Empty Bowls

Well this is my last post for the semester. I hope anyone that has read this blog has enjoyed it and learned something new. I'm not sure that I'll continue to blog after this semester, but who knows. Poverty will still be a big problem for a while, so I may post every once in a while as a reminder of how terrible poverty has become. I have one last article to share with everyone. This article is about a fundraising event that helps the 9,000 homeless people in the nation's capital. The organization that holds this event is called "So Others Might Eat". They have seen an increase in all of the services they provide because of how the economy has affected people over the last year. Every year the host an "Empty Bowls" event in which people $20 and they are served a dinner of soup and are given a handmade clay bowl. "The events raise thousands of dollars for the organization, with local potters, studios and schools making and donating the bowls, and restaurants and shops donating the food." Making the bowls isn't easy and many people work around the clock to make over 500 bowls. However, the people say they enjoy it because they know that it's going to help out so many people in their city. They say that it even means more during the holiday season because, 'The holidays remind us of giving thanks for what we have, but also the opportunities we have for reaching out to others that don't have.' I just want to remind everyone to keep in mind over the holiday season that they should be thankful for what they have. I remember getting upset a few times during Christmas for not getting the presents I really wanted. Now that I'm older I realize how selfish I was and that I should be grateful that I get anything at all. I ask that everyone take the time over the holidays to give to someone else, whether it's a toy for a toy drive, a monetary donation, or your time at a soup kitchen...something! If you'd like to read the entire article, visit www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/12/15/gif.empty.bowls/index.html

"...in a galaxy far far away"

I've always never understood why the United States spends so much money on Space exploration. I understand that it is a very expensive industry, but is it all necessary when some of that money could go towards eliminating poverty? Well, I've come across an author that believes that the money put toward space exploration is not frivolous when people are spending more money on luxury items. He makes very valid points, but not everyone spends a lot of money on luxury items but instead give large amounts of money and time to help those living in poverty. He discusses how the amount people in the US spend on "pets, toys, gambling, alcohol and tobacco" is about a trillion dollars a year. He argues that this is 63 times the amount that the US has spent on space exploration. He then mentions that "$250 billion are spent annually in the US on the medical treatment of tobacco-and alcohol-related diseases-only sixteen times more than on space exploration." He says that what we spend money on ruins peoples lives (the drugs, alcohol, and gambling) while space exploration has not destroyed lives (he fails to mention the people that have died due to space ships blowing up...). Although I think that space exploration should have less government subsidies, I think the author provides valid points. My favorite quote of the article is, "It is not the exploration spirit that Americans need to give up in order to alleviate poverty. It is the consumerist spirit." To read the entire article, visit www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-04b.html

Peace

I know I've talked a lot about getting involved, but I find this so important that I'm going to stress it again. Right now I'll discuss the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is an organization that takes volunteers around the world to help on issues such as technology, AIDS, and environmental preservation. They can educate people in different countries about the dangers of poor water sanitation and malnutrition (both causes of poverty, and both of which lead to disease and death if untreated). They may dig water wells or build sanitary bathrooms, and then they teach the local people about how to safely maintain these structures. Volunteers can also teach farmers how to increase their yield while protecting the land, and therefore allowing the farmers to reuse the land for a longer period of time. Nearly half of all volunteers will also support food security through various projects. Such projects include building gardens and educating locals on good nutrition. These are just a few ways in which volunteers help out, there are many other categories that are involved in community development and business. In my previous post I discussed how America is far behind in the goal to help end world poverty, however the peace corps is a way in which America gives back. If you are interested in volunteering for the Peace Corps, which I definitely am, I suggest you do some research and talk to a Peace Corps recruiter. The different programs require specific skills or background knowledge, so it's helpful to talk to a recruiter to determine what program you're qualified for.

Problems of Poverty

This morning I found this poverty website that shows the number of people that die every minute due to a problem caused by poverty. The problems that the website discusses are hunger, diarrhea, AIDS, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Measles. For hunger alone, the death count per day is 25,000. They discuss programs that help people get food for working or get food while they're at school. Providing food for children that go to school gives them more motivation to get their education which will eventually lead to good jobs and staying out of an impoverished life. Other problems linked to poverty have lower death tolls than hunger, but the lives claimed are still outrageous. Diarrhea, due to unclean water and unsafe sanitation kills around 1.6 million people, while AIDS kills about 240 people every hour, which equals about 5760 people a day. Diarrhea is a simple problem to solve and Oral Rehydration Therapy has greatly reduced the deaths caused by diarrhea in the past few years. Obviously there is no known cure for AIDS, but it can be prevented. However, it is a preventable disease. The number one preventative measure is education! The website also shows how much aid countries gave in 2008. Sweden has gave the most with $0.98 for every $100 the country earned. The United States came in last place with $0.18 for every $100 our country earned. This may make us look like a selfish country because we are one of the richest countries. I understand our lack of giving because there is so much poverty here in America that we still have to take care of. However, the United States did sign an agreement in 2002 saying that we would eventually be giving $0.70 for every $100 our country earns. Since we signed this agreement, we definitely need to follow through. To find out how you can help, or to just explore the website, visit www.poverty.com

