Growing up in Mexico provided me with opportunities to observe socio-economic disparities and income inequalities throughout my childhood. I have observed the unfortunate economic circumstances in which millions of people live, especially those from disadvantaged rural groups. My participation in community service projects has also given me a hands-on approach to witness and experience this unfortunate situation and has been a primary motivating force in my studies. I believe in the possibility of collective work targeted to create conditions for economic growth and improvements in the quality of life. I am applying for financial support as, unfortunately, my family does not have enough funds to cover my tuition and living expenses at LSE. …show more content…
I have always been hardworking and goal-oriented, backed up by good academic records while developing an all-rounded approach to my learning and involvement. I come from a middle income household who has supported me and worked really hard to provide me with the best education and the required abilities for my professional development. While I count with full support from my parents, they are constrained from their own personal expenses and my younger sister’s education as she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Mexico. I am a committed person, and have always strived to excel in all the activities I undertake. Being an international student in Canada has proven me to demonstrate my persistence, commitment and integrity in order to succeed in my studies and my professional objectives. My interest and motivation to undertake postgraduate studies at …show more content…
The company provided me with intensive training on international trade, customs, and logistics. It was an opportunity that showed me the limitations of regional integration and the important roles that borders play in our global society. Besides the practical experience, both positions provided me with the opportunity to realise the increasing globalisation of the world economy and the opportunities and potential it brings about for public and private cooperation to stimulate economies. In September 2010 I founded and became the president of Amnesty International at York. I was able to form a team and create the club to act as a liaison to the international organisation in York University. We organized various events, fundraisers, and established a permanent campaign on campus to raise awareness and promote human rights. My involvement in this club taught me a deep sense of duty and solidarity with people all over the world to speak up for fundamental freedoms and the defense of democratic principles while promoting development and
Many of us view poverty as mainly a third world issue, because it tends to have little effect on the majority of individuals on a recurring basis. Yet, it is a difficult situation prevalent in all types of civilization, despite the overall advances in technology, medicine and education that one country may have over the other. Poverty does not necessarily have to affect a specific individual, but as a country, it affects all levels of production; even when the production of a single country begins to falter, it could potentially have major effects on others, creating a continuous cycle.“Poverty is color blind”, it does not discriminate, and is a societal problem that needs to be dealt with today (Fullerton, par. 3). If not helped or solved,
In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David K. Shipler tells the story of a handful of people he has interviewed and followed through their struggles with poverty over the course of six years. David Shipler is an accomplished writer and consultant on social issues. His knowledge, experience, and extensive field work is authoritative and trustworthy. Shipler describes a vicious cycle of low paying jobs, health issues, abuse, addiction, and other factors that all combine to create a mountain of adversity that is virtually impossible to overcome. The American dream and promise of prosperity through hard work fails to deliver to the 35 million people in America who make up the working poor. Since there is neither one problem nor one solution to poverty, Shipler connects all of the issues together to show how they escalate each other. Poor children are abused, drugs and gangs run rampant in the poor neighborhoods, low wage dead end jobs, immigrants are exploited, high interest loans and credit cards entice people in times of crisis and unhealthy diets and lack of health care cause a multitude of problems. The only way that we can begin to see positive change is through a community approach joining the poverty stricken individuals, community, businesses, and government to band together to make a commitment to improve all areas that need help.
