Suffering of the Urban Poor, Essay Example

Poverty is an issue that many people don’t observe on a daily basis, so it appears to be a foreign concept to them. However, it is important for individuals living in suburban and rural environments to remember that there are over 3 billion people living in poverty in the world. These individuals live on an average of less than $2.50 each day. In the United States, we are accustomed to a different type of poverty. The poor living in our nation are provided with services that help them remain well clothed, provide them with a free education, and occasionally food when it is needed. However, there are nations in which this is not the case. Furthermore, even within our own nation, there is a considerable gap between the quality of life that the poor and wealthy are able to obtain. We all may have smartphones and the latest shoes, but for the working poor, it is challenging to maintain rent and support large families. While societal supports are in place, it is not enough support to be able to truly provide a secure lifestyle for many families.

Possibly the most devastating problems in the United States occur for the working poor. These individuals work every day just like the average American, but are unable to bring home enough income to support their families. On occasion, these individuals end up homeless or living in a shelter because they are not able to make their mortgage or pay their rent. Furthermore, it is challenging for the children of the working poor to escape their socioeconomic status because their parents often do not have time to spend with them to build academic skills or to emphasize the value of an education. This is an unfortunate problem because it contributes to the perpetuation of poverty in developed nations, in a manner in which there seems to be little resolution.

It is important to place an emphasis on developing education access for children living in low-income communities. Without additional support, these individuals will be forced to remain in poverty. However, by implementing education programs, it will be possible for students around the country and world to escape the socioeconomic challenges that they have been wrought with.

Nature of the Suffering Encountered

Mother Teresa once said, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” While some working poor have a challenging time surviving due to a lack of food, shelter, clothing, and health care, some are mistreated simply based on how society distinguishes them from other members of the community. It is apparent that the poor are singled out as lazy individuals who are unwilling to work to change their situations. However, each video has demonstrated that people impacted by poverty are unable to create change in a manner that will contribute favor to their situations.

The suffering observed was largely based on discrepancies and biases present in the populations examined. Working poverty is an issue encountered in developed nations, while the poor in developing countries are typically not able to earn meaningful employment. In both instances, the poor have unequal or no access to education, and little possibility to help their children advance beyond their social conditions. Typically, poverty is attributed to the minority groups within a population. In the United States, for example, families that are descendants of slaves are more likely to be impoverished, while in India families that belong to the untouchables caste will always be impoverished. It is apparent that there is a major discrepancy between these two groups in their ability to survive. The untouchables in India are not provided with work on purpose because society sees them as outcasts that are too impure to be provided with labor. Even individuals who have managed to escape their upbringing and do well for themselves experience bias in their society. “Dr Sonkar, who in his thesis compared affirmative actions in India with those of post-apartheid South Africa and the United States, argues that in India despite all legal provisions, 15% of the population is still kept on the very margins of society because of untouchability”. In one case, Dr. Sonkar was asked to clean his own glass at a bar because the bar owner did not want to touch it after it had been handled by him. The descendants of slaves continue to face discrimination and for the most part are locked into their current economic class. However, while the untouchables and India have little ability to escape their status, with an exception of leaving the country, descendants of slaves in the United States have an opportunity to better themselves, which results in occasional upward mobility in class.

Attempts to Alleviate Suffering Encountered

Organizations around the world attempt to end the suffering experienced by the working poor and poor in developing countries by spreading education about poverty. In third world nations, popular initiatives include building shelter, providing food, and providing medical treatment for these individuals. Many of these initiatives are also present in developed nations. However, the best way to alleviate the long-term suffering of these groups are to provide them with education so that their statuses in society can be altered. By providing food, clothing, shelter, and medicine, we are providing them with a treatment for the symptoms of their poverty rather than their cause. Thus, helping these individuals receive job training and allowing them to make their own income is the best way to provide aid. Furthermore, it is also necessary to provide the public information about poverty. It is important to change the mindset that many groups of people have established about the poor in order to prevent discrimination on this basis.

Organizations such as Children’s International help enhance education delivery in developing nations by providing their students with supplies and other things that these communities need to ensure that the learning they provide will contribute to real change. In developed countries, programs such as Teach for America are being implemented to bring the best and brightest professionals to classrooms in high need cities. This is being done to help mend the gap between the qualities of education that children are offered in suburban areas with adequate income compared to those who had been raised in low-income communities.

Resolution of Suffering

It is challenging to determine whether the solutions to suffering that have been posed and are currently being enacted are beneficial. However, it is apparent that old methods of charity are not helping these populations long-term either. As stated, providing communities with items that they need to survive will not efficiently reverse the problems that are inherent to the community. While this form of charity is certainly saving lives and delivering items that are in high need, it is more beneficial to engage in charity that allows for long lasting change. It will be necessary to analyze the effects of education focused programs over the next several years to determine whether these methods are effective in reducing suffering. To do so, it will be beneficial to track the progress of students that have been recipients of this form of aid and determine the likelihood of their ability to get jobs or support themselves compared to members of the population that have not been provided with this aid. Doing so will allow us to engage in charitable programs in the future with a greater understanding of modifications that should be made and techniques that should be used in order to achieve greater efficacy. Collecting data from a variety of charities will help this mission be achieved more successfully.

Critical Reflection of Pre-Internship Experience

For this assignment, I focused on the analysis of videos. However, the coursework presented prior to the analysis of these videos was beneficial because it allowed me to determine some of the components I should be looking for with regards to human suffering, its causes, its consequences, and its solutions. The most relevant application to this particular setting is the discussion of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is impossible for people to achieve self-fulfillment when they constantly need to worry about where their next meal will come from or whether they have achieved a sense of belonging. The urban poor most typically are concerned about their role in society because some of these individuals are able to ensure that their physiological needs are met. However, in developing countries, determining how to meet the physiological needs of students are most important because without having these needs met, their school experience will not be productive. It is important to analyze human suffering in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of need because this will allow charitable organizations and individuals to have a greater understanding of the things that people actually need before they can enact change in themselves and in their communities.

Motivations and Strategies of Care Providers

A majority of organizations that work with both the working poor and poor in developing countries are motivated by the things that they observe on a daily basis. Many of these individuals are unable to find the means to survive, which is a saddening thought for those who regularly see it. Thus, these charities attempt to show the face of poverty to those who may not be accustomed to seeing it. A secondary motivation on behalf of these charaties is that poverty has a real solution, even though these solutions have not been given much thought in previous years. It is essential for people to understand that poverty exists and that it is not the fault of the impoverished so that real change could be established. Ultimately, individuals in these organizations aim to show that most people could only be one paycheck away from being homeless or forced to live in a shelter, independently of their upbringing or education level. Thus, it is important to treat other humans with mutual respect, in a manner that we would wish to be treated if we were found in their situation.

Transcending Suffering

Suffering is transcended when people recognize that there are people that wish to help them through rough situations. It is important to show others that we are willing to provide the time and care to make their lives better, in a sense that all humans are brothers and sisters. As a whole, it is necessary for us to recognize that human suffering is a condition that could be removed if all of us work together to provide aid to the individuals that need it most.

Conclusion

Education is an important key that can help us put an end to human suffering. Throughout time, we have known that it is necessary to provide physiological needs to people in developed and developing nations. However, it is important for us to take this recognition a step further by providing a means by which the suffering can escape their situations. Education is the solution to this problem because the human mind has the potential to set us all as equals. As time continues, it will be important for us to put forth more effort to ensure that human suffering can truly end.

References

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