i think that the kids in africa are suffering from heat stroke whilst we chat on our laptops using the world wide web. But at least were discussing the problem!
Enviado por -sunshine- el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:25am.
well in my opinion, global poverty is something that we should all be (well at least anyways) slightly concerned about. There are people living in this world who do not possess the basic necessaties needed to enduer survival - things like clean water, food, should be available to everyone, afterall, don't those who are living in poverty have the same right to the necessaties of life that we have at our fingertips? We are all aware about global poverty, but how much can we do? Many of us have raised money or done something like that, but is that enough?
Enviado por evil_spongebob el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:26am.
Well i think that when you are aware of poverty there are 2 things you can do:
1: Ignore it and let other people deal with it
or
2: Get up and make a difference
But when is right to be ther person to get up and become person number 2?
Because your one person and the poverty issue you are aware of is all the way over in africa, while your all the way over in Australia, theres not much you can do alone. But because of this organisations group similar people to raise money to benefit these people. But why should you bother to help these people? Yes you have knowledge of what the problem is, but does this require you to fix it? Not nesissarily. Some people feel that they would like help if they were in the situation and since they arnt they should help those that are, but how can you be sure where your money etc is turning up, and how can you make sure that it is definalty? You can't.
I beleive that charitys are important things to cotribute to, but in saying this i only agree to this to ones that I consider important. Ones that raise money for Homeless people in the local area are ones that i would look at more closly before i submitted money to it. First you must consider why are these people homeless in the first place? Were they born into it? If so then they should be offered a chance that their parents couldnt offer. But if they have made poor decisions in life, like skipping highschool, doing drugs and etc etc. Wasting their money away they do not deserve it. Everyone should have a chance at a good life. that is why Afriacan and similar 3rd world countrys deserve relieaf and aid as they are the people who have not had a chance at a good life, with a good lviing quality.
But before donating any time or money to a charity i would check it out to find out exaclty wether the people are scabbing for money or not.
I think that poverty is bad. Although it is ultimately the 3rd world countries fault that they are in dept we must be reasonable and consider that there are pe3ople DYING as we type!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does our knowledge about poverty bring with it an ethical obligation to do something about it personally? If so, what can we do?
For the majority of teens living in a vibrant, wealthy society, the word poverty doesn’t necessarily make as big as a statement as it should. Sure, we've all seen the World Vision advertisements on TV, but how many of us truly understand those conditions? Nearly none of us can relate to poverty, as nearly none of us have actually lived in those conditions. In my opinion, while the vast majority of teenagers know the definition of poverty, we'd be hard fixed to find someone who actually understands what poverty truly is. Asking anybody on the street for the definition of poverty, we'd most likely get answers of 'living without a permanent residence, struggling for food' etc. The knowledge of the definition of poverty does not bring about an ethical obligation to do something about it personally, as all we know is a textbook definition of this devastating issue. On the other hand, if we know what poverty truly is, if we go to live in a destitute third world nation for a month, we would be personally affected by the people's struggles, and thus there is a high possibility that an individual would personally make an effort to help. It's kind of like riding a bike, we could spend years reading books on how to do it, or we could just spend a few weeks actually riding one. The end result is that the person who tries first hand experience is the one who will succeed.
Then there are people who while only knowing the textbook definition of poverty, still make an effort to donate to making poverty history. However I do find it ironic that many of these people are EXTRAORDINARILY wealthy. Yes you know who I'm talking about, the big high-flying celebrities of Hollywood. The topic of celebrities donating their money to help abolish poverty is a slightly touchy one. You could argue that some do it for the genuine purpose of helping those less fortunate, while others do it just for a big publicity stunt. However it can be agreed upon that the majority of Hollywood stars only know the definition, not the true meaning, of the devastating condition we call poverty.
But now what if we got some random average Gold Coast teenager, threw him onto a plane and dropped him off to Ethiopia for a month. After spending his entire life with all the luxuries he wants, he'll have to deal with hunger, horrible living conditions, and worst of all - death. People who live in Ethiopia have an extremely low life expectancy of 45 years, and countless people die daily due to malnutrition and AIDs. After facing some of the worst health and living conditions in the world, this teenager would go home and obviously have his time in Ethiopia in his mind almost constantly. It's relatively easy to donate to charities helping abolish poverty, so it wouldn't take much for this teenager to organize a rally or activity to gather money for the people of Ethiopia. While he may not be able to donate as much money as the Hollywood celebrities, he would be doing it with his heart, with a genuine desire to help free the country he stayed in from the clutches of poverty and despair.
Yes, it is an ethical obligation, if your sense of what is an ethical obligation includes not turning a blind eye on poverty, disease, malnutrition, corruption and incredible suffering. Those who have sufficient resources and economic stability, particularly those living in the first world, should help those areas and groups suffering poverty to the best of their ability. The measure of this obligation is what is necessary to bring equality of health, life expectancy, education.
"How much help is enough?"...well, as much help that does not include infringement of sovereignity or an interventionist foreign military policy... haha help that wouldn't incur the disproval of the UN Security Council. (No invading Zimbabwe.)
I personally could not live with myself knowing that I enjoy what to many people would be unimaginable wealth while others die for want of a few dollars.
Well, of course it's a bad thing...povery isn't just affected the families in those hard-done-by countries but also us. It's our responsibility to fix it. It's our fault that things are this way...
it is my belief that as a developed and relatively wealthy country (Australia) we are morally and ethically obliged to help the less fortunate. It doesn't necessarily have to be on a global scale, either - there's poverty right here on the Gold Coast.
The measure we, as people in a position to help, should provide must include balancing the wealth out. When I say 'wealth', i don't mean simply monetary wealth - in my opinion, wealth is having an education, a place to rest, and enough food to sustain oneself.
Particularly in third world countries, it is necessary to instigate education programs, for it is with education that there can be progression in all areas of humanity's sustainance.
Simply because we are students, does not mean we are powerless to help - we all have some obligation, in a sense, to make the world a better place, either on a local or international scale.
I don't believe that there will ever be an end to the amount of help we 'should' give, the balance to be achieved is forever variable, but it is essential that some sort of equilibrium be striven for.
i think that us as the more richer and happier people we should help tham in any way we can. but.. we shouldnt give money to their politics cause pretty much all of them are corrupt and they would just use the money for themselves inste3ad of helping anyone.
I think whether you decided to help out with getting rid of poverty or not is somewhat dependent on you background. If you come from a background where poverty was something that effected your close family members, I think that you would be more likely to help out than someone who has had little to no contact with anyone suffering from poverty or being effected by it.
EDIT: as a reply to Casey1, yeah I completely agree when we donate money to some organisations, they may give the money to the government to then evenly share it between people and that givermeny may or may not be corrupt, But it is not a very wise thing to do to generalise that all third world country polititians are corrupt.
anyways I believe that we do not have an obligation to aid poverty but the 'more privileged' should help e.g. 'big pay' CEOs. Australia is one of the strongest economies in the world and poverty in Australian poverty is not as wide known as poverty in countries like Ngieria and Ethiopia where there economy is not as strong or is almost none existant. In reference with the video my MLC class saw, the American (i think its american) government controls the selling price of cocoa (which is not really grown anywhere else) from a nation from Africa (forgot....). This may affect the growth of minority (economy wise) nations and allow 'super power' nations to bloom and prosper.
