This year I learned about Blog Action Day. On October 15th, bloggers from around the world unite to discuss a single issue in their own unique way. This year’s topic is poverty; an issue that couldn’t be more timely. While millions are worried about how the global economic crisis might affect them, there are countless others who live their daily lives in challenging circumstances.
Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. The state of one with insufficient resources.
Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
This definition of poverty seems simple enough. However, it is a much more complex issue. There is a difference in what we are experiencing in the current economic crisis and what millions around the globe experience daily. Our resources are greatly reduced, but we wake up with a shred of hope.
Many years ago, I lived in Honduras. I think it was there that I first experienced what true poverty is really like. It doesn’t mean that you have to clip coupons to be able to purchase groceries, it means that you have to beg to get scraps of food. It doesn’t mean that you can’t afford health insurance, it means health insurance and health care, in general, is not even an option or consideration. It doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on fuel costs by taking public transportation, it means that your only possibility for transportation is your own two feet. It doesn’t mean having to share a bedroom with your sibling because your parents couldn’t afford a larger house, it means worrying about where you’ll sleep every evening. Sadly, these circumstances exist in various degrees of severity all over the globe.
Luckily, I can say I have lived a charmed life. I had stable, loving parents who were able to provide me with more love, support and resources than any child could ever hope for. So, how can someone like me help those who are in much greater need? At this point in my life, I feel as though educating those about poverty is the greatest way to make an impact. Realize that small actions can make a big impact. By educating yourself, you can begin to understand how your small actions can affect others.
Someone recently said to me, “taking the moral high road is the most direct route to poverty.” This may possibly be the most disgusting thing that anyone has ever said to be before in my life, but it did make me think. Are there others in the world who feel this way? Have we become a society that values wealth so much that we will stop at nothing to achieve it, no matter who is hurts? I would like to think that this is not true. I believe that by taking the moral high road, we can help those in poverty to escape their circumstances.
So, today I ask you to educate yourself. Pick an issue that is close to your heart whether it is education, health care or otherwise and find a way to use your passion to help others in need. Your small actions may make a world of difference.
