JVK’s Thoughts On Poverty

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Martell

Hi I’m 11 years old and my screen name is JVK. I’m going to talk about what poverty means to me. I think poverty is a big problem in our world and is an issue that people have to talk about. People can’t keep ignoring poverty. Just like the government is. If the government just donated so much money than poverty would be over. Not a lot of people care about poverty, they just say “it’s not me so why should I care about it.” People in poverty need all the help they can get. And that’s not very much because not a lot of people will help them.

I think that poverty is caused by taxes, because they are really high. I think another reason is gas prices, because gas prices are just ridiculous right now. And the last reason is the prices of everything. It’s not just the adults who have to go through poverty it’s the children too. Every single year 6 million children actually die from malnutrition before their 5th birthday!

I can’t imagine going through what those children have to go through everyday. None of those children get DS’s or WII’s. All they have to play with are rocks and sticks. Sometimes not even that.

Children and adults don’t have enough money for school so they can’t read books or sign their own name. They can’t afford cars or bikes. They don’t have enough for food. They can’t go to KFC or Dairy Queen. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry, 300 million of them are children! They don’t get a midnight snack or ice cream. So all of those children and adults turn to food banks. A bad thing about food banks is that if people don’t donate food because they don’t care than there is no food for the people in poverty.

When someone’s in poverty they will take whatever job they can get, even if it’s just mowing someone’s lawn for maybe $1.00 a day. Actually 1.2 billion people in the world have to survive on less than $1.00 a day! There are a lot of commercials and advertisements about poverty, and what they are trying to persuade you to do is to donate money. And a lot of people do, it is helping but not a lot.

The part of poverty that I don’t really like to talk about is all the deaths. Poverty kills more than 50,000 people each day. No one cares that people all over the world are dieing. The last thing that they want to do is not live to see if poverty actually ends. About 26,575 children die every day because of poverty worldwide (1 child every 3 seconds)! When you’re on vacation or playing video games several children are dieing.

Billions of people live in poverty. Not a lot of people stop to think that someday they could be one of those people who don’t have any money or have to live on the streets in a cardboard box. Do something about poverty.

Think about poverty,

JVK

Posted in Commentary | Tagged canada, child poverty, JVK, poverty reduction, rural poverty | 1 Comment

Food Security is a Major Issue

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Martell

Several of us from Family Matters attended a food security forum in Greenwich last week. It was an interesting two days, filled with many perspectives on food.

According to the World Health Organization, food security is when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. The discussions at the forum centred on different agendas and points of view. Some of us were focused on the affordability of nutritious foods. Others were focused on buying local and/or organic foods. Some wanted policy changes, while others were unsure of what policy reform could do for those at the grass roots level.

One valuable piece of information that came out of the forum was that changing behaviours are based on experience, particularly in childhood. For example, if you want people to buy more fruits and vegetables, it will help if they experience the farming environment. That is where organizations like Family Matters come in. We can have field trips to local farms or community gardens so children become aware of the origins of their food. We can show children that fruit and vegetables are not necessarily perfect looking, but they are still fine to eat and they taste great.

There were also community members at the food security forum who shared their experiences in trying to access nutritious food for their families on a very tight budget. It was wonderful to hear their perspectives on an issue that affects many in our community. According to the Food Costing Report from 2007, people who are working for minimum wage or are on income assistance are unable to feed their families according to the Canada’s Food Guide.

No matter what your perspective or reason for being interested in food security, this forum offered a wonderful opportunity to begin some very useful and necessary conversations!

Morgan

Posted in Commentary | Tagged canada, equality, Food Costing Report, Food Security, poverty reduction, rural poverty, urban poverty | 2 Comments

Annapolis County: What’s Next?

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Martell

Annapolis County residents are asking, “What’s next?” Is there any end to the hits we have to take? How long will it be before we are non-existent?

Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is closing in Cornwallis because of lack of federal funding. This is on top of financial issues in Bridgetown (and many other municipalities who have not yet been in the news), the closing of Convergy’s, the closing of Shaw Wood, and numerous small businesses shutting their doors. It is indeed difficult to find the silver lining of these economic disasters.

Family Matters sees the effect these closures have on families and the community at large. There is a feeling of depression among the residents and the stirrings of desperation. And yet, there is also fight left in us. We are angry that our supports are being taken away, and we are not willing to take it lying down. We love living in Annapolis County, and we do not want to leave!

I have had a number of conversations with people about the county’s economic situation. We have a lot of good ideas! One idea is to work together to become more self-sufficient with our food production, ensuring the food is accessible and affordable for everyone. Another idea is to advocate for local businesses such as the Kings Processing Plant in Middleton. This is a production that hires a good amount of people and is sustainable for our area. We have youth who are making a difference in our community and would love to work with us towards sustainability. We have seniors who have the wisdom to share what has worked in the past and energy to move agendas forward. We have many positives in Annapolis County, and we just need to work together to implement some of our creative ideas.

