Poverty's Cycle
Poverty is a vicious cycle and it crosses all continental borders. Around the world, more than five
hundred million workers struggle to make $1 USD a day (International Labor Organization).
That is not enough to provide food, shelter, clothing, and education for a single person, let alone
a family. In the desperate struggle to survive, children are maimed and sent out to beg; women
are forced into prostitution by their husbands; men leave home for months at a time to travel
the countryside in search of hard labor jobs to put food on the table. Others fortunate enough
to have a parcel of land scratch out a meager existence against the odds of foul weather,
scattered internal armed conflicts, and other unforeseen problems that arise. Many of these
families are abandoning their land and migrating to the big cities in hope of work. Most often
they end up in squatter shanties with hundred or thousands of others just like them. Some pick
through garbage dumps for anything they can turn into cash or eat. Some are abused by
unscrupulous city people. Some die, leaving their children in the same situation.
The solution is to give men and women adequate employment foundational skills and tools to get on the road to economic freedom. You can give a hungry man a fish but tomorrow he will be hungry again. If you teach him how and where to fish, he has a better chance of surviving. When you also help him with fishing equipment, he can probably take care of himself, his family, and many others who come his way. Then, the cycle of poverty is broken.
Viable Solutions
We partner with Operation Blessing to find solutions that work. In developing countries, the answer is not simply to find a job. Students can't be prepared for jobs that don't exist. So, we look at a community's needs and create employment opportunities. For example, micro-credit grants and loans have been given to women's cooperatives in several countries, so they can start up profitable businesses such as sausage making or raising chickens. A successful well drilling company created numerous jobs and is still being supported. In South Africa hundreds of once unemployed men and women are now seamstresses and mechanics in their townships. Not only can they buy food for their children, they can also provide required school supplies and uniforms. The opportunities are endless.
