Blog Action Day; Poverty

Welcome Action Day readers...to my little contribution to the topic of poverty.

Poverty is defined as;

A noun.

1. state of being poor: the state of not having enough money to take care of basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing

2. lack: a deficiency or lack of something poverty of emotion

3. infertility of soil: lack of soil fertility or nutrients For the purposes of today's post, we will speak on the first definition.  The state of not having enough money to take care of basic needs.  So in other words, not having enough of the "root of all evil" to survive.  Does this make the impoverished, the opposite of evil?  I suppose, when one looks into the eyes of a dying child, and sees a saint.  A human suffering due to lack of the things that money can buy.  But what good is money when you cannot use it to buy anything?  Take Cuba for example, a country that has such limited resources, that when you tip your hardworking wait staff at the restaurant in money, they accept it smiling.  But those same people would much rather have goods.  Would much rather have the basic needs of food and clothing and toys for their children.  Maybe the money part needs to be taken out of the poverty equation in some instances.  After all, you cannot eat money, and you cannot make a suit out of money.  Nations in the West spend trillions on war.  What about the war on poverty?  Isn't that a war worth fighting for?  Worth paying for? Impoverished nations need help from wealthier countries period.  Let's get our priorities straight.  The rich seem to get richer, it never fails. Africa speaks to me about poverty on so many levels.  It is a rich diverse continent with as many problems today as it ever had.  Genocides, poverty, civil wars, AIDS...to name but a few.  Take a look at some song lyrics SADE recorded a few years back.  It embraces the emotions of poverty from the perspective of a mother; Pearls, by Sade There is a woman in Somalia Scraping for pearls on the roadside; There's a force stronger than nature Keeps her will alive This is how she's dying- She's dying to survive Don't know what she's made of... I would like to be that brave. She cries to the heaven above! There is a stone in my heart She lives a life she didn't choose And it hurts like brand-new shoes Hurts like brand-new shoes There is a woman in Somalia The sun gives her no mercy The same sky we lay under Burns her to the bone Long as afternoon shadows- It's gonna take her to get home Each grain carefully wrapped up Pearls for her little girl Hallelujah Hallelujah She cries to the heaven above There is a stone in my heart She lives a life she didn't choose And it hurts like brand-new shoes *** Poverty is the worst form of violence. ~ Mahatma Ghandi Poverty is the mother of crime.  ~Marcus Aurelius It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. ~ Mother Teresa (The photo above is Mother Teresa as a young girl.) Do something about poverty in your own way.  Fight the war.  Help locally this week by donating unwanted items to a women's shelter.  Donate to your food bank.  Donate your time at a soup kitchen.  Help in other ways by visiting the Hunger Site.  www.thehungersite.com and make a gift of whatever you can afford. And keep yourself educated as to the goings on in the world so you may make informed choices.  xo Please click on the Blog Action Day badge in my left sidebar, it will take you to the links with all the information and participants.  There are amazing ideas out there, such as microfinancing site KIVA, that you can join and help end poverty one step at a time. Go for it.

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Comments

[Christina]

Beautiful, my friend! You have opened my eyes and taken me on a worldly journey. Poverty is real and there is no denying it.

Today is a day to devote to those who have been forgotten.

; )

[Lisa P]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful girl. Sad that poverty is right in our own backyard in a country like this. You are such an awesome woman! Yes, give, give, GIVE...to those who are less fortunate.

Ironic you should blog about this. I am trying to teach Aiden about helping our fellow man at the moment. We packed up a bunch of food for our local food bank last week and he donated his own money to the Mission. We are now going through his toys because he wants to give some to little boys that don't have any. I was surprised to learn that women's shelters (here in Ottawa anyway) do not take donations of toys.

[Paris Parfait]

An excellent look at the ills of poverty and how we can help lessen the burden for those less fortunate. Great quotes, too. xoxox

[My Castle in Spain]

Today, i knew beautiful, powerful and wise words were awaiting me on your blog.
Thank you dear Gillian !!
I posted about it too but not so deeply..
Have a great day, sharing..
:-)

[kai]

Aloha Gill,
Bluebird, this is a gorgeously complex post full of thought, kindness and generosity of heart..
thankyou for sharing, peace, Kai

[Jeanne]

Blessings

[Liberty Post Editor]

What a thoughful post. I also love the new look of your blog!

[Scarlet]

Those words were like a jolt the spirit...to wake up and do something! You've inspired me once again. Thanks for sharing.

[devil mood]

I love that song :)
When people say money isn't everything, it gains a new sense when money really isn't worth anything because some countries are poor to the point of having nothing growing of their soils, of having absolutely no resources to feed and nourish their people, to provide basic care. Money really isn't much to them, but our money can be if we apply it in the right way.
Great post Gillian :)

[Epiphany]

Gill, Thanks for posting this. To always be grateful and mindful of those who have nothing is a perspective to strive for. ...and to take action in some fashion should always be a given.

[gemma]

Thanks for your advice to do something locally. So often we try to help from afar. When right in our own backyard people are in need.
xx

[Maithri]

Can you hear me standing and applauding over here!!

Keep telling their stories, keep speaking loud and clear these words of freedom and justice.

God knows the world needs intelligent, eloquent voices like yours, to take up the torch and burn.... for those whose lips are barred shut by the arrows of sickness and poverty and despair...

Your words are fire,

Keep burning,

Maithri

[susanna]

I didn't know that it was Blog Action Day: Poverty today. You know, I hadn't thought of the pointlessness of tipping money in Cuba if they can't spend it on anything...or that it makes sense to give them something tangible instead.
Recently I watched an Oprah program about rudeness and someone mentioned on the show that some waitresses in the U.S. get paid their state's minimum wage of just over $2.00 an hour plus tips. Well, if they don't get tips, they don't make enough money to live. I was completely shocked by that minimum wage. It just seems so wrong, doesn't it?

[rochambeau]

An insightful and beautifully written post Gillian! Like Susanna, I didn't know it was Blog Action Day.
Your words and Sades touch me so. Especially what you said about the west spending billions on war, but neglecting the impoverished, also Sades words: there is a stone in my heart & it hurts like brand new shoes. (I've heard the song so many times, but never knew the lyrics).
The photo of Mother Theresa is beautiful.
I think on her her compassion. I let her essence seep into my soul.
She looks like a little gypsy in this photo.
Thank you again,
Thank you!
xox
COnstance

[somewhere joe]

The movie Beyond Borders is flawed, but I'll never forget the scene in a makeshift clinic in war-torn Africa, surrounded by suffering, where Clive Owen tells Angelina Jolie that the people, most of them dying, have literally nothing to comfort them... no home, little food, not even the cheapest pain control. 'They experience the pain just as God gives it,' he says.

www.DoctorsWithoutBorders.org