Enviado por -sunshine- el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:37am.
oh and another point, do rich countries (kinda like australia) have a responsibility to take care of the poorer countries?
In my opinion (again xD), I think we do have a responsibility to take care of them, many of us here do not live in poverty, we eat fresh food and drink clean water, we have houses, we can drive cars etc. If we have all this, compared to those that have (if something) very little, do we not have at least some responsibilty? Sure, we can try and block it out and ignore global poverty....but is that going to make it disappear?
No, i dont think so, I think no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it is always going to be present unless we do something about it....we need to try to make a stand against global poverty, and seeing we have enough money to afford so much compared to those in poverty, can't we spare some to help others?
Statistics show that a child who lives in poverty dies almost every three seconds, don't they have the right to grow up and live a life as much as we do? Are they not human beings too? Don't they have a right to necessaties of life?
We do have a responsibility, and as much as we try to ingore it, it is not going to go away - no matter how hard we try to ignore it.
And I believe it is possible to make a difference, and we can help end global poverty.
i think that we as the more richer and happier people should help these third world countries but.... we shouldnt give money to their politicians as most of them are corrupt and would only take all the money for themselves. further more maybe instead of money give them aid in the form of food or medicine or maybe even people such as doctors and nurses. say the australian government paid surgeons and teachers and other professions to go over there and help these people
Enviado por evil_spongebob el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:37am.
I think whoever "assball" is isn't taking this seriously and dosnt not know what they are talking about.
It is not these COuntrys fault they dont have enough money to sustain them. In Africa for example we forced western type civilization upon them, so dont blame them for trying to keep up with the rest of the world, if we are going to inforce somthing like this upon them, we might aswell support them, to start a new business you need money. This is exaclty the same. The countrys may also not have enough rescources to support a very large population, or not enough exports. Also they may have many rebel gangs and their government is not compleatly a democracy, so its not these peoples fault. It is a number of different causes fault, so i beleivew if you have the money, time and ability to help these people you should.
As i said in the other forum even if we didnt send aid we could at least cancel the debt that we expect this country to pay when there government does not have enough money to support or will not support there poplulation
Enviado por turtle0692 el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:39am.
poverty:
if we have knowledge of it, are we oblidged to act on it...?
I believe that we do have some responsibility to act and 'make a difference'. As most people in today's modern world have knowledge on the issue of poverty that would conclude that the above statement is false, as not many people are acting and 'making a difference' in terms of a global aspect.
it is seen that the people below the average wages are the ones particpating and helping by donating money, where as the rich as often not donating much, if anything at al.
although money is enough to buy these people food and fresh water, it is not subsequent as;
"you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, you teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life."
It is our responsibility as a global society to make a difference and change the fact that people are living in what western societies would see as below minimal living standards, but can we really afford to let everyone rise above the 'poverty line'? would this mess with the way our society runs, and have a negative affect on it?
"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else. " ~Ivern Ball
speak out, make a difference, as every attempt to breaking poverty is one step closer to the end of poverty.
To get heatstroke you have to be sunburned... not something that's easy to do with the kind of year round tan popular among many africans.lol.
Their poverty is the result of centuries of stagnated economic, technological and social progress. The west underwent the industrial revolution about 250 years ago, within another 150 we were burning fossil fuels. As a result of this our economies boomed with little competition from Asia, Africa or South America. We got in first. We are now in the historically unique position of possessing an overwhelmingly dominant economic structure to the rest of the world, a structure that can perpetuate itself by keeping those at the bottom of the pyrimid right where they are.
The question therefore presents itself: do we continue to dominate, through trade tariffs and corporate ubiquity, or do we give the same chance we had to coutries just now modernizaing through fossil fuel use, allowing them to prosper at our partial, short-trm expense?
The answer to this question depends on factors such as future military challenges, economic prospects and the availability of energy. For, while we are dominant at the moment, our position is by no means set in stone. History has taught us that empires (both economic and military) rise and fall with cyclical regularity.
This is why I believe it integral to our economic survival that we attempt to build these nations in collaboration with their governments. Installing infrastructure throughout the developing world will help to close the gap between developing and developed nations. Though this is what I see as the most preferable decision on the issue, the fact is I don't have the answer. I don't understand the issue enough to make a call; and though ethical decisions can be made by a populous and pushed on their leaders, the economics should be left to economists.
I think that poverty is just the other side of the equilibrium. We are rich and they are poor. If we had no money, we would all be rich, or we would all be poor. Its a dicey thing. Im not saying that we need them to be poor in order to allow us to be well off. Im saying that its the way works, there needs to be that distinction. I think its crap that there are people dying, because they odnt have food. I hate it that people cant plant crops because the government likes to play with nuclear weaponry. I hate that greedy organisations take 90% of donations for... 'donation tax'. STUPID!
Well we all think of poverty as stiking Africa and the poor countries, but did anyone ever realise that it is happening HERE! in Australia, and also in America. I mean, poverty can hit anyone. Poverty is the lack of water, food, shelter, warmth and clothing. We all get the chance to make a difference, no matter how big! a difference is a difference. We can do something about the rising poverty levels, but what about those large companies that don't try and donate money, they could. The little people are there to volunteer though we need the supprt and donations of many companies in order to make a significant dent in the world poverty crisis.
Well we all think of poverty as stiking Africa and the poor countries, but did anyone ever realise that it is happening HERE! in Australia, and also in America. I mean, poverty can hit anyone. Poverty is the lack of water, food, shelter, warmth and clothing. We all get the chance to make a difference, no matter how big! a difference is a difference. We can do something about the rising poverty levels, but what about those large companies that don't try and donate money, they could. The little people are there to volunteer though we need the supprt and donations of many companies in order to make a significant dent in the world poverty crisis.
It is to be noted that the high-mortality associated with poverty actually causes birth rates to rise....when you know that some of your kids are going to die, you have a lot more. Kind of like insurance..
So...less death=less births=no worries about *them* all 'living and *breeding*'.
I.e. better healthcare and education and life expectancy decreases birthrate.
Enviado por Panda1994 el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:44am.
There are many different ways in which we can help stop poverty, but, what matters most is that you actually do soemtings, for prevention. Sad to say, it is everyone's responsiblity, after all, we were the ones who made the world into this state in the first place.
This is something that is also related to other issues in our world. One of the main things is global warming.
e.g. A farmer cannot grow food = becomes poor and poorer = caused by drought = global warming = POVERTY....
I could say many more things about poverty, but, this may be the most important things to say.
Although I have not experienced the poverty yet, our next generations may actually become into a state, where they cannot even afford thier own meal...and even de of starvation.
