Stand Up Against Poverty

2009-01-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

Stand Up Against Poverty
by: Bhuwan Thapaliya

Stand up against poverty
stand up against hunger
stand up for the humanity
with a resolute heart, and
let this be your pledge.
But remember, my friend!
It is not how you stand up,
and where you stand up
but why you stand up,
how long you stand up,
and how much effort
you put with a noble heart
into the cause that matters much.
Ah! My friend, today people
stand up for the sake of
standing up only,
and if you are one of those
then you better sit down
and let them stand up, who are
really concerned for those
who can’t stand up on their own.

Trapped by Poverty

2009-01-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Trapped by Poverty
an excerpt from UN What's Going On?
http://www.un.org/works/goingon/poverty/jessica_story.html

Over 12 million American kids suffer from poverty, and it infects every aspect of their lives—from family relations, to school friendships to dreams for the future. Jesse Staley, a teenager from Harts, West Virginia dreams of graduating from high school and attending prom. While her friends buy prom dresses and arrange after parties, she struggles to feed her sisters and brothers. As other families choose between colleges, hers much choose between medical care and welfare.

As many of her friends live the life a carefree adolescent, Jesse assumes the role of the caretaker in her family. The oldest of three children, she must look after her siblings while her father ekes out a living driving a truck. Her father is a hardworking man, but his 12 to15-hour shifts don't provide enough income to pay the bills. She begins her days early, after her father leaves for work. She wakes up her brother and sister, feeds them and sends them to school. After attending classes all day, she fixes dinner, helps her siblings with class assignments and puts them to bed--all before starting her own homework.

Although the family isn't homeless, they have only $120 each month to buy food. Often, there isn't enough to last the month, so Jessie is forced to turn to charities like Save the Children for help. Her family suffers from the constant struggle to make ends meet. For example, choosing inexpensive over healthy foods has hurt the family's health; Jessie's father has a heart condition and struggles against obesity--the result of high fat, processed foods that so frequently make up a low-income diet.

Jessie's dream of going to college is tempered by fears that her father will need her close to home, especially as he faces growing health problems. It's a sad fact that in America, where there is no universal health coverage, many families face the same terrible choice as Jessie's father between working for a living without health insurance or taking welfare in order to receive state-provided medical care.
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OBP

2009-01-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

One Blink of Poverty...
Have you seen the Reality?