Does this all sound very “Pollyanna’ish?” Well, I believe we have the expertise and the resourcefulness in this county to bring our area back from despair. At the same time, I do share in the anger. The money that went into the Peacekeeping Centre is going back to Ottawa to “streamline” their organization. All government agencies are housed in Halifax, when perhaps with the technology we have, they could be spread out over the province. Corporations sweep in, take government handouts, and then sweep out again when the financial incentives are over. We raise minimum wage, which is wonderful for those earning the wage, but without proper supports for small businesses it can be devastating and lead to even more layoffs or higher prices for products. Businesses look at coming in to the area, and buildings that have been dormant for years are not maintained and have been scavenged. Does anyone in any level of government offer to step forward to help with the cost of repairs to keep the businesses interested? Not that we have seen.

I think a bit of anger is a good thing. Annapolis County is a wonderful place to raise a family, and many of us are willing use that anger to fight for our community.

Morgan

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Annapolis County, canada, Pearson Peacekeeping Center, poverty reduction, rural poverty, Unemployment, Valley Poverty Coalition | Leave a comment

The Groundswell Continues

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Martell

Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network shares progress with provincial cabinet minister!

You will see from the following article that other communities have come together to slay the beast that is poverty. Every bit of work helps (Martell):

The Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network shared how it’s working to try to reduce poverty in the community and what the province should do to help at a meeting Tuesday with Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten.

Volunteers with the group talked about the community hub to offer services out of Prince of Wales Public School, the need for affordable housing, initiatives for food security and how more needs to be done to raise incomes for the working poor.

There were several requests for the province to create a monthly $100 food supplement for people on social assistance to help them afford healthy food.

All hands need to be on deck to reduce poverty, Broten commented.

“It’s still not enough for a person to climb out of poverty.”

Joanne Bazak-Brokking

“When you’re tackling a challenging issue like poverty reduction, which is something that is in all of our communities and we all need to move steps forward, we need to have all the voices at the table and we need to all be doing that work together,” she said.

Broten praised the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network for advancing the shared goal of reducing poverty.

“One of the things that I have been most impressed about the Poverty Reduction Network here in Peterborough is successful engagement of business leaders, educators, health care providers, representatives from not for profit and community organizations to all work together,” she said.

The Poverty Reduction Network is a community-led initiative that came out of former mayor Paul Ayotte’s Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty Reduction. Ayotte launched the task force after he was sworn into office following the 2006 election.

Local lawyer Stephen Kylie is the chairman of the group. About 30 volunteers with the Poverty Reduction Network attended the meeting with Broten held at the Peterborough Public Library.

Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal and Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Rick Johnson joined Broten at the meeting.

Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network continues to put forward innovative ideas to address poverty reduction, Leal said.

“I know Laurel Broten, who is the minister of children and youth services in the province of Ontario, has been working very, very hard with our colleagues at Queen’s Park to come up with a variety of approaches to make sure that we can make a difference in an area that needs constant attention,” he said.

Leal pointed out that the Liberal government implemented the Ontario Child Benefit to help reduce poverty and it accelerated the implementation of the assistance during the economic downturn.

Broten listed provincial initiatives such as all-day kindergarten, increases to the minimum wage, the Healthy Smiles dental program for children from low-income families, a student nutrition program that provides nearly 6,000 children with a daily breakfast and a new long-term plan for affordable housing.

A single parent working for minimum wage is able to spend more than $10,000 a year more than in 2003, she said.

The income tax reductions for low-income earners and the minimum wage increases still aren’t adequate, said Joanne Bazak-Brokking, with the network’s working group on income security.

“It’s still not enough for a person to climb out of poverty,” she said, adding the province should create a $100 per adult healthy food supplement.

Broten said she took note of the ideas presented by the network and will push forward some of the ideas the group advanced.

Progress is being made on poverty reduction, she said, acknowledging more work to be done.

Johnson echoed that statement.

“It’s important that people who are struggling get looked after to the best of our abilities,” he said.

This article comes from The Peterborough Examiner

Posted in Poverty News | Tagged canada, government, policy commentary, poverty reduction, rural poverty | Leave a comment

Minimum Wage Hike From Food Costing

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Martell

The following article is from Patty Williams of the Food Costing Project the Valley Poverty Coalition held and event for. The debate of minimum wage rages on. Martell

Even with minimum wage going up to $10 an hour this fall, the increase may not be enough for many Nova Scotia families to eat healthy.

The 2010 Nova Scotia Participatory Food Costing Study finds a nutritious diet is “out of reach” for families surviving on low incomes.

