Today is Blog Action Day, when bloggers are all asked to post about the same topic “to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.” If you’ve participated in my Blogging for LGBT Families Day, you know the idea—but this is done with more resources on a much grander scale.
This year’s topic is poverty. With the world financial markets in turmoil, money is on many people’s minds right now, but consider: “Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.” Kind of makes the decline in one’s retirement account pale in comparison.
This is a parenting blog, though, so here is a quick look at children and poverty:
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). (Globalissues.org)
These are big problems, and I am not versed enough in economics, public policy, or health care to discuss the merits of big solutions. What I do know is that many small efforts may do as much, if not more, than grand schemes. The Blog Action Day organizers have compiled a great list of 88 things people can easily do in their communities to fight poverty or raise awareness of its impact. Many of them would be great to do with children to show them the importance of caring for our community, local or global.
Our family collected a boxful of toys earlier this year to send to children in Iraq, and my son still sometimes says, “It’s too bad the children in Iraq don’t have toys to play with.”
It is too bad, though the lack of toys is the least of their problems. Still, toys are something my five-year-old understands, and if this helps him develop a sense of compassion and caring without yet frightening him with tales of roadside bombs, that’s fine with me. One step at a time to create a world citizen.
Poverty is too complex and widespread to be solved by our own generation, no matter how hard we try. We must make a start of it, but must also prepare our children to pick up where we left off. I have the feeling they will do us proud.
$2.50 a day. Whoah. Thanks for this thoughtful post, Dana.
Wonderful post, and great job with your son. Compassion is the key to ending poverty, I think.
hy, Do something to help those hungry people from Africa or India,
I made this blog about this subject:
on http://tinyurl.com/556poc