Book/Video Review
Nikhil Thokalath Nimesh
SOWK 200
Instructor: Erin Evan
Northern Lights College
Dawson Creek, BC
November, 15 201
Poverty has many faces in different regions of the world. Poverty is not just the lack of money to buy food or cloth but it is intervened to our life’s in different ways. The video “living on One Dollar” I watched recently has made me to think about different aspects of poverty among Guatemalan people. The video show us the experiences of four students who came to live in Pena Blanca as part of the research. This video clearly explains that poverty is such a complex social issue and it is multifaceted. Living in poverty in Pena Blanca is totally different from poverty in our societies. In today’s
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Even if we take the population we can see that a clear distinction between low income and high income. Moreover, there are differences associated with ethnic groups and geographic areas. Those who are in power they control more than half its wealth and rest of the people are living in utter poverty. The indigenous people of Guatemala living in poverty is higher than that of non-indigenous people. In the video, we can see that the people of Pena Blanca earns less than a dollar per day and they have no connections with the external world. One man in Pena Blanca explains to the students how he was suffered when his wife was sick. Due to poor educational system, even if they go to a city they don’t know how to mingle with ne people. The literacy rate in Guatemala is below average compared to other Latin American country, especially among woman poor and indigenous people. Due to poor latrine facilities, open space defecation causes many communicable disease and other infection. The video gives us a picture of one of the research student how terrible his condition was during the time his illness. The health care expenses are comparatively low but even the people find it difficult to afford …show more content…
As social workers to help the poor people we must makes certain policies that will eradicate the division of human based on wealth, colour, gender and race. It is the responsibility of social workers to advocate for the needy on their behalf to bring them in to the mainstream of society. To make sure that the economic growth is reaching the poor, social workers must develop social policies which will overcome the barriers. To fight against poverty, it is the responsibility of the government to provide necessary education to the kids. Ones the kids are educated and they have the needed life skill that will bring drastic changes to margined groups. In rural area, we have social barriers which hinder children from attending school especially girls. The research students were very positive about their experience with the poor community. They were successful in giving basic training to villagers. As a social worker, I believe that in discriminated sectors we must provide maximum help to the people to become independent and enjoy a better
Many of the people that live in impoverished areas are limited. In the documentary, one of the members stated that they are not poor because of being lazy but because of the circumstance they are succumbed to live. Their interviews with many of the people that live in Guatemala led the members to many consequences. The consequences that many go through are malnutrition, sickness, lost dreams and natural disasters. These members go through
People in Central America especially, long to have their basic necessities met. Visiting Guatemala and Mexico at the age of ten was a hard site to see. Kids walking on the street barefoot not because they wanted to, but they had no money to buy shoes. Making their dirty feet ache at night. Wearing the same clothes full of filth because they could not afford to buy clothes and soap. Parents struggling to provide for their family. They would often sent their child to school without lunch, making it hard for the student to concentrate at school. Any little money counts and they would make it last. Yet they were so welcoming and loving to guest. They had nothing to offer but the little they had they would offer. Family’s full of frustration and no hope turn to the journey of going to “el Norte”. Hoping to have a better life and help their family improve their social status.
She paints readers the vivid picture of children sleeping in piles like dogs on dirt floors, mothers who brewed alcohol to make money feeding their children the mash from which it is made to dull the pain of starvation, and crowds of people who haven’t eaten for days fighting like savages to access a pot of beans. She admits that many times she felt overwhelmed at the work there is to do. This portion of the book reminded me of my mission trip to Guatemala during my freshman year of college. On the day our group went to the local street market, I had dozens of villagers following me around the market, begging me to buy their product. I ended up using all of my money that day because I had such a hard time saying “no” to these people. I remembering collapsing on my bed that afternoon, mentally exhausted and heartbroken because I could not do more for the villagers who really needed the money to feed their families. Connecting this memory with Katie’s experience brings me the understanding that in the social work field, as well throughout life in general, we cannot reach every person who needs our help, no matter how hard we try. What we can control is the love we show the people we interact with and the action we put into making a
For this extra credit assignment, I chose to watch the film, “Living on One Dollar.” In this short documentary, a group of Americans, Chris and Zach, along with two film makers, traveled to Guatemala to see if they could survive on one dollar per day, on average, in rough conditions. Over the course of the film, the individuals had to grow accustomed to the surroundings, as they were unlike anything in the United States. Within the area they were at in Guatemala, many people there had lack of clean water, food, and some had little to no shelter to live in. These individuals also were in poverty. Thus, the Americans faced this same ordeal while there, as they wanted to create the same atmosphere as those live with every day in Guatemala. They
In Healthcare System the role of finance is an important aspect in healthcare. In the financial role of healthcare it involves handling operations such as negotiating contracts, making cash available for expenses such as payroll and cover cost for unexpected expenses. The role of finances also makes it capable for leadership to better make plans for the future, when finances are in order organizations can better equipped to make decisions such as is the organization financial able to expand test or treatments and are they able to buy new medical equipment.