The study was conducted by the Participatory Action Research and Training Center on Food Security (PARTC-FS) at Halifax’s Mount Saint Vincent University, under the direction on Dr. Patty Williams.

Using a list of 67 items, known as the National Nutritious Food Basket, that make up a healthy diet for a family of four, researchers carried out a food costing study at grocery stores around Nova Scotia.

The “basket” includes necessities such as milk, meat and alternatives, fruits and vegetables, but not additional items such as snacks, special dietary needs and baby food.

According to the report released Tuesday, in order to maintain a nutritious diet a family of four must spend (as of June 2010) $770.65 a month.

For a family that has one parent working full-time for minimum wage and the other working part-time, that amount can run the family into a deficit.

The provincial government says 16 per cent of workers in Nova Scotia earn minimum wage or near minimum wage.

The majority are under 25, working part-time jobs.

But, the PARTC-FS study indicates in situations when one parent earns minimum wage or near minimum wage, it tends to be women.

Low-income single mothers are at an even higher risk, because they’ll often sacrifice their own diet to feed their children.

More than minimum wage

Williams says although the minimum wage increase is positive, it’s simply not enough.

“When you factor in the increasing cost of food due to inflation, the increasing cost of fuel and transportation, shelter, basically the extra cost of living… It really isn’t making a difference in the bottom line for families.”

The report, which was funded by the Department of Health and Wellness, suggests the government re-evaluate other benefits: ie. the federal Working Income Tax Benefit and the new provincial Poverty Reduction Tax Credit.

As a family’s budget gets tighter parents tend to buy food that lasts longer, but isn’t necessarily the healthiest option.

“There’s quite a bit Even with minimum wage going up to $10 an hour this fall, the increase may not be enough for many Nova Scotia families to eat healthy.

The 2010 Nova Scotia Participatory Food Costing Study finds a nutritious diet is “out of reach” for families surviving on low incomes.

The study was conducted by the Participatory Action Research and Training Center on Food Security (PARTC-FS) at Halifax’s Mount Saint Vincent University, under the direction on Dr. Patty Williams.

The “basket” includes necessities such as milk, meat and alternatives, fruits and vegetables, but not additional items such as snacks, special dietary needs and baby food.

According to the report released Tuesday, in order to maintain a nutritious diet a family of four must spend (as of June 2010) $770.65 a month.

For a family that has one parent working full-time for minimum wage and the other working part-time, that amount can run the family into a deficit.

The provincial government says 16 per cent of workers in Nova Scotia earn minimum wage or near minimum wage.

The majority are under 25, working part-time jobs.

But, the PARTC-FS study indicates in situations when one parent earns minimum wage or near minimum wage, it tends to be women.

Low-income single mothers are at an even higher risk, because they’ll often sacrifice their own diet to feed their children.

More than minimum wage

Williams says although the minimum wage increase is positive, it’s simply not enough.

The report, which was funded by the Department of Health and Wellness, suggests the government re-evaluate other benefits: ie: the federal Working Income Tax Benefit and the new provincial Poverty Reduction Tax Credit.

As a family’s budget gets tighter parents tend to buy food that lasts longer, but isn’t necessarily the healthiest option.

“There’s quite a bit of research to show that people experiencing food insecurity tend to eat less fruits and vegetables, less milk products. It’s the more kind of starchy, less expensive things that are fillers they tend to buy… things like pasta.”

Fuel factor

The continuing jump in fuel prices is also a factor when it comes to food security, she adds, but not just because it affects food transportation costs.

“It has an impact on how we get our food as well, whether individual families can afford to get to the grocery store.”

She says it’s probably a small factor, but at the end of the month people have to choose what they can and can’t afford: housing, transportation and month-to-month bills generally take priority.

More often than not, Williams explains, the food budget is first to be cut.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Food Costing Report, Minimum Wage, Patty Williams, policy commentary, poverty reduction | Leave a comment

Poverty Hides Amid Saudi Arabia’s Oil Wealth

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Martell

This story comes from www.npr.org and struck me as amazing. Many of us don’t think of poverty in the countries where the richest hide their money. Saudi Arabia apparently experiences the same issues we do, but are even better at denying the problem. – Martell

As an oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the world. And with an economy that is continuing to grow, its reputation among many people in the Arab world is that of a nation of extravagance and, sometimes, excess.

But when you look beyond the luxury SUVs, upscale malls and glittery high rises in the desert kingdom, a far different view of Saudi life emerges — one laced with poverty and unemployment, affecting millions of people. It’s a problem many Saudis are reluctant to acknowledge.

In the old section of Riyadh, the capital, Um Fahad pours roasted pumpkin seeds into a plastic shopping bag for a customer. She is one of about a dozen black-veiled women tucked away in tiny stalls at the end of a shopping arcade. Besides the seeds, Um Fahad sells cheap jewelry, embroidered shirts and small woven baskets.