Unfortunately, my family and I fall into an area of the middle class that prohibits us from receiving need-based aid. Although I have graciously been awarded the Elizabeth Ann Seton Scholarship, without some additional form of aid, a Seton Hill education may be prohibitively expensive. My fourth year’s tuition alone would cost $37,520 with my current scholarship, and I would still have to pay for living expenses. Once my undergraduate and fifth years’ expenses are included, I will be over $150,000 in debt when I graduate. As a student who has worked exceedingly hard in the classroom and as a leader for four years, this amount of financial burden feels like a punishment. If I do not receive the Seton Scholar Award, I am not confident that I can attend Seton Hill and make the impacts I have described in this
Upon the completion of my high school career I was faced with the sudden realization that I was growing up and on the verge of becoming independent. A few months prior, I had applied to Montana State and received my acceptance letter. The future was before me and my ambitions were truly limitless. That is, until the fact set in that I was going to have to pay for this education that I desired. I knew that with my busy schedule, I would be unable to make enough money while only working a few hours here and there. I was beginning to lose sight of hope. Then one day I talked to my counsellor about what I could do and he pointed me towards dozens of scholarships that I could apply for. The exigence or purpose
She provides captivating counter perspectives that add hope to what is understood about urban poverty in Latin America. She writes using compassion and personal stories to portray larger topics substantiated with statistical analysis. Perlman’s research has provided proof of an overall improvement in living standards and a surprising increase of upward mobility, especially among families that have fewer children. However, not all of her subjects make their way out of poverty. She discovers many innovative social interventions (by community organizers, nongovernmental organizations, and international agencies) that, if replicated, could have widespread benefits. Perlman worries that the emerging democracies of Latin America have so far failed to fully incorporate their expanding urban populations and produce enough good jobs. But their uplifting reportage from the edge provides solid ground for reasoned optimism.
When Chile became a democracy in the early 1990s, it experienced a rapid drop in poverty, which corresponded with its economic growth. However, despite continuing growth as Chile approached the turn of the century, the decline in poverty stagnated (see fig 1.) with the number of people in extreme poverty actually increasing from 5.6% to 5.7% in the years 1998-2000, highlighting that growth alone is not sufficient in reducing poverty. The imperative to look beyond economic growth for reducing poverty is reinforced by data from ECLAC, which reveals that Latin American countries with better social indicators than others had lower levels of poverty than those with the lowest social indicators. It was within this context, with the intention of addressing this issue, that Chile Solidario was created.
Many reforms in the UnitedStates have been passed to help fight against the “War on Poverty”; but it has not been effective in eradicating poverty in the U.S. There are about 46 million people who are living in impoverished conditions and poverty continues to be a social issue in this country (Heritage Foundation, 2011) In the beginning, our country was formed under the belief that “this land is the land of opportunity and if we worked hard enough the American Dream can be gained” (Schwarz, 1997). People immigrate to this country today in hopes of becoming rich so they could gain a better life. In spite of coming to this country for a better life, many are faced with the lack of skills and money to succeed. In the end, most will end up in unskilled labor jobs that can barely support their families. Poverty continues to be a growing social issue because people have the “ inability to provide necessities like clothes, healthcare, and shelter” (Heritage Foundation, 2011) to help themselves and their family; therefore, many sacrifices have to be made to insure their survival. Yet many reforms made to help people living in poverty are based “off of outdated statistics” (Henslin, 2014, p.276) and are not enough to help the lower class maintain a sufficient standard of living. Poverty relates to conflict theory since the poor are struggling just to get by. Government programs such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance, and food stamps provided by the government are not enough to help the poor gain social mobility.
John F. Kennedy once said, “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” This quote shows that we can solve cases of poverty, like the one in “Flavio’s Home” by Gordon Parks. Flavio is a youthful boy who is living in severe poverty, in the unsanitary slums of Rio de Janeiro. Flavio had many roles to play; he had to take care of the younger children and give them water and food while his parents were at work. There is an answer to solving poverty in Brazil. The Brazilian president created the Bolsa Familia program; not only can they stop poverty rates in Brazil, but they can develop similar programs like America.
