Issues in the news

Marginalized communities living in poverty

Poverty can be described as the inability to have access to the basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing and of basic education. Over 60 % of the world’s population has been reported to live under the poverty line with some families surviving on under1 dollar a day. This issue continues to spiral into a more serious problem that affects the development of the world as a whole. The level of poverty is unrealistic in that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to rise. This means that the world has enough resources to go around. A vast amount of resources is reserved for the wealthy minority living the majority of the population to succumb to extreme poverty which could be avoided if more effort was placed (O’Connor, 2000). As a member of this community, it is impossible for me to sit and listen to the news that reports the rising number of deaths that have arisen due to this situation. It is thus my responsibility to take on some of the load and make the situation known by writing on this issue.

This research paper focuses on a current issue in the news that speaks on a marginalized issue. The marginalized issue in this case is an article of communities that live in poverty. The research paper analyses credible articles that cover this situation by providing a summary, analysis of the article at hand. It finally provides concluding sentence where I address the personal meaning the article represents for me offering summary and recommendation on the way forward.

Global issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental that affect us all. (August, 17, 2011) Retrieved from www.globalissues.org/

Summary

Africa is the poorest continent in the world. The situation in Africa is so serious to the extent that 50% of the population goes to bed having eaten only one meal a day. Most of the poverty related issues in the country have arisen as a result of the corruption of most of the important sectors in the continent. This has led to the creation of a wealthy class of the elite who represent the minority and an alarming percentage of the poor who represent the majority of the population. For members of a community to become resourceful individuals, they need to have in place a system that supports their growth. Countries that experience a high rate of poverty have a problem producing motivated members of the society.

One of the problems poverty brings as an ignorant society. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge of current and past events that have had a big impact in the world. Lack of knowledge disables individuals in that they become closed minded. This in turn affects their reasoning to the extent that they become prisoners of their thoughts. If majority of the population are placed in this category, the growth of the population will be lower than average. This condition is not ideal for a young mind in that they are destined to follow on the footsteps of the adults in the society. For the authorities to stop these phenomena, they need to act quickly. This will involve providing education for the communities that have been marginalized in this area. Although these communities realize that there is a problem, they do not know the right way of approach. This can be credited to the lack of motivation by the authorities who have not used their influence to come up with solutions. This in turn has brought about a revolving system that sees issues like corruption compliment poverty which brings forth more corruption due to the lack of accountability in such communities.

One would think that people who live in the suburbs have it easy when it comes to the reception of the basic amenities. The article written on the living standards in the suburbs of Southern Chester County in the United States begs to differ. The poverty issue in this community begun more than fifteen years ago, recording staggering records of the poor living conditions of the members of the community. Most of the members of the community could not afford a decent healthcare plan and had on several occasions lied about their insurance so as to get free treatment in the local hospital. One of the major problems that the community has complained about is the housing conditions they live in. This has put their lives at a standstill to the extent that the children who come from such households have been affected in areas such as their studies.

Analysis

The article shows the living conditions of several African countries who share the same conditions in terms of living standards. One of the features that stand out in the article is the pictures they show that brings out the level of turmoil brought about by the uncontrollable rates of poverty (Silver, 2004). One of the factors that have been mentioned as a cause of poverty is corruption. For countries to realize their potential there needs to be a clear and equitable distribution of resources. Although many articles have been written on poverty, most of them have shown the extent of the poverty without giving viable solutions to the problems.

The reason why I chose this article is that it had depth in terms of displaying the extent to which the problem on poverty had spread throughout the world. It not only brought out the situation in the third world countries, it also addressed poverty experienced in the suburbs of United States. This article thus removes our ignorance about the living standards in the country. Most of the foundations that have been set up have been aimed at the third world countries ignoring the plight of fellow Americans. Showcasing the situations of Americans who are experiencing difficulty in acquiring the basic needs enlightens the society of the long way we have to go to bring about the distribution of resources (O’Connor, 2000).

Conclusion

Poverty continues to be one of the most serious global problems in the country. It is through the poverty that most of the problems arise in our societies. The creation of literature such as books, journals and articles create awareness of the issues that people face around the world. One of the marginalized social issues is the topic on poverty. Poverty is not only reserved for the people in the third world countries but spreads across developed countries like the United States. For the members of the society to tackle this problem we must first accept that this is a big problem. Through acceptance, each able bodied individual can come together so that they can contribute their resources to the less fortunate. If everyone takes personal responsibility of the current issues that affect the world, the stories that make the headlines would be less tragic thus creating a better environment to live.

References

Global issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental That affect us all. (August, 17, 2011) Retrieved from www.globalissues.org/

May, Fran. (Feb 27 2011). Daily local news suburban poverty is a big problem that is worsening

O’Connor, Alice. (2000). “Poverty Research and Policy for the Post-Welfare Era” Annual Review of Sociology.

Silver, H. (2004). Social exclusion and social solidarity in International Labour Review, 133 5-6.