I am new to the Lift One blog so I'm posting a comment a little late but I still wanted to add my .02! 

My ex is from Mexico and his family isn't dirt poor but the economy has still taken it's toll on the family.  His sister, who is now 35, is a single Mom with three girls. She has been looking for work but in Mexico everyone wants young women with no kids and yes, age discrimmination is rampant in Mexico.

You wouldn't know to look at them that they are struggling because their Grandmother sews wonderful clothes for them, usually out of scrap material.  She also sells shoes so they can buy the shoes at wholesale prices, so they have access to clothes and shoes.  What they don't have is access to Medical and Dental services and they eat a lot of beans and rice, they don't have AC or heat in the winter. The neighborhood they live in isn't the worst in town but it's not anywhere that any of us would want to live in, either.

 

 

 

What a great discussion!  To me, this blog post really speaks to the basic question of "what is poverty"? 

With "Poverty" being such a nebulous term, often defined by personal reference rather than a finite definition, I think the easiest way to describe poverty is with extreme images.

That being said, I think we can all agree that poverty doesn't necessitate that a person be filthy and surrounded by flies.  Poverty is not a black and white issue, where someone who is impoverished can be easily identified upon sight...especially when you consider all the variables that come into play (health, education, opportunity, societal constraints, etc.).

Here's the real mind-bender: should we even be asking the question?  If somebody says they need help, should we evaluate their degree of need before offering the help they request?

I have seen photos of children dressed in clean and neat clothes and I believe that everyone wants to look nice for a prospective sponsor. They may be wearing their only nice shirt or clothing given to them by CI.  I also heard that the children sometimes wear the same nice shirt that another child has worn to take the photo. I have seen photos of kids that are dressed nicely on a photo living in homes that shows the poverty that they live in. Many sleep on mats on  hard floors, cook over open fires, have no indoor toilets , get water from a community well,  or  have no electrity. Many live in homes made from cardboard or tin sheets. One of my little girls use to live in a house that had a dirt floor. There are may things that we don't see in the photos. God bless.