Blog Action Day – Poverty
October 15, 2008 by BloggerNewbie
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“Blog Action Day – Poverty”
A Personal Story
When I was a kid… He he he. Yeah, I say that to my kids all the time. Hey, it’s one of the few perks of being an adult.
Seriously, when I was a kid we were poor. My mom was a single parent with eight kids in the late 60’s. Need I say more! There is definitely a place in heaven for my mom. She did a great job. All eight kids entered adult hood without too many scrapes. No druggies, no criminals, all hard workers!
We didn’t have a telephone for most of my childhood life. We had one black & white television with rabbit ears and an antenna on the roof. We didn’t get a washing machine until I was 16. I remember having an outhouse! eeeewwww! I remember the day we got hot water! Wahoo! I don’t know why we didn’t have hot water, we just didn’t.
When I was in school we received “free lunches”. There is no such thing as a free lunch. As children, we paid dearly. We were given different colored lunch tickets so everyone knew we were the poor kids. Sometimes I would be so embarrassed or ashamed that if certain kids were around, I wouldn’t eat because I wouldn’t use the ticket. I was just a little girl!
My mom had a tough job. Actually, an impossible job. She did the best she could and we survived. Some days we were warm, some days we ate. Not usually on the same day. Pay day we were warm with full bellies!
I learned over the years that everyone perceives poverty at a different level. When I say I am broke, I am broke. When I was starting out in the big world I didn’t start with much, but what I had I always shared. I remember sacrificing what little I had with a neighbor who was always crying poor. She gratefully accepted my gift of generosity. She was so relieved to have the help. Poverty is relative. As ironic as life is sometimes, this “poor” woman had somewhat of a stash in the bank. As I said, when I say I am broke, I am broke. That does not mean I only have ten or twenty thousand dollars in the bank! I was totally shocked! How could someone accept my offer to share what little I had when she had so much more? In hindsight, poor is relative. She actually FELT poor. She thought she was and to her she was.
A friend and I were discussing “back in the day” childhood stories one day. He was complaining about the lifestyle he had when he was growing up. They didn’t have much. He had seven in his family and they all had to share two snowmobiles! Poor kids! I told hm I was envious of families like his when I was growing up. Not for their toys or their clothes. I always thought they was lucky because they was always warm and always had plenty to eat. He confided that he was envious of me and my family! We never had a doubt that we would always be there for each other. He didn’t have that security. I guess poverty is relative.
After that conversation, I wasn’t sure if I was poor when I was a kid or not? I guess poverty can be relative.
Then you see these statistics:
Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined. Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen. 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
*Statistics courtesy of Global Issues.org
Poverty is such a shame.
No, I wasn’t poor when I was a kid.
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I dont have any story even close to yours, nevermind the statistics. When i was a kid, I had everything plus more. I can’t even complain.. and i cant even use that “when i was a kid” with my kids.. because again. i had everything. Thanks Mom.
@ Danielle
aaahh! That is so sweet! Poor? No, I’m rich. Thank you!
BloggerNewbie’s last blog post..Blog Action Day – Poverty
Thanks for sharing your childhood. I frequently remind myself when I am struggling that I still have so much more than most people in the world.
I am proud of what you have accomplished.
Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..Writing: First Article at Environmental Graffiti
Thank you so much. I didn’t realize how much emotion and memory this post brings back. You are right, as little as we had, we still had more than some. And of course it made me the person I am today. Thank you for your kind words.
Thanks for sharing your childhood story on how ya all started off poor but now know that there’s more to it than us thinking that with what we have can actually not be considered as poverty.
Daniel Richard’s last blog post..8 Ways To Not Accomplish Anything In A Week
@ Daniel
Meaning with all that we have now we can still be considered in poverty? Poverty in third world countries as well as wealth in third world countries is completely different than in the US. It’s all relative, right?
it,s hard to believe that teachers would do that to children. make them stand out like that. they also do that in airports
@ Vivian
It speaks loudly about character doesn’t it?
we grew up poor and i didn’t know we were poor until i was 26 or 27 and not living at home. and my mom had to tell me.
poor can be a state of mind…for some.
wow, i got free lunch in school, but we didn’t have different colors to let other people know we were poor. wow
Natural’s last blog post..Why Poverty?
@ Natural
I also remember having to sit in the principal’s office because I would not ask my mother for a quarter so I could watch a move in the auditorium. I figured we were too poor to even afford a quarter and I was not going to further burden my mother. Poor is definitely a state of mind to some. Relative right?
I remember when I joined a tour long ago, I met my good friend. I’m not sure whether the way I spent money at that time was considered too much for her, but one day when we were in a small town I couldn’t use my card and couldn’t find an open Bank, so my cash was very limited to shop. Suddenly she told me this “Now you know how does it feel to be poor.”
Ori’s last blog post..Blog Action Day: Can We End Poverty?
@ Ori
Yeah, it’s not real fun to budget. It certainly is a different feeling, isn’t it?