KEEP THISIN MIND, and if we work together, we may be able to prevent it before it turns nasty....
in our country most people are wealthy and have good lives. In 3rd world countries most people dont have enough money to feed themselves let alone have a house to live in. People may say that people in poverty have done it to themselves and we should'nt help those in need but if you think about it alot of the people in poverty are children that have been forced to live in poverty, they dont have the education to strive and fix there countries, families and lives. I think that the only way to get other countries out of poverty is to give them the nessesities so they can fix there countries.
Okay, I've come crawling back. But only because my reply is too long to be posted in the forums for the general community. xD This post was in reply to the question of whether or not countries that are better off should be helping those in poverty - whether it is a gift or an obligation.
I don't think it's an "obligation." An obligation means it has to be done and it is incorrect for the wealthier countries not to aid those in poverty. But why should wealthier countries have to use their own resources on others? I agree with what a few have said above that it is more a "gift." Perhaps it is morally right for wealthier countries to provide aid to the poorer ones as well, as has been said above.
The problem with aiding poorer countries is that there is so much that needs to be done and just as much that needs to be spent. Then, as some countries turn to the aid of others in their aim to be moral world citizens, they seem to ignore some of the poverty that exists in their own countries. Homelessness exists in wealthy countries doesn't it? Abuse, sexual abuse, crime, murder - they all exist even in the wealthy parts of the world. Perhaps that is a result of excessive funds, I'll admit...
Now I don't know much about politics and finances, I admit that, but currently America is in a major economic slump - a 'repression' as it has been called in Australian media. Hasn't this come from borrowing money or something...? I don't know for sure obviously. But America has been trying its best to solve the war in Iraq alongside all the other things that they do to remain as a world super power and in all their big spending it seems they have forgotten to secure their own financial stability. What if there is a second "Great Depression" now? Will that make America a country in poverty? And will that poverty be caused by themselves?
I know that is really off-topic but oh well, why block the flow of the mind? Ooh, deep.
Problem with trying to fix poverty is that the leaders of those countries that are in poverty will just take all the money away anyway. Just having money isn't going to fix these countries' problems. It's also the way the country's run and what the people in the country are going to do to help fix the problem. Foreign countries can only do so much...
Having said all this, I think that richer countries should have a go - as long as they're not over-spending and bailing out on their own country's needs.
Katherine Gehrke
Grad 2009
Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
Queensland, Australia
Poverty is a huge problem in my opinion and its our greed and use of pretty much everything which is making us like how we are and others around the world how they are.
We live lives which pretty much exploit everything we're against, we say that cars are causing global warming and dont drive them, then why is everyone diving their cars everywhere?
Poverty isn't something thats gonna end over night and isn't something that will disappear if everyone just sits here talking about it, poverty is only gonna go away when people decide to do something and instead of sitting around talking about actually do something and move away from their super comfortable lifestyle and maybs not watch Tv and read a book , walk to school instead of driving ( unless your pretty far away) or catch a bus.
theres no way we can make poverty history if we continue the way we are going :(
People are always talking about poverty and how it is such a huge problem, however what is poverty? Everybody seems to have their own way of defining "poverty", this is how I interprete the word. To live in poverty is not having enough money to able to feed yourself or family properly and not having a place to live or stay.
All over the world people live in poverty, they are either born into it like many kids in Africa or bring it upon themselves. As we are so well off it should be up to us to help others who don't have a choice and have been put into the situation where they don't have anything.
the video seem kind of harsh against the australians as they showed all the statistics about how much green house gases the the countries produce then again it is kind of our fault as many people don't consider world poverty as their main objective and that people can be easily persuaded with simple posters and videos
but however in the future if poverty is wiped out will the poverty line rise as people begin to get the right amount of food per day will they be considered poor for not having homes and when they do get homes will they be considered poor for not having cars
but first things first the world can be help if enough people make it their initiative~
Poverty is not self-inflicted, people do not bring poverty upon themselves and therefore; with the knowledge and resources we available to support this issue we do have an obligation to assist.
Poverty is a world wide epidemic, almost every country has a quota of its people living under such inadequate conditions. I beleive that we are continuously trying to support the less fortunate members in third world countries and whilst this is fundamental we often overlook our own neighbours who struggle to get by everyday.
I believe that simply saying governments and wealthier countries have a responsibility to support these communities is useless, because as long as we have knowledge we have a personal obligation.
If this is such a colossal issue how can we, the average individuals, make even the slightest difference.
World wide elimination of poverty will not be achieved at my own hands but you and I can change the lives and attitudes of the people who are often overlooked.
I am well aware that this sounds extremely team spirit like, but i believe it as truth.Together we can eradicate the powerlessness of poverty, we can as one.
Enviado por lemonadeice el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:50am.
I think that everyone can play a part to stop poverty in the world, although it may seem to be an impossible goal. Furthermore, people who are wealthy (namely rich billionaires, hollywood actors, governments and politians) could play a bigger role in helping to stop poverty, but not everyone will be willing to give...
Also, I wonder what role does the governments of the poverty-stricken countries play in helping to stop poverty. (Could it be that they are corrupt, hence they keep all the money for themselves?)
I think that we all have our duty to assit countries who are not as lucky as us. One thing which I have noticed, is that whilst we are at the start of this 'recession' we are complaining that we do not have the money to buy luxuary items, so we are considering our selves to be hard done by, where as, in comparison these countries which cannot even possibly percieve what we regard as basic items in out lives, such as matresses, internet, ovens etc, yet they do not go and cry in the corner, because they are too busy trying to provide for their family who invariably suffer aids or other similarly devastating infections/diseases.
They face, daily, atrocities that we would not even comprehend, nor conceive as possible, if we were not shown the affects of poverty on the lifestyle and beliefs of those who are less advantaged than us.
I feel really passionate about this topic, and I think it is imperetive that we all understand just how lucky we are, to not have to worry about where the money for food will come from, nor where out clothes are going to come from.
What we consider as being hard up, is comparitively wealthy if you consider the less developed countries that we hear about all the time.
But we cannot consider them a charity case, because, as we saw in the video, it is not what they want. We should consider them as exactly what they are, developing. Their country may not be up to the same level as us in technology, education, sanitation or infrastructure. But that does not mean that we should look down on them, nor pity them, instead we should begin to put into action, what we think.
Instead of merely thinking, man it would be so great if someone could help them, we should step up and take part in these actions, even initiating such projects.
If you know about poverty are you obliged to do something about it?
Firstly, I am going to start by defining 'obliged'. On Dictionary.com it is defined as "to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract."
When we are born into this wonderful world of ours, we have no experience and therefore no knowledge. Over the last 16 years, I have gained knowledge about poverty, and my bias and perspective have been altered by travelling to Africa and seeing poverty first hand. I believe that my perspective on poverty would be different to my class mates and so obviously we will all have different views on the topic.