Most individuals know what poverty means; they are aware that there are people who live with almost nothing and struggle to get through each day. However, many, do not fully grasp the concept; they do not understand the extent to which poverty affects the quality of life of the minority. Before watching the documentary “Living on One Dollar”, I, too, was oblivious to the hardships individuals in poor areas of the world endure. This documentary opened my eyes to the reality these people face.
Poverty is an issue that has affected society since civilization was first created. Even with a globalized economy and economic opportunity prevalent nearly everywhere, there is still a vast majority of people who live in financial strain. According to recent information obtained by the World Bank, “10.7% of the world’s population live on less than US $1.90 a day”(World Bank 2013). In the United States considered the wealthiest nation on Earth, the poverty rate is 12.7% which is 40.6 million people(US Census Bureau 2016). Though some people are in poverty because of their own choices, poverty is a result of structural institutional practices in place.
Poverty affects many people in almost every country around the world. Some countries are more fortunate than others. Almost one-half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day. People are going hungry, living in poor conditions, and lacking basic necessities due to poverty. The globalization of Cuba and its integration into the world economy has changed many things including poverty.
In the mid-1980's, the thermal imaging camera (TIC) was introduced into the firefighting market as another tool to aide in their ability to save lives, including their fellow firefighters. However, since its introduction there have been numerous discussions whether or not the TIC has a place in the firefighter's arsenal of tools. It is claimed that the TIC is "...one of the most spectacular applications of technology introduced into the fire service since the steam engine..." (http://www.avadtech.com). The problem with such a hi-tech tool is that it has
Poverty, or the inability to afford basic human needs, is an issue that is spread worldwide. There are people everywhere who cannot afford shelter, food, healthcare, or education. It seems easy enough to ignore the bum asking for change on the street, but it becomes near impossible in regions where whole families are begging on the street. This rings true in Latin America and it is extremely frustrating to see social inequality this extreme. This essay will examine how much poverty exists in Latin America, why the amount of poverty is so disproportionate and what can possibly be done to alleviate the amount of poverty in these countries.
In this essay “What is Poverty?”, Jo Goodwin Parker starts of with a rhetorical question “You ask me what is poverty”, this is the opening line of the essay and it encapsulates the essay ́s purpose. Through the use of the writer ́s language she also captivates the reader with the idea of poverty and what it is by making it very concrete and real. The writer wants the reader to understand what poverty is so that they can feel like they need to help not only the writer but p!eople who struggle in that situation. !
Poverty for centuries has been a very severe issue that has troubled many nations while impeding economic developments and progress. Poverty stricken countries are majorly concentrated in the continents of Africa and Asia. Continents like the Americas and Europe have globally been recognized as been wealthier yet still many parts of these ostensible countries face massive cases of poverty. Most at times, countries with high populations owing to high birth rates face the most cases of poverty. The definition of poverty can be boundless in the sense that poverty entails so many subsections as it sometimes gets complicated to group everything under one umbrella. Society tends to focus more on the tangible aspects of poverty because many people associate poverty with lacking money and it makes sense because poverty in terms of lacking money is a major problem affecting almost every country in the world. Even though it is debatable that poverty can be physical, intellectual, spiritual and even emotional, it is best to talk about the lack of money and economic developments in this essay. With reference to the oxford English Dictionary, poverty is state of being extremely poor and the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Reflecting on this definition given, I deduced that malnutrition and hunger can define poverty. In the light of this, I think poverty is lacking a comfortable place of shelter, being ill and not having access to a better
Poverty is a social problem that affects everyone on an economic, political and social level. The problem of human suffering is one that we must combat strategically on many levels. According to the United Nations, “in 2015 more than one billion people around the world live in a state of poverty, lacking the basic goods food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive” (“Poverty”). There are a great number of areas that keep individuals poor, such as lack of resources, inadequate income, lack of education, language barriers and the high cost of child care. Being able to work and provide basic necessities is our basic human right and we should not be deprived of these basic human rights that individuals need in order to live satisfying lives. The government has the responsibility of helping individuals in need with the economic assistance to feed, clothe, house, educate, provide health care and decent wages for every individual. They should ensure that individuals have access to resources that will help them build a better future. There are several ways that we can work together to strategically find solutions to end inequality among the poor individuals in our society.
Poverty is a massive issue today, it surrounds all of life’s experiences, and it impacts on the future for people everywhere, and on health everywhere in society. Poverty is not just related to unemployment or
Poverty is the lack of the basic needs of life, including food, shelter, clothing and safe drinking water. For a person to live normally, it is important to meet a certain level of physical, social, and emotional needs. People who live in poverty have difficult time to achieve those as they are not welcomed in many places. Because of their low incomes, they have troubles in maintaining their health, hunger, education. Poverty has become a large issue around the world. It is something that many of us know about but we’re not realizing just how big of a problem it is. This paper will include basic information about poverty, its effects, facts and statistics which can make people aware and want to help reduce poverty.