Seeing as I am in India, I think it would be highly idiotic of me to not comment on the poverty that can be seen here. There are quite a few people that beg on the side of the street every day and rarely can you go a few hours without someone rattling a can at you, holding out their hand, or asking for money. As sad as this seems, many of us were astounded when we learned in our economics class that these people weren't even considered to be in poverty. Our economics teacher informed us that these people tend to make at least 300 rupees a month if not more (this is about 6 USD). In India, the people that are below the poverty line are actually those who are dying from starvation and haven't been able to feed themselves.
Hearing this it just brought me to think back about the worst economic situation that I had seen in America, and immediately things like Hurricane Katrina or the man digging in the dumpster when I was in Seattle, jumped to my mind. But even so, these people still were able to receive food and didn't die from the lack of food. As sad as it seems to go to school every day and pass by and elderly lady whose wrinkled face calls out for money, I know that there are people in India whose conditions are far worse. Poverty is even more rampant in the rural sectors of India and unfortunately this is something that has been a problem for quite some time (there is a huge gap between the middle class and the poor). Tomorrow I am excited to go volunteer at a rural village in West Bengal where I will get to see the lives that people lead and how much more simple things can be. Even going to places like the Sundarbans and having electricity, something that may not have existed there a couple years back, is amazing.
Seeing and experiencing things like this definitely makes you grateful for what you have. Unfortunately the problem with just giving money to people begging on the side of the street is that you don't know what they are doing with the money they get, and if you give money once they will recognize you and expect money all the time. Talking to some of my fellow students about poverty has also been interesting. Some just feel so heartbroken by what they see that they just decide to give money because they can't say no, while others don't want to be taken advantage of so they rarely give money. Talking to my roommate Rachel, I told her that as hard as it is to pass by the elderly woman every day, I know that she isn't below the poverty line, while many people in the rural villages are. That is why I have decided to give money instead to the NGO that I am working with. Their aim is to educate rural women in things like financial planning, sexual and reproductive health, etc. I know that REACH does a good job in educating these women so they can try to make a better life for their families and next weekend I will get to visit a rural village in the state of Orissa, where I will get to see firsthand how these women who might not have much money, are getting educated to ensure their well-being and the well-being of their families. If you would like to donate at all, please let me know. I will definitely be blogging about my weekend in Orissa so you can see the kind of work that is done with these rural women.
Hearing this it just brought me to think back about the worst economic situation that I had seen in America, and immediately things like Hurricane Katrina or the man digging in the dumpster when I was in Seattle, jumped to my mind. But even so, these people still were able to receive food and didn't die from the lack of food. As sad as it seems to go to school every day and pass by and elderly lady whose wrinkled face calls out for money, I know that there are people in India whose conditions are far worse. Poverty is even more rampant in the rural sectors of India and unfortunately this is something that has been a problem for quite some time (there is a huge gap between the middle class and the poor). Tomorrow I am excited to go volunteer at a rural village in West Bengal where I will get to see the lives that people lead and how much more simple things can be. Even going to places like the Sundarbans and having electricity, something that may not have existed there a couple years back, is amazing.
Seeing and experiencing things like this definitely makes you grateful for what you have. Unfortunately the problem with just giving money to people begging on the side of the street is that you don't know what they are doing with the money they get, and if you give money once they will recognize you and expect money all the time. Talking to some of my fellow students about poverty has also been interesting. Some just feel so heartbroken by what they see that they just decide to give money because they can't say no, while others don't want to be taken advantage of so they rarely give money. Talking to my roommate Rachel, I told her that as hard as it is to pass by the elderly woman every day, I know that she isn't below the poverty line, while many people in the rural villages are. That is why I have decided to give money instead to the NGO that I am working with. Their aim is to educate rural women in things like financial planning, sexual and reproductive health, etc. I know that REACH does a good job in educating these women so they can try to make a better life for their families and next weekend I will get to visit a rural village in the state of Orissa, where I will get to see firsthand how these women who might not have much money, are getting educated to ensure their well-being and the well-being of their families. If you would like to donate at all, please let me know. I will definitely be blogging about my weekend in Orissa so you can see the kind of work that is done with these rural women.
 |
| A picture of the shacks that people live in throughout India |
No comments:
Post a Comment