Back on the question, no one is 'morally or legally bound' to do anything and I know myself, that I have never signed a contract to be obliged to do anything about poverty. In saying this, I have seen it first hand and think that gross wealth with no consideration to people in less fortunate situations than themselves would be greedy and selfish.
In conclusion, I believe no one is bound to anything but I think that we should all be considerate to those in more need than us.
Enviado por courtneyEMMA. el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:53am.
Australia is a wealthy country, i think that as we have the resources we should be contributing everything we can to the countries who can not obtain the basic needs for life.
But of course people have different views that have been influenced by their culture and environment they grew up in, so the meaning of things will be different for everyone.
Poverty. What kind of poverty? in this case i think we're talking about poverty of the physical things, right? So that would mean housing, money and food, and there's also medical attention.
I don't think that this it a compulsory thing to help the kiddies, but when you see the situations that they are in don't you just feel for them? Don't you just want to help? Especially when the people who are in these situations are so close to where we are.
I mean we have so much, I think that its time we stop taking things for granted and start thinking about those who don’t have all the great things we do.
Why should we be any better off than them? They didn’t choose to be born in that country, and I know that if I was in their shoes I would want people like us to help my country.
Enviado por -sunshine- el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:53am.
We all (well pretty much all of us) resonate with the insight of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "In a real sense, all life is interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich." - We all understand and know that poverty exists.
People in the developing world need those of us living in wealthy countries to be their advocates with our governments. They look to us to amplify their voices on policies that affect them, whether in agriculture, health, economic development, land use, trade, or violent conflict. There is bipartisan support to arrest the spread of HIV/AIDS, forgiveness of debt repayment in 18 poor countries, and legislation to make safe water accessible to millions more people.
But we still have a long way to go.
Extreme poverty - and the suffering it causes - is an assault on people's basic dignity; and we can stop it. Each of us can do something - donate, volunteer, advocate.
And gehrke, i agree with you exactly: richer countries should have a go at ending poverty as long as they're not over-spending and bailing out on their own country's needs.
In reply to evil_Spongebob, when did i eva say that we should not send them aid. And by the way it IS there fault that they are in dept. you say that we should not thrust the Western world upon them so quickly because they cannot keep up. Well, consider this, you go to school, you fail hardcore becaus you cannot keep up. Is it your fault that your not keeping up or is it your peers fault? Same thing here, while the world is moving forward rapidly, these countries are falling behind because of the dept they are in. This dept is caused because they have taken loans from richer countries and haven't been able to pay them back because of the general corruption in the politics. I know that this corruption is not prominant in all politicians but generally it is there in the major politicians.
Poverty is a common global issue in our world today and thankfully there are many people working towards eliminating poverty. However with almost half the world in poverty it can be difficult to know how and when we can make a difference. Being in students in Australia it can be difficult to make a large positive impact on ending world poverty as we are far away from places that are affected the most and traveling to tjose countries may be difficult. however, although we may not know it, the majority of the products we buy come from third world countries and some of these products are made by children who are forced to work in terrible conditions. by not purchasing these products we can make a positive difference and make a step towards ending a global problem.
Enviado por Rev Justin el Vie, 17/10/2008 - 3:53am.
I have been informed of a great website which, I think will greatly benefit the the starving families around the world. Of course, the sucess of this initiative will depend entirely on the world populations awarness and participation.
It is having a negative affect on the society. Not only does it unstabilize the communites and environment of peoples lives, but also affects the people who are not in poverty. This is because people not in poverty also have a responsibility.
Poverty is a problem that i dont think we can ever solve without trying. its hard to imagine a world without poverty as there has always been those poor countries wayyyy before civilisation. if we are to improve the world, every country should improve together.
i think one way to help the people who live in poverty is to help them personaly. sponsor a child, donate money, go on www.freerice.org
well. organisations like WorldVision come on the TV asking for donations for africa or for some other unfortunate country and use all these emotive videos or stories or pictures etc.
then they go and show some african girls standing next to a water pump, pumping ridiculous amounts of water out, spilling it all over the floor and missing the little buckets they use. All the while the girls are smiling and laughing away while the money we selflessly donate is being pumped out all over the ground.
when you really think about it, it makes you wonder whether it is worth the effort of sending money over; whether they really value our efforts or not.
its probably the most sadest thing in the world... because everything leads to the increase in poverty... Global Warming, War, Economies (in some ways).... and more....
It is something that will probably never dissapear from the world, because if there's someone rich, there's someone poor. But it isn't impossible to help. By means such as donations, fund-raising and personal help, we can at least reduce poverty.
Poverty comes in many ways, but the most critical one is hunger and disease. They both involve the harming of human lives and lack the most in 3rd world countries. And also, they are the easiest road to poverty. Natural disasters destroy the crops and other resources to nothingness....(is that a word??) Lack of water and death everywhere spreads diseases...
So how can we help???? Now you know about poverty, its easy, so find it out yourself... ♡
Global poverty is avery important issue and I think that everyone should do something about it.Most people think that poverty is not such a big deal and we shouldn't helpthose people because it is non of our business, and that they deserved itbecause they made a bad decision when they were born, but is it true?
Imagine you're bornin a place where no one around you is able to feed their own family. Yourfamily and siblings are diseased and you try everything they could to improveyour current situation but knowing that no matter how hard you try, you willnever going to be able turn your life around. How would you feel if you're inthe situation?? You CANNOT control whereyou want to be born, who you want to be raised by…so basically I'm saying thatyou do NOT have control over your life. So don't you think that for those whois grateful to be in a 'good' place where they can get what they want shouldhelp those who are suffering?
As students, I thinkthere are some things that we can do to help, even though we don't have as muchpower as the adults do, but we can help by starting from a small thing."Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe(Timothy 4:12). For example, education. We can set a goal for ourselves- forexample it could be: study hard and become a doctor one day in order to go tothose developing countries and givemedication or just be with them and experience their lifestyle, because reallysome people have to experience it first for you to care.
I think that we have only have the obligation to make a difference to poverty if we feel that the people of a certain country are really in a tough position. Or to be more precise kids, who are a way to draw in people to give money to porer countries. For someone like me, I dont have much interest in poverty because my family was in the same position.
There's a lot of ways that we as an individual can view poverty. For example, it could be those starving children in Africa, or just people in developing or third world countries. From my point of view, it is the deprivation of basic rights such as safety, clothing, shelter, food, money etc, which the majority of the world may reeceive.
Ways which we can help.
The most obvious way is to donate to charities. It is so simple that there is basically no reason not to donate. But if you are more keen on donating and want to know where your funds go, you can donate a certain amount and delegate it to be spent in certain areas (health, food etc) also known as philanthrapy.
But the thing is, a lot of people don't really care about people living in poverty; they follow the crowd most of the time. Others don't even have enough knowledge of the topic to make an opinion out of it..
So what do the QAHS kiddies
So what do the QAHS kiddies think of Global poverty?
You cant shuffle John, we
You cant shuffle John, we all know it.
i think that the kids in
i think that the kids in africa are suffering from heat stroke whilst we chat on our laptops using the world wide web. But at least were discussing the problem!
