradicate poverty from India. Some of them are – creating employment opportunities, controlling population, etc. In India, about 60% of the population is still dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Government has taken certain measures to promote agriculture in India. The government constructed certain dams & canals in our country to provide easy availability of water for irrigation. Government has also taken steps for the cheap availability of seeds & farming equipment to promote agriculture. Government is also promoting farming of cash crops like cotton, instead of food crops. In cities, the government is promoting industrialization to create more jobs. Government has also opened ‘Ration shops’. Other measures include providing free & compulsory education for children up to 14 years of age, scholarship to deserving students from a poor background, providing subsidized houses to poor people, etc.
Poverty is a social evil, we can also contribute to control it. For example- we can simply donate old clothes to poor people, we can also sponsor the education of a poor child or we can utilize our free time by teaching poor students. Remember before wasting food, somebody is still sleeping hungry.