The World is Hungry for Action… and Poverty’s Hunger is Not the Only One that We Need to Satisfy By Luiza Bittencourt de Borba

More than 3 billion people in the world live below the poverty line, and 22,000 children die each day because they don't have the resources to survive. There are two ways to go, continue what we’re doing and let the situation become worse, or understand the problem and try to make a change. Poverty is affecting the whole world in many ways. In this essay, I will state the cause to this big problem, what impacts it's having in the world, and some solutions to make a change.
Poverty, a big word, a big problem, and even bigger amount of people being affected by it. Within poverty, education is harder to achieve. Poor families may not afford to have their children attend school, and even if it’s a public school, with no Cost, they might not afford all the school supplies needed. Sometimes, the problem is that families cannot even get their kids to school, since there is no transportation available. This is affecting the whole world, but mainly China. In that country, poverty is being caused mainly because rural kids have a poor education.
Secondly, without education, getting a job is really unlikely, and too much people unemployed can affect a country's economy. India, for example, hasn't had a big economy evolution since there're so many people living in poverty.
Lastly, according to borgenproject.com, “Diseases are very common in people living in poverty because they lack the resources to maintain a healthy living environment.” This means that because of poverty, people are having a weaker health and nutrition.
Poverty is such a big problem, that sometimes it's hard to spot where it's all coming from. Poverty has three main causes, and we need to reflect about what we’re doing to cause poverty. Low paid work is one of the commonest causes of poverty. Sometimes, even if a person works its hardest, they don't get the amount of money that they need to survive on a daily basis. The minimum wage in the U.K.is currently £7.50 per hour, when the life cost for a family per day is £71.40. There will be no progress in poverty if the number of low paying jobs keep increasing.
Another explanation for why poverty is happening, is that there are not enough jobs for everyone. There are many reasons for this to happen. One thing is for a person not to work because of a personal issue or health problem, but another thing is for a person not to work because there are not enough jobs. Each year, India is creating fewer jobs. In 2025, they only produced 100,350 jobs, when in 2011 they produced 900,000 jobs.
Finally, the last main cause for poverty is powerless education. With a weak education, there are no conditions of getting a sustainable job, since in the twenty first century, 17% of people in the world are illiterate.
There are so many people suffering from poverty, but still there are so few people trying to change it. Poverty has solutions, but it's up to us to apply them. The most noticeable solution is to raise the minimum wage. Currently, the minimum wage is not enough to provide the needed sources to maintain a family. The minimum wage has decreased more than 3 dollars in the U.S since the 1960’s, and if it just keeps decreasing, poverty will never progress.
The second solution to poverty is to respect gender equality when it comes to salaries. Giving equal education and payment to woman can benefit a county in many ways. If a family has a father that receives 10 dollars, and a mother that receives 5 dollars per day, that family will never be able to surpass the poverty line. Gender equality can help to improve poverty.
Lastly, having an affordable and good quality health care can be another solution to poverty. About 100 million people get pushed below the poverty line each year because of spending too much money to get a good quality health care. If the government provided free or affordable good quality health care, we could be able to improve poverty greatly. In Brazil, public health care is not good quality, which is causing poverty.
As a conclusion, poverty is a huge problem in society and it's being caused by none other than us. Yes, we can solve it, but it's up to us to apply its solutions to our community, and make a change. As Nelson Mandela said, “ Do not look the other way; do not hesitate. Recognize that the world is hungry for action, not for words. Act with courage and vision .” The world and its problems are hungry for action, but are you? Right now, poverty’s hunger is not the only one we need to satis
Bibliography Getty), (Photo:. "Is the minimum wage going up in 2017? All your questions answered." Mirror. N.p., 17 Feb. 2017. Web. 18 Feb. 2017. "Causes of Poverty." Causes of Poverty - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2017. Boteach, Rebecca Vallas and Melissa. "The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow the Middle Class." Center for American Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
"5 Effects of Poverty." The Borgen Project. N.p., 02 July 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2017. "5 Causes of Poverty in China." Project Partner. N.p., 17 June 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2017. "11 Facts About Global Poverty." DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2017. Shaw, By: Turner. "12 Data visualizations that illustrate poverty's biggest challenges." ONE. N.p., 05 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

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Created with images by janeb13 - "children of war hungry sadness" • DFID - UK Department for International Development - "Celebrating the power of women and peanuts in tackling malnutrition" • terimakasih0 - "beggar begging street" • akshayapatra - "children infant girl" • Thomas's Pics - "money" • DarkoStojanovic - "doctor medical medicine" • psd - "Make Poverty History" • Daveybot - "No to poverty" • Daveybot - "balloons"

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