That's a very general
That's a very general question. *sigh*
I'm gonna go to another thread. Nice try "Knave" xD
haha I'm so harsh.
Katherine Gehrke
Grad 2009
Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
Queensland, Australia
- HL English, Maths, Biology
- SL Psychology, Chemistry
- Ab 汉语
Yeah, stay on topic. Anyway,
Yeah, stay on topic.
Anyway, any input for a better question is appreciated.
And way to shoot down my topic, Gehrke.
well in my opinion, global
well in my opinion, global poverty is something that we should all be (well at least anyways) slightly concerned about. There are people living in this world who do not possess the basic necessaties needed to enduer survival - things like clean water, food, should be available to everyone, afterall, don't those who are living in poverty have the same right to the necessaties of life that we have at our fingertips? We are all aware about global poverty, but how much can we do? Many of us have raised money or done something like that, but is that enough?
Well i think that when you
Well i think that when you are aware of poverty there are 2 things you can do:
1: Ignore it and let other people deal with it
or
2: Get up and make a difference
But when is right to be ther person to get up and become person number 2?
Because your one person and the poverty issue you are aware of is all the way over in africa, while your all the way over in Australia, theres not much you can do alone. But because of this organisations group similar people to raise money to benefit these people. But why should you bother to help these people? Yes you have knowledge of what the problem is, but does this require you to fix it? Not nesissarily. Some people feel that they would like help if they were in the situation and since they arnt they should help those that are, but how can you be sure where your money etc is turning up, and how can you make sure that it is definalty? You can't.
I beleive that charitys are important things to cotribute to, but in saying this i only agree to this to ones that I consider important. Ones that raise money for Homeless people in the local area are ones that i would look at more closly before i submitted money to it. First you must consider why are these people homeless in the first place? Were they born into it? If so then they should be offered a chance that their parents couldnt offer. But if they have made poor decisions in life, like skipping highschool, doing drugs and etc etc. Wasting their money away they do not deserve it. Everyone should have a chance at a good life. that is why Afriacan and similar 3rd world countrys deserve relieaf and aid as they are the people who have not had a chance at a good life, with a good lviing quality.
But before donating any time or money to a charity i would check it out to find out exaclty wether the people are scabbing for money or not.
IB in Australia :D
I think that poverty is
I think that poverty is bad. Although it is ultimately the 3rd world countries fault that they are in dept we must be reasonable and consider that there are pe3ople DYING as we type!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does our knowledge
Does our knowledge about poverty bring with it an ethical obligation to do something about it personally? If so, what can we do?
For the majority of teens living in a vibrant, wealthy society, the word poverty doesn’t necessarily make as big as a statement as it should. Sure, we've all seen the World Vision advertisements on TV, but how many of us truly understand those conditions? Nearly none of us can relate to poverty, as nearly none of us have actually lived in those conditions. In my opinion, while the vast majority of teenagers know the definition of poverty, we'd be hard fixed to find someone who actually understands what poverty truly is. Asking anybody on the street for the definition of poverty, we'd most likely get answers of 'living without a permanent residence, struggling for food' etc. The knowledge of the definition of poverty does not bring about an ethical obligation to do something about it personally, as all we know is a textbook definition of this devastating issue. On the other hand, if we know what poverty truly is, if we go to live in a destitute third world nation for a month, we would be personally affected by the people's struggles, and thus there is a high possibility that an individual would personally make an effort to help. It's kind of like riding a bike, we could spend years reading books on how to do it, or we could just spend a few weeks actually riding one. The end result is that the person who tries first hand experience is the one who will succeed.
Then there are people who while only knowing the textbook definition of poverty, still make an effort to donate to making poverty history. However I do find it ironic that many of these people are EXTRAORDINARILY wealthy. Yes you know who I'm talking about, the big high-flying celebrities of Hollywood. The topic of celebrities donating their money to help abolish poverty is a slightly touchy one. You could argue that some do it for the genuine purpose of helping those less fortunate, while others do it just for a big publicity stunt. However it can be agreed upon that the majority of Hollywood stars only know the definition, not the true meaning, of the devastating condition we call poverty.
But now what if we got some random average Gold Coast teenager, threw him onto a plane and dropped him off to Ethiopia for a month. After spending his entire life with all the luxuries he wants, he'll have to deal with hunger, horrible living conditions, and worst of all - death. People who live in Ethiopia have an extremely low life expectancy of 45 years, and countless people die daily due to malnutrition and AIDs. After facing some of the worst health and living conditions in the world, this teenager would go home and obviously have his time in Ethiopia in his mind almost constantly. It's relatively easy to donate to charities helping abolish poverty, so it wouldn't take much for this teenager to organize a rally or activity to gather money for the people of Ethiopia. While he may not be able to donate as much money as the Hollywood celebrities, he would be doing it with his heart, with a genuine desire to help free the country he stayed in from the clutches of poverty and despair.
Do we have an ethical
Do we have an ethical obligation....?
Yes, it is an ethical obligation, if your sense of what is an ethical obligation includes not turning a blind eye on poverty, disease, malnutrition, corruption and incredible suffering. Those who have sufficient resources and economic stability, particularly those living in the first world, should help those areas and groups suffering poverty to the best of their ability. The measure of this obligation is what is necessary to bring equality of health, life expectancy, education.
"How much help is enough?"...well, as much help that does not include infringement of sovereignity or an interventionist foreign military policy... haha help that wouldn't incur the disproval of the UN Security Council. (No invading Zimbabwe.)
I personally could not live with myself knowing that I enjoy what to many people would be unimaginable wealth while others die for want of a few dollars.
(^_^) go happily...
Well, of course it's a bad
Well, of course it's a bad thing...povery isn't just affected the families in those hard-done-by countries but also us. It's our responsibility to fix it. It's our fault that things are this way...
it is my belief that as a
it is my belief that as a developed and relatively wealthy country (Australia) we are morally and ethically obliged to help the less fortunate. It doesn't necessarily have to be on a global scale, either - there's poverty right here on the Gold Coast.
The measure we, as people in a position to help, should provide must include balancing the wealth out. When I say 'wealth', i don't mean simply monetary wealth - in my opinion, wealth is having an education, a place to rest, and enough food to sustain oneself.
Particularly in third world countries, it is necessary to instigate education programs, for it is with education that there can be progression in all areas of humanity's sustainance.
Simply because we are students, does not mean we are powerless to help - we all have some obligation, in a sense, to make the world a better place, either on a local or international scale.
I don't believe that there will ever be an end to the amount of help we 'should' give, the balance to be achieved is forever variable, but it is essential that some sort of equilibrium be striven for.
i think that us as the more
i think that us as the more richer and happier people we should help tham in any way we can. but.. we shouldnt give money to their politics cause pretty much all of them are corrupt and they would just use the money for themselves inste3ad of helping anyone.