She says she and the others struggle to keep their meager businesses and families afloat.

“Everything is getting harder. Prices are rising, like for these seeds,” she says. “Business was better before. But it’s not like I can stop working.”

Women At Risk

Um Fahad says on a great day, she sells about $40 worth of merchandise. She says more common are the days when she sells nothing at all.

The widowed mother of 11 says all of what she earns goes to feeding her family and to the rent for her stall and for her home. She also gets a few hundred dollars in charity once in a while from family and friends.

But with her landlord planning to raise her house rent by about $100 a month, Um Fahad says she fears she will end up on the street.

Her story is hardly unique in Saudi Arabia. Activists and analysts here say the widow is part of a growing class of impoverished Saudis who don’t benefit from the country’s vast oil and business wealth.

They say females are especially at risk in this strictly segregated society, which prefers to limit a woman’s role to stay-at-home wife and mother.

Columnist Asmaa Al-Mohamed says being widowed or divorced can land even the richest Saudi women in poverty. With no skills and oftentimes no education, what money these women may have in the bank is soon gone.

She adds that Saudi women who seek job training or to start their own businesses also face obstacles because of societal prejudices. That, despite a multitude of government-sponsored programs aimed at the needy.

‘Denying The Problem’

It’s not just women who face hurdles. Some experts here say privately that all poor Saudis suffer because the government and society are reluctant to acknowledge poverty in the kingdom.

The government does not routinely issue poverty figures, so it’s hard to know how pervasive the problem is. The last figures, released more than three years ago, estimated there were nearly 670,000 poor families.

Businessman Turki Faisal al Rasheed, who has written about Saudi poverty in articles and books, says that translates to about 3 million people, many of them from rural areas.

“Three million is a lot. So when we’re talking about Saudis are 18 million, that’s a big percentage of Saudis [who] are below the poverty lines,” he says.

King Abdullah in late February shone a rare spotlight on struggling Saudis by pledging $37 billion in handouts and loans. Many workers here saw their salary double for one month. He followed up with a pledge to build a half-million homes.

But Rasheed believes handouts don’t offer a long-term solution to poverty in the kingdom.

“One of the problems is denying the problem — that it doesn’t exist,” Rasheed says. “The second thing is like, just give the money away and go sleep comfortably, not to go through the procedure. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of people who are doing a lot of work — very good work. But the problem is the need is much beyond what is being offered.”

Rasheed says the government and the private sector need to tackle Saudi poverty at its source —out in the countryside. His proposition: increase development aid and subsidize crops and small businesses in rural areas.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged international poverty, policy commentary, poverty reduction, saudi arabia poverty | Leave a comment

The US Has It’s Issues Too!

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Martell

As you will see from below, this article from Natural News Dot Com shows that things aren’t much better on the other side of our shared border:

(NaturalNews) Almost half of all children living in the United States will receive food stamp assistance at some point before they turn 18, according to a study conducted by researchers from Cornell and Washington Universities and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Although food stamps were first introduced as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program, they are now overseen by state governments. Researchers analyzed 30 years worth of data from food stamp programs around the country, finding that nearly 50 percent of all children will receive food stamp assistance at least once during their childhood, if not multiple times.

According to researcher Andrew Gelman, the findings rebut the common perception “that people are either on welfare or they’re not.” In reality, many families use food stamps and other forms of economic assistance to get through short-term difficulties such as job loss, professional transition, or other financial troubles.

“While there may be a group of children who are persistently exposed to poverty, many move in and move out,” policy analyst Sarah Meadows said.

The findings also show that poverty is more widespread in the United States than many people believe. Even those who are not living in abject poverty may be going without basic necessities or nutritious food, said family welfare specialist Olivia Golden. Poor nutrition in childhood can, in turn, cause health problems throughout life.

“There are several levels of economic disadvantage and we should worry about all of them,” Golden said.

According to the USDA, 15 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2008, compared with 11 percent in 2007. The figure is the highest ever since the department began collecting data in 1995.

Marcia Meyers of the University of Washington noted that even those who are getting enough food may actually be undernourished due to an over-reliance on cheap junk food. This may explain, she said, why obesity rates are so much higher among those with lower incomes.

Sources for this story include: www.redorbit.com.

Posted in Poverty News | Tagged international poverty, policy commentary, poverty news, poverty reduction, United States Poverty | Leave a comment

For You Viewing Displeasure

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Martell

No real commentary needed…

Maybe video form will help us understand and take the time to do something about it?

Martell

Posted in Commentary | Tagged food insecurity, global poverty, policy commentary, poverty reduction, video | 1 Comment