I know that through my hard work and dedication I can make my goals a reality. However, it may not be possible without these Scholarships. While my parents will help me in any way they can, I am hoping that my hard work and dedication to my studies pays off. I am a very self-driven individual who will accomplish any goal I set my mind on achieving. I am also aware of how without scholarships I may face a financial setback. I am hoping that through the help of scholarships I will be able to achieve all my goals in a timely
The majority of my community live in poverty. Few people are willing to advocate for the Hispanic community. The enforced gender roles in our culture make it difficult for single parents. Most parents do not speak fluent English or speak it at all. This problem has held back many parents back from helping their children. Some examples include the inability to help with their education or any medical needs they may have. Yes, there're interpreters but often there is not enough and they are difficult to find. Many Latino children are facing similar obstacles. Such as language barriers, lack of medical attention and discrimination. In single-parent families, their oldest child is being pushed into parenting positions. They will seek out jobs to help support their family even if that means missing school. With teens trying to fill in the big shoes that a parent once filled, it has a negative impact on their education. Some are not able to finish school because of their jobs. Few are able to attend college, meaning the life cycle of poverty
In China, the poverty line is currently set at 6.3 yuan a day, which is approximately $0.91 US dollars. In 2012, about 10.2 percent of the population made lower than the poverty line. This means about 13,974,000 people in China are in poverty. In Brazil, however, 16.2 million people live under $70 Brazilian Dollars ($20.88 US Dollars) per month, and 4.8 million of those people don’t have any flow of income at all. If global income inequality continues, I believe there will be a huge increase in poverty, immigration, and disenchantment, which could cause protests and revolts. However, it’s never too late to reverse our income disparity issue. The solutions for solving severe income inequality are simple. We need to improve education in low-income neighborhoods, raise taxes on everyone who is making a six-figure income and above while lowering taxes on those who are making less than a six-figure income. Lastly, healthcare should be provided as a civil right as well as being free to use. In conclusion, severe income inequality limits many people from getting proper education and healthcare. It’s a problem found within our community and around the world, and with proper solutions, it's a situation we won’t have to deal with in the
In 1958, Oscar Lewis began to research the subject of poverty, the results of which provided the foundation for his theory “The Culture of Poverty.” Lewis’ research revealed that those living in poverty displayed an ongoing pattern which was passed on through generations and therefore, their social trajectory was predictable. Data was collected from families in Mexico and Puerto Rico and Lewis (1966) documented the observations made on aspect of these groups of families, including “residence and employment history of each adult, family relations; income and expenditure; complete inventory of household and personal possessio...
The state of poverty in America today is abysmal. According to the United States Census Bureau, 14.8 percent of the population, or 46.7 million people, lived in poverty in 2014 (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, 2015). That number has been on the rise, especially since the last recession in 2008. While America’s poverty level is on the rise, other countries have found ways to reduce their poverty level. Brazil, for example, has reduced its poverty level by half after a decade of its program called Bolsa, Familia, which reduced short-term and long-term poverty through direct and conditional cash transfers to poor Brazilians (Ceratti, 2014). From 1980 to 2010, China has reduced its extreme poverty rate from 84 percent to 10 percent (Towards the End of Poverty,
Frost’s poem, “ The Road Not Taken” begins with the words, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both…” are perfect in their ability to describe the same place that I find myself residing in. The issue is addressing the necessity for a college education funded through parental support, regardless of the fact that the return of the parents investment is less than stellar and accepted. while it is especially present in my life, I am sure that it is not an uncommon place that students find themselves in. This topic is important because the fall semester is starting soon, so it is imperative that the funder is convinced of the benefits in continuing to sponsor support to students whose academic results fail to meet the requested results of academic excellence. While the academic measurement of success through GPA
Throughout my my life there has been one thing that has always been on my mind which is to continue on my education further than my parents. Since little I knew that I brought into this world to help others in need anyway possible. As the first person in my family to attend college I am facing many difficulties in succeeding, but I know that I am capable of doing anything I choose to put my mind on. Winning this scholarship would help me out a lot by paying for my education. I understand that the field I have chosen to pursue is difficult and requires many skills to be learned, as well as a lot of experience needed, and. I am fully aware of what it is that I want to be in life and do as a profession so the money would not go to waist.