I think whether you decided
I think whether you decided to help out with getting rid of poverty or not is somewhat dependent on you background. If you come from a background where poverty was something that effected your close family members, I think that you would be more likely to help out than someone who has had little to no contact with anyone suffering from poverty or being effected by it.
EDIT: as a reply to Casey1, yeah I completely agree when we donate money to some organisations, they may give the money to the government to then evenly share it between people and that givermeny may or may not be corrupt, But it is not a very wise thing to do to generalise that all third world country polititians are corrupt.
sdfds
sdfds
gah too many
gah too many forums><
anyways I believe that we do not have an obligation to aid poverty but the 'more privileged' should help e.g. 'big pay' CEOs. Australia is one of the strongest economies in the world and poverty in Australian poverty is not as wide known as poverty in countries like Ngieria and Ethiopia where there economy is not as strong or is almost none existant. In reference with the video my MLC class saw, the American (i think its american) government controls the selling price of cocoa (which is not really grown anywhere else) from a nation from Africa (forgot....). This may affect the growth of minority (economy wise) nations and allow 'super power' nations to bloom and prosper.
So yeh, if you can help, help!
oh and another point, do
oh and another point, do rich countries (kinda like australia) have a responsibility to take care of the poorer countries?
In my opinion (again xD), I think we do have a responsibility to take care of them, many of us here do not live in poverty, we eat fresh food and drink clean water, we have houses, we can drive cars etc. If we have all this, compared to those that have (if something) very little, do we not have at least some responsibilty? Sure, we can try and block it out and ignore global poverty....but is that going to make it disappear?
No, i dont think so, I think no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it is always going to be present unless we do something about it....we need to try to make a stand against global poverty, and seeing we have enough money to afford so much compared to those in poverty, can't we spare some to help others?
Statistics show that a child who lives in poverty dies almost every three seconds, don't they have the right to grow up and live a life as much as we do? Are they not human beings too? Don't they have a right to necessaties of life?
We do have a responsibility, and as much as we try to ingore it, it is not going to go away - no matter how hard we try to ignore it.
And I believe it is possible to make a difference, and we can help end global poverty.
i think that we as the more
i think that we as the more richer and happier people should help these third world countries but.... we shouldnt give money to their politicians as most of them are corrupt and would only take all the money for themselves. further more maybe instead of money give them aid in the form of food or medicine or maybe even people such as doctors and nurses. say the australian government paid surgeons and teachers and other professions to go over there and help these people
I think whoever "assball"
I think whoever "assball" is isn't taking this seriously and dosnt not know what they are talking about.
It is not these COuntrys fault they dont have enough money to sustain them. In Africa for example we forced western type civilization upon them, so dont blame them for trying to keep up with the rest of the world, if we are going to inforce somthing like this upon them, we might aswell support them, to start a new business you need money. This is exaclty the same. The countrys may also not have enough rescources to support a very large population, or not enough exports. Also they may have many rebel gangs and their government is not compleatly a democracy, so its not these peoples fault. It is a number of different causes fault, so i beleivew if you have the money, time and ability to help these people you should.
I think that it's sad, but
I think that it's sad, but I also think that if they all lived and in turn bred would we not face a bigger problem?
Can poverty ever truely be solved?
We should still try, loss of human life is wrong, yet its worrying
As i said in the other forum
As i said in the other forum even if we didnt send aid we could at least cancel the debt that we expect this country to pay when there government does not have enough money to support or will not support there poplulation
poverty: if we have
poverty:
if we have knowledge of it, are we oblidged to act on it...?
I believe that we do have some responsibility to act and 'make a difference'. As most people in today's modern world have knowledge on the issue of poverty that would conclude that the above statement is false, as not many people are acting and 'making a difference' in terms of a global aspect.
it is seen that the people below the average wages are the ones particpating and helping by donating money, where as the rich as often not donating much, if anything at al.
although money is enough to buy these people food and fresh water, it is not subsequent as;
"you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, you teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life."
It is our responsibility as a global society to make a difference and change the fact that people are living in what western societies would see as below minimal living standards, but can we really afford to let everyone rise above the 'poverty line'? would this mess with the way our society runs, and have a negative affect on it?
"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else. " ~Ivern Ball
speak out, make a difference, as every attempt to breaking poverty is one step closer to the end of poverty.
i think the biggest step in
i think the biggest step in the last 20 years towards stopping poverty
is freerice.com
think of all the rice we can raise for the poverty stricken millions :)
To get heatstroke you have
To get heatstroke you have to be sunburned... not something that's easy to do with the kind of year round tan popular among many africans.lol.
Their poverty is the result of centuries of stagnated economic, technological and social progress. The west underwent the industrial revolution about 250 years ago, within another 150 we were burning fossil fuels. As a result of this our economies boomed with little competition from Asia, Africa or South America. We got in first. We are now in the historically unique position of possessing an overwhelmingly dominant economic structure to the rest of the world, a structure that can perpetuate itself by keeping those at the bottom of the pyrimid right where they are.
The question therefore presents itself: do we continue to dominate, through trade tariffs and corporate ubiquity, or do we give the same chance we had to coutries just now modernizaing through fossil fuel use, allowing them to prosper at our partial, short-trm expense?
The answer to this question depends on factors such as future military challenges, economic prospects and the availability of energy. For, while we are dominant at the moment, our position is by no means set in stone. History has taught us that empires (both economic and military) rise and fall with cyclical regularity.
This is why I believe it integral to our economic survival that we attempt to build these nations in collaboration with their governments. Installing infrastructure throughout the developing world will help to close the gap between developing and developed nations. Though this is what I see as the most preferable decision on the issue, the fact is I don't have the answer. I don't understand the issue enough to make a call; and though ethical decisions can be made by a populous and pushed on their leaders, the economics should be left to economists.
oHAI JOHN ^_^ I
oHAI JOHN ^_^
I think that poverty is just the other side of the equilibrium. We are rich and they are poor. If we had no money, we would all be rich, or we would all be poor. Its a dicey thing. Im not saying that we need them to be poor in order to allow us to be well off. Im saying that its the way works, there needs to be that distinction. I think its crap that there are people dying, because they odnt have food. I hate it that people cant plant crops because the government likes to play with nuclear weaponry. I hate that greedy organisations take 90% of donations for... 'donation tax'. STUPID!
What is poverty ...
What is poverty ... ?
Well we all think of poverty as stiking Africa and the poor countries, but did anyone ever realise that it is happening HERE! in Australia, and also in America. I mean, poverty can hit anyone. Poverty is the lack of water, food, shelter, warmth and clothing. We all get the chance to make a difference, no matter how big! a difference is a difference. We can do something about the rising poverty levels, but what about those large companies that don't try and donate money, they could. The little people are there to volunteer though we need the supprt and donations of many companies in order to make a significant dent in the world poverty crisis.
That is all we need, it is simple.
Just help.
What is poverty ...
What is poverty ... ?
