After e-mailing many people from other countries, I still have only heard back from a few and those I heard from are not willing to correspond about the issues that face children in their countries. So, I spent some time on the podcast website this week and though I did not listen to anything specific about poverty, I learned about How children think about thinking from George Forman from UMASS. I also learned about the orphaned children from Indonesia as a result of conflict and the tsunami from Meridas Eka Yora. I also learned about how young girls in Africa live in fear of being raped because it is thought that having intercourse with a young girl will cure you of HIV/AIDS from Deevia Bhana. This World Forum Radio seems like a fantastic resource and even though I am disappointed that I have not made contact with anyone from another country, I am excited to continue to broaden my view through the use of these tools.
I also have not made contact with anyone from the podcast, so I completed the alternate assignment to review a country on the website http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/ . The country I chose was China. I actually was talking to my brother-in-law about China recently and we were talking about how we assumed that the country must be very polarized between rich and poor. The website says that the poverty rate there in 2000 was actually only 3.7% according to their own statistics. It also says that the poverty level is low compared to global standards so I researched current data at another website. I simply checked on Wikipedia to see what information there was there. According to Wikipedia, the poverty level in 2005 was less than 15% but the actual poverty line for them is $1.25 A DAY!!! Seriously? I read it a few times to be sure. That was a surprise to me.
Maybe $1.25 in china is enough to live on but that would not go far here in the US. This week I had the opportunity to research poverty in my own community and it was a very eye-opening experience for me. Poverty is a global issue and it is one I do not know if there will ever be an answer to. All we can do is help where we can and be sure to be aware that people in need are all around us and it might not take much to help them out.
Erica,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did make contact with someone from Kenya the podcasst you mention sound very interesting. I think I will check them out for myself as they sound like a wonderful resource to help me broaden my knowledge and world view.
Enjoyed reading about China. My cousin lived in China for many years and recently moved home. He married a woman from China and it has been hard getting her to the United States. We have never discussed the poverty, but maybe we should...
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is a missionary in China. She has shared her experiences with me. Her family was required to hire a housekeeper during their stay. The girl who worked for them wanted to have a manicure when she saw my friend's nails. My friend took her to have a manicure and paid for it. A whopping $5. I was astonished! Now here is some news that will floor you. There are two poverty levels in China. There is An absolute poverty level and a low income level. Absolute poverty is $90 a year and low income is $125 a year. Can you imagine? $10,000 a year makes us sound rich.
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