The Habit

One topic that I have yet to discuss is how drug use relates to poverty. The other day I watched a special on television about a young woman's struggle with her addiction to heroine...later accompanied by an addiction to cocaine. She lived with her boyfriend who was a drug dealer and had a part time job. This young woman could not keep a job for more than a week because her drug use got in the way. She used about $20 worth of heroine a day while her boyfriend used about $150 a day. This obviously put great financial strain on their relationship. She eventually kicked her out of their apartment because she could not find, or keep a job. Her parents had already put her through 6 detox and rehab programs, so at this point they were unwilling to help her. She lived on the streets and in jails for almost a year because any money she could scrape up was used for her drug addiction. She was in an ugly cycle for years: having nowhere to live and no money because she couldn't get a job, couldn't get a job because the drugs were impairing her mental ability. She eventually got the help she needed and has been sober and gotten her life back on track. I know that this type of life is often seen with drug addicts because their money goes to support their habit. However, the addicts are not always young adults. Sometimes children grow up in households with parents that are addicts, and they must suffer the consequences of the drug abuse. I watched a movie on Lifetime a few years ago in a Health class called "Homeless to Harvard". I don't remember everything about the movie, but basically a girl grew up in a household with parents that were addicted to various substances. She was malnourished and lived in filthy circumstances, eventually becoming homeless. She took her life and changed it around by getting accepted into Harvard. I'm not sure what she does now (this is a true story) but I know that she is well off now. Drug abuse is a very scary thing and it can be so damaging...in many ways, including poverty. However, it's been proven that people can overcome either drug abuse or the effects of drug abuse, and not have to live the rest of their lives in poverty.

Helping Out

Previously in my blog I've discussed ways in which you can help out locally in fighting poverty. However, there are ways in which you can help out on a larger scale, if you're interested. If you're interested in speaking out against poverty, I recommend you look into Stand Against Poverty. They have a website that features stories of people who have been in poverty or fought against it. The website also features videos of people that have spoken up against poverty through the television or even through hosting events. If you're interested, visit the website www.standagainstpoverty.org
If you would like to help individual children in impoverished households, there are many organizations in which you can become involved. There are far too many to list, but The internet is a great way to find the child that you wish to help. There are also ways in which you can help fight hunger, both nationally and internationally. One organization I've recently become interested in is Share our Strength. They help feed the hungry children in America. I found out about them through the food network channel because they sponsor and advertise the "Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale". This is a nationwide bake sale that raised over a million dollars last year, all of which went to fight child hunger. A bake sale is fun, easy, and a great way to spread the word about Share Our Strength. However if baking is not your thing, or you simply are pressed for time, there are ways you can just make a monetary donation. If this is something you're interested in, just visit www.strength.org

No More Peas and Potatoes

The economy world wide has suffered over the past year, and the majority of countries have had to cut back on some spending. Cuba, since 1962, has had a ration book that it provides to needy people in order to help them buy essential food items each month. The government has recently considered doing away with these ration books in order to save money and "encourage more productivity". They have already done away with "nearly free lunches" and some state cafeterias. A list of some of the things these books help provide are rice, chicken, beans, and sugar. In November the government took peas and potatoes off the list in order to save a little more money. The Communist Party in Cuba says that these books were once a necessity to the country, but that over time they have become an impediment. President Castro is about to destroy the lives of many of his citizens. He wants to completely eliminate free services and "unnecessary subsidies". I understand that money has become very tight for all the countries, but it has also become tight for the citizens of those countries. I'm sure the citizens have already had to cut back and with the elimination of these services they will have to cut back even more. Some families rely on these books as their sole source of money for food. Without these books they will either go hungry or have to give up other things in their lives (possibly their home or electricity). Although I don't know the whole situation in Cuba, I think that the government should not try to completely eliminate these services, just cut back on them in some way. The country and its citizens would be better off with this option. If you would like to read this article in its entirety, click on this link. www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/30/cuba.ration.book.threat/index.html

Also, here is another article about the ration books that states that the government of Cuba believes that the books hinder equality and growth in the nation. If you would like to read this article, click this link www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42430