Well we all think of poverty as stiking Africa and the poor countries, but did anyone ever realise that it is happening HERE! in Australia, and also in America. I mean, poverty can hit anyone. Poverty is the lack of water, food, shelter, warmth and clothing. We all get the chance to make a difference, no matter how big! a difference is a difference. We can do something about the rising poverty levels, but what about those large companies that don't try and donate money, they could. The little people are there to volunteer though we need the supprt and donations of many companies in order to make a significant dent in the world poverty crisis.
That is all we need, it is simple.
Just help.
It is to be noted that the
It is to be noted that the high-mortality associated with poverty actually causes birth rates to rise....when you know that some of your kids are going to die, you have a lot more. Kind of like insurance..
So...less death=less births=no worries about *them* all 'living and *breeding*'.
I.e. better healthcare and education and life expectancy decreases birthrate.
(^_^) go happily...
There are many different
There are many different ways in which we can help stop poverty, but, what matters most is that you actually do soemtings, for prevention. Sad to say, it is everyone's responsiblity, after all, we were the ones who made the world into this state in the first place.
This is something that is also related to other issues in our world. One of the main things is global warming.
e.g. A farmer cannot grow food = becomes poor and poorer = caused by drought = global warming = POVERTY....
I could say many more things about poverty, but, this may be the most important things to say.
Although I have not experienced the poverty yet, our next generations may actually become into a state, where they cannot even afford thier own meal...and even de of starvation.
KEEP THISIN MIND, and if we work together, we may be able to prevent it before it turns nasty....
=)
in our country most people
in our country most people are wealthy and have good lives. In 3rd world countries most people dont have enough money to feed themselves let alone have a house to live in. People may say that people in poverty have done it to themselves and we should'nt help those in need but if you think about it alot of the people in poverty are children that have been forced to live in poverty, they dont have the education to strive and fix there countries, families and lives. I think that the only way to get other countries out of poverty is to give them the nessesities so they can fix there countries.
Okay, I've come crawling
Okay, I've come crawling back. But only because my reply is too long to be posted in the forums for the general community. xD This post was in reply to the question of whether or not countries that are better off should be helping those in poverty - whether it is a gift or an obligation.
I don't think it's an "obligation." An obligation means it has to be done and it is incorrect for the wealthier countries not to aid those in poverty. But why should wealthier countries have to use their own resources on others? I agree with what a few have said above that it is more a "gift." Perhaps it is morally right for wealthier countries to provide aid to the poorer ones as well, as has been said above.
The problem with aiding poorer countries is that there is so much that needs to be done and just as much that needs to be spent. Then, as some countries turn to the aid of others in their aim to be moral world citizens, they seem to ignore some of the poverty that exists in their own countries. Homelessness exists in wealthy countries doesn't it? Abuse, sexual abuse, crime, murder - they all exist even in the wealthy parts of the world. Perhaps that is a result of excessive funds, I'll admit...
Now I don't know much about politics and finances, I admit that, but currently America is in a major economic slump - a 'repression' as it has been called in Australian media. Hasn't this come from borrowing money or something...? I don't know for sure obviously. But America has been trying its best to solve the war in Iraq alongside all the other things that they do to remain as a world super power and in all their big spending it seems they have forgotten to secure their own financial stability. What if there is a second "Great Depression" now? Will that make America a country in poverty? And will that poverty be caused by themselves?
I know that is really off-topic but oh well, why block the flow of the mind? Ooh, deep.
Problem with trying to fix poverty is that the leaders of those countries that are in poverty will just take all the money away anyway. Just having money isn't going to fix these countries' problems. It's also the way the country's run and what the people in the country are going to do to help fix the problem. Foreign countries can only do so much...
Having said all this, I think that richer countries should have a go - as long as they're not over-spending and bailing out on their own country's needs.
Katherine Gehrke
Grad 2009
Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
Queensland, Australia
- HL English, Maths, Biology
- SL Psychology, Chemistry
- Ab 汉语
Poverty is a huge problem
Poverty is a huge problem in my opinion and its our greed and use of pretty much everything which is making us like how we are and others around the world how they are.
We live lives which pretty much exploit everything we're against, we say that cars are causing global warming and dont drive them, then why is everyone diving their cars everywhere?
Poverty isn't something thats gonna end over night and isn't something that will disappear if everyone just sits here talking about it, poverty is only gonna go away when people decide to do something and instead of sitting around talking about actually do something and move away from their super comfortable lifestyle and maybs not watch Tv and read a book , walk to school instead of driving ( unless your pretty far away) or catch a bus.
theres no way we can make poverty history if we continue the way we are going :(
Poverty People are
Poverty
People are always talking about poverty and how it is such a huge problem, however what is poverty? Everybody seems to have their own way of defining "poverty", this is how I interprete the word. To live in poverty is not having enough money to able to feed yourself or family properly and not having a place to live or stay.
All over the world people live in poverty, they are either born into it like many kids in Africa or bring it upon themselves. As we are so well off it should be up to us to help others who don't have a choice and have been put into the situation where they don't have anything.
the video seem kind of
the video seem kind of harsh against the australians as they showed all the statistics about how much green house gases the the countries produce then again it is kind of our fault as many people don't consider world poverty as their main objective and that people can be easily persuaded with simple posters and videos
but however in the future if poverty is wiped out will the poverty line rise as people begin to get the right amount of food per day will they be considered poor for not having homes and when they do get homes will they be considered poor for not having cars
but first things first the world can be help if enough people make it their initiative~
Poverty is not
Poverty is not self-inflicted, people do not bring poverty upon themselves and therefore; with the knowledge and resources we available to support this issue we do have an obligation to assist.
Poverty is a world wide epidemic, almost every country has a quota of its people living under such inadequate conditions. I beleive that we are continuously trying to support the less fortunate members in third world countries and whilst this is fundamental we often overlook our own neighbours who struggle to get by everyday.
I believe that simply saying governments and wealthier countries have a responsibility to support these communities is useless, because as long as we have knowledge we have a personal obligation.
If this is such a colossal issue how can we, the average individuals, make even the slightest difference.
World wide elimination of poverty will not be achieved at my own hands but you and I can change the lives and attitudes of the people who are often overlooked.
I am well aware that this sounds extremely team spirit like, but i believe it as truth.Together we can eradicate the powerlessness of poverty, we can as one.
I think that everyone can
I think that everyone can play a part to stop poverty in the world, although it may seem to be an impossible goal. Furthermore, people who are wealthy (namely rich billionaires, hollywood actors, governments and politians) could play a bigger role in helping to stop poverty, but not everyone will be willing to give...
Also, I wonder what role does the governments of the poverty-stricken countries play in helping to stop poverty. (Could it be that they are corrupt
, hence they keep all the money for themselves?)
I think that we all have
I think that we all have our duty to assit countries who are not as lucky as us. One thing which I have noticed, is that whilst we are at the start of this 'recession' we are complaining that we do not have the money to buy luxuary items, so we are considering our selves to be hard done by, where as, in comparison these countries which cannot even possibly percieve what we regard as basic items in out lives, such as matresses, internet, ovens etc, yet they do not go and cry in the corner, because they are too busy trying to provide for their family who invariably suffer aids or other similarly devastating infections/diseases.
They face, daily, atrocities that we would not even comprehend, nor conceive as possible, if we were not shown the affects of poverty on the lifestyle and beliefs of those who are less advantaged than us.
I feel really passionate about this topic, and I think it is imperetive that we all understand just how lucky we are, to not have to worry about where the money for food will come from, nor where out clothes are going to come from.
What we consider as being hard up, is comparitively wealthy if you consider the less developed countries that we hear about all the time.
But we cannot consider them a charity case, because, as we saw in the video, it is not what they want. We should consider them as exactly what they are, developing. Their country may not be up to the same level as us in technology, education, sanitation or infrastructure. But that does not mean that we should look down on them, nor pity them, instead we should begin to put into action, what we think.
Instead of merely thinking, man it would be so great if someone could help them, we should step up and take part in these actions, even initiating such projects.
Well, thats my thoughts anyways.
If you know about poverty
If you know about poverty are you obliged to do something about it?
Firstly, I am going to start by defining 'obliged'. On Dictionary.com it is defined as "to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract."
When we are born into this wonderful world of ours, we have no experience and therefore no knowledge. Over the last 16 years, I have gained knowledge about poverty, and my bias and perspective have been altered by travelling to Africa and seeing poverty first hand. I believe that my perspective on poverty would be different to my class mates and so obviously we will all have different views on the topic.
Back on the question, no one is 'morally or legally bound' to do anything and I know myself, that I have never signed a contract to be obliged to do anything about poverty. In saying this, I have seen it first hand and think that gross wealth with no consideration to people in less fortunate situations than themselves would be greedy and selfish.
In conclusion, I believe no one is bound to anything but I think that we should all be considerate to those in more need than us.
Australia is a wealthy
Australia is a wealthy country, i think that as we have the resources we should be contributing everything we can to the countries who can not obtain the basic needs for life.
But of course people have different views that have been influenced by their culture and environment they grew up in, so the meaning of things will be different for everyone.
Poverty. What kind of poverty? in this case i think we're talking about poverty of the physical things, right? So that would mean housing, money and food, and there's also medical attention.
I don't think that this it a compulsory thing to help the kiddies, but when you see the situations that they are in don't you just feel for them? Don't you just want to help? Especially when the people who are in these situations are so close to where we are.
I mean we have so much, I think that its time we stop taking things for granted and start thinking about those who don’t have all the great things we do.
Why should we be any better off than them? They didn’t choose to be born in that country, and I know that if I was in their shoes I would want people like us to help my country.
We all (well pretty much
We all (well pretty much all of us) resonate with the insight of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "In a real sense, all life is interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich." - We all understand and know that poverty exists.
People in the developing world need those of us living in wealthy countries to be their advocates with our governments. They look to us to amplify their voices on policies that affect them, whether in agriculture, health, economic development, land use, trade, or violent conflict. There is bipartisan support to arrest the spread of HIV/AIDS, forgiveness of debt repayment in 18 poor countries, and legislation to make safe water accessible to millions more people.
But we still have a long way to go.
Extreme poverty - and the suffering it causes - is an assault on people's basic dignity; and we can stop it. Each of us can do something - donate, volunteer, advocate.
And gehrke, i agree with you exactly: richer countries should have a go at ending poverty as long as they're not over-spending and bailing out on their own country's needs.
---------
okay i have had my say i think now ^^
In reply to evil_Spongebob,
In reply to evil_Spongebob, when did i eva say that we should not send them aid. And by the way it IS there fault that they are in dept. you say that we should not thrust the Western world upon them so quickly because they cannot keep up. Well, consider this, you go to school, you fail hardcore becaus you cannot keep up. Is it your fault that your not keeping up or is it your peers fault? Same thing here, while the world is moving forward rapidly, these countries are falling behind because of the dept they are in. This dept is caused because they have taken loans from richer countries and haven't been able to pay them back because of the general corruption in the politics. I know that this corruption is not prominant in all politicians but generally it is there in the major politicians.
So shove that in your pipe and smoke it!
Poverty is a common global
Poverty is a common global issue in our world today and thankfully there are many people working towards eliminating poverty. However with almost half the world in poverty it can be difficult to know how and when we can make a difference. Being in students in Australia it can be difficult to make a large positive impact on ending world poverty as we are far away from places that are affected the most and traveling to tjose countries may be difficult. however, although we may not know it, the majority of the products we buy come from third world countries and some of these products are made by children who are forced to work in terrible conditions. by not purchasing these products we can make a positive difference and make a step towards ending a global problem.
I have been informed of a
I have been informed of a great website which, I think will greatly benefit the the starving families around the world. Of course, the sucess of this initiative will depend entirely on the world populations awarness and participation.
Poverty ... It is having
Poverty ...
It is having a negative affect on the society. Not only does it unstabilize the communites and environment of peoples lives, but also affects the people who are not in poverty. This is because people not in poverty also have a responsibility.
Poverty is a problem that
Poverty is a problem that i dont think we can ever solve without trying. its hard to imagine a world without poverty as there has always been those poor countries wayyyy before civilisation. if we are to improve the world, every country should improve together.
i think one way to help the people who live in poverty is to help them personaly. sponsor a child, donate money, go on www.freerice.org
ohkayyyyy. this is what i
ohkayyyyy.
this is what i really HATE.
well. organisations like WorldVision come on the TV asking for donations for africa or for some other unfortunate country and use all these emotive videos or stories or pictures etc.
then they go and show some african girls standing next to a water pump, pumping ridiculous amounts of water out, spilling it all over the floor and missing the little buckets they use. All the while the girls are smiling and laughing away while the money we selflessly donate is being pumped out all over the ground.
when you really think about it, it makes you wonder whether it is worth the effort of sending money over; whether they really value our efforts or not.
..... poverty..... its
..... poverty.....
its probably the most sadest thing in the world... because everything leads to the increase in poverty... Global Warming, War, Economies (in some ways).... and more....
It is something that will probably never dissapear from the world, because if there's someone rich, there's someone poor. But it isn't impossible to help. By means such as donations, fund-raising and personal help, we can at least reduce poverty.
Poverty comes in many ways, but the most critical one is hunger and disease. They both involve the harming of human lives and lack the most in 3rd world countries. And also, they are the easiest road to poverty. Natural disasters destroy the crops and other resources to nothingness....(is that a word??) Lack of water and death everywhere spreads diseases...
So how can we help???? Now you know about poverty, its easy, so find it out yourself... ♡
Global poverty is avery
Global poverty is avery important issue and I think that everyone should do something about it.Most people think that poverty is not such a big deal and we shouldn't helpthose people because it is non of our business, and that they deserved itbecause they made a bad decision when they were born, but is it true?
Imagine you're bornin a place where no one around you is able to feed their own family. Yourfamily and siblings are diseased and you