Poverty Here & Aboard

Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor Bare. “Mother to Son”Langston hughes(1922).

The famous Langston Hughes poem spoke of the hardship of poverty then in 1922 and still speaks today in 2013. According to the National Center on Poverty in 2010 15.1 percent of all persons lived in poverty here in the United States. Poverty as defined by some is the scarcity, dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money (Intelligence n.d.). For blacks and Hispanics populations poverty rates greatly exceed national averages. For example, in 2010 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanic were poor, compared with 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians (US Census Bureau. 2010) Furthermore, poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black and Hispanic. For children, the picture is even more grime. Children who are only 24 percent of the total population unfortunately make up 36% the poor population. For example, in 2010, 16.4 million children or 22.0 percent were poor (Census Bureau 2010)

As you can see from these numbers, poverty is a significant issue for millions across this country. I chose this topic because like the millions of children who are trapped in poverty today, I too was one of them just two decades ago. My mother was a single- divorced mother raising five kids by herself. I remember days going without food and sometimes without basic amenities that I take for granted today like, lights and running water. There was simply not an enough to go around in my home and so by the end of the month my mother turned to our “ecosystem”. Our ecosystem consisted of friends, family members; our local church and when times got really heard Welfare. Thankfully things changed later in my teen years as my mother begin to earn her education, eventually obtaining a Master’s degrees, which opened up work for my mother that helped her provide for her family more proficiently.

Poverty looks very different outside of the US in developing countries like that of Malawi. Malwai is one of the poorest countries in Africa with two thirds of its population living in poverty (wwww.cemnet.com). However, the poverty found in Malawi is more than the scarcity of material, but absolute poverty—the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly include food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and education. One organization is working this change this however and that is Pamoza International. My good friend Tawm Wright, who is always Malwian, serves as the Executive Directive of Pamoza international. Pamoza International mission is to united people in alleviating suffering and despair through Christian outreach and discipleship, meeting basic human needs, establishing self reliance and promoting environmental stewardship(www.pamoza.com)

One of the biggest ways to alleviated poverty from Ms Wright’s point of view is through education; particularly educating girls. Studies confirm that girls who are provided with an education in developing countries are less likely to end up poor. To achieve their goal Pamoza International runs and education initiative working to improve educational facilities and supplies; providing educational scholarships to children who can’t afford their school fees and attracting and retaining qualified teachers (www.pamoza.com).
To learn how you can get involved with my friend Temwa and Pamoza International work log onto http://www.pamoza.com

U.S. Bureau of the Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, Report P60, n. 238, p. 61.

Intelligence. (n.d) . In Wikipedia online dictionary retrieved from http;//Wikipedia.com