It was with great sadness that I watched the documentary. I saw Kenyan children from a small village living in extreme poverty. These children must live with the two most devastating factors to children: poverty and lack of education. If a child’s environment is not nurturing, the child can suffer both mentally and physically. Therefore, poverty and lack of education are both factors that most negatively affect a child. Poverty is the harshest factor for children as it encompasses hunger, lack of access to medical facilities, and lack of access to clean water. Lack of education is another devastating factor as ignorance only harms and limits a child from succeeding in today’s competitive global economy.
Where does the fine line of poverty stand? In the United States of America, children who live on less than $18,000 a year are considered to be living in poverty while in various other countries, children who live on less than $2 a day are considered to be living in poverty. Poverty is defined as the condition of being poor or the state of having little goods or means of support. In both the cases of children living on less than $18,000 a year and less than $2 a day, the children do not have enough support to survive adequately.
Poverty extends out over all continents, making it the most widespread negative factor. Out of the world’s 2.2 billion children, approximately half live in poverty according to UNICEF. Poverty claims approximately 22,000 children’s lives per day. This statistic illustrates the struggle children that live in poverty must face in order to survive. Poverty is a root cause of hunger, disease, and lack of shelter. It is concentrated in pockets in areas such as South Africa and South Asia. Children, who must...
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...e getting equal benefits. By pooling together efforts, various positive outcomes will result. By either micro financing an educator, allowing easy transfer of foreign goods, or unifying charities, both poverty and lack of education will be combated. These methods will allow for nurturing environments for children to succeed.
Poverty and lack of education are widespread and negatively influence a child. Both of these have severe long-term and short-term effects. Poverty affects a child both physically and mentally. Lack of education puts a limit job selection and successfulness. It also encourages the cycle of poverty. By providing an education, both of these factors can be resolved. Help should go to all children- not just the ones that are prominently featured. Hopefully, one day those vivacious children from the poor Kenyan village will be successful individuals.
Peter Singer’s article, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”, highlights the need to prevent absolute poverty in developing countries. An estimate of one billion people live in “a condition of life characterized with malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality and low life expectancy” according to Wesley Bagby (pp. 29). As a victim of Sudan’s civil war and a former refugee, I totally understand what it means to be homeless and street child. The hardship endured by homeless and street children on a daily basis is unbelievable; a day without food to eat, a day without clean water to drink, a day without shelter, a day without cloth, a day without medical care, and a day without security. There is no doubt that a
In addition to providing alarming statistics about the rate of childhood poverty, Jenson & Fraser highlight how much poverty can adversely affect the outcomes of children both directly and indirectly by impacting them at a familial and community levels (31-34).
The children had so much insight into their financial situations, these are problem children should not be worrying about but poverty has seemed to consume everything in their lives. Examples of this can be found when the little girl in the film Kaylie mentioned how she would be hungry and she wasn’t able to eat three meals a day along with her not being able to be enrolled in school and having to move and change schools and make new friends can have effects on these children as
The Federal Government defines poverty as income that falls below the United States Poverty threshold. (Begun 95). If a person is below or right at the poverty line they are considered poor. It also refers to the lowest level of income a person can make and afford the minimum necessities. (Bender and Leone 23). The poverty line was adopted by the government in the mid 1960's. Not included in the income figure are cash benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid.(Le Vert 50). The poverty rate is adjusted for different sexes, races, ages, and family structures. The government adjusts the poverty line each year according to the cost of living.
Even the mere inequality of wealth in a child’s social, cultural, or educational setting can have effects on a child’s peer to peer interactions, hierarchical structure and their ability to achieve. Gorard 2010 as discussed in Victoria Cooper, 2014 (p160), links poverty and or social deprivation with lower academic results. In the Xiao Bo case study by Child poverty research and policy centre, 2013 (Heather Montgomery, 2014) it demonstrates the multifaceted effects of poverty on a child, such as the stresses it places on the family to educate children, pressure on the children themselves to succeed in education to enable them to assist with family finances and lifestyle, the compromises and sacrifices made as a family unit in lifestyle and financial planning in order to pursue education of the child, as well as demonstrating the wide range of instigators that create inequalities of wealth, such as political/policy decisions, loopholes in aid assistance, cost of education and unequal access to resources. In 2001 the Millennium development goals were set out in response to the millennium summit of the united nations to reduce poverty and its associated issues, of the eight goals, the first goal was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, demonstrating the comprehension of the wide ranging affect of poverty on children and society as a whole, and an understanding that poverty ‘Damages children in every way’ as stated by Unicef
People always say how they are so poor, but do they really know the meaning of being poor. People who live under the poverty line are the ones considered poor by the government. There are many people who suffer being in poverty. The Census Bureau’s articles says, “In 2014, the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. There were 46.7 million in poverty,” (“2014 Highlights”). The percentage might not seem like a lot, but those are just the ones below the poverty line. There are many people who suffer who are just above the line or going back and forth. Another 1.9 billion people live just above it and struggle to make ends meet. (Lusted) Some even live in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is those who can’t even have water, food, housing, and clothing. (Lusted) As for anyone in poverty though, it decreases their lifespan as these people don’t have the money for proper healthcare and nutrition. For one person in the 48 states excluding Hawaii and Alaska, the poverty line is set at $11,770. As you add more people to the family, t...
According to Anup Shah, a researcher for Global Issues, “almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day” (Shah). For most people, it would be super hard to survive on this little amount of money every day. People who live this low in the poverty level walk several miles just so that they can acquire basic needs such as water and food. These people also have no way to afford medical attention and will often die from a preventable cause. According to Anup Shah, “1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day)” (Shah). Children who have these poor family situations usually will die from hunger or diseases at a young age. Children who live in this type of poor environment do not have the money to go to school. Without an education, these children will have a hard time obtaining jobs when they reach adulthood. They will also have problems receiving
Childhood development is both a biological and psychological period that occurs to every human from birth to adolescence. The transition from dependency to autonomy characterizes this period. The crucial factors that affect this period include parental life, prenatal development and genetics among others. Childhood period is immensely significant for the child’s future health and development. Efforts in ensuring proper child development are normally seen through parents, health professional and educators who work collectively. Such efforts are essential in making sure that children grow to reach their full potential. However, it is not extremely easy to raise a child in modern times because certain factors emerge to ruin this pivotal stage in life. Poverty is a serious problem that can immensely affect childhood development (Horgan, 2007). Children are susceptible developmentally to problems in their earliest period of their life. Poverty is not a selective issue and it can affect all ages in any place, but its
Poverty is “the inability to acquire enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (Gosselin,2009). This social disadvantage limits one’s ability to receive a quality education and it is a constant problem throughout the world accompanied with“deleterious impacts on almost all aspects of family life and outcomes for children”(Ravallion,1992). Poverty is a main factor that affects normal human growth and development in a variety of ways, primarily impacting children’s early development, social behaviour, health, and self worth.
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Some of the implications of poverty include educational setbacks, issues with social behaviors and hindrances in psychological and physical development. Poverty deprives children of the capabilities needed to survive, develop and prosper in society. Studies have shown that the income status of a household and even the neighborhoods in which they reside can affect the amount of readily available resources needed to sustain a healthy child. This essay will examine the psychological and physical effects of poverty on children. The psychological aspect will include a look at behavioral problems in children, depression, chronic stress, and conduct disorders such as ADHD. Poverty is known to decrease the amount of psychological and physical capabilities in children which can have long term adverse effects on their wellbeing.
The authors of this video suggest that child poverty is caused but the disregard of the rest of the world to make an end to this poverty, despite how tragically this large childhood hunger had become, and simply 1% of the national income of the 22 country who have pledged to donate will be more than enough to end it.
Poverty is prevalent throughout the world around us. We watch television and see famous people begging us to sponsor a child for only ten dollars a month. We think in our own minds that ten dollars is only pocket change, but to those children and their families, that ten dollars is a large portion of their annual income. We see images of starving children in far away countries, and our hearts go out to them. But we really do not know the implications of poverty, why it exists, or even what we can do to help combat this giant problem in our world.
I think quality education is essential to pass the phase of poverty in the world. With quality education, children will get the knowledge as well as the life skills required to get to know what their capable of achieving, and how to turn their life to the path which they want to go to. Some organizations like Teachers Resource Organization (TRC) helps in training teachers, building schools, paying for school requirements, and basic school necessities. Organizations like these also help in throwing down the barriers which prevent children from attending
Poverty in America is measured using thresholds and guidelines that are updated each year so that we have a more accurate picture of who is in need. Using these standards it is then decided who is impoverished. According to the Institute for Research on Poverty (2013) a family of four, who makes less than $23,492 in a year, are considered poor. There are numerous federal programs provided by the government that are designed to help those who are in need. Some of these programs provide food stamps, free lunches, Medicaid, Head Start, and rent assistance. Although these programs are helpful to people who need them they do not entirely prevent children from the consequences of being poor.
Those living in poverty have a lack of funds to invest in education, thus their schools lack the material and staff to probably train their students for future success. This lack of education is the root cause of poverty, because those with no education can’t compete for higher paying jobs that require basic understanding in subjects like math, such as being an accountant or bank manager. Their lack of education has limited their job opportunities, therefore limiting them from improving their lifestyle. Furthermore, poverty travels from generation to generation like an endless cycle. Also Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school all together because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members. In addition, Dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old students who come from low income families are seven times higher than those from families with higher incomes. Also Less than 30% of students in the bottom quarter of incomes enroll in a 4-year school. Among those less than 50% graduate from college(Dosomething). The lack of education and training for well-paying jobs inhabits these people from ever escaping the cycle of poverty. However, the reason many of these people lack the required education is simply that they can’t afford to attend school or earn a degree. Therefore, this allows them to only have jobs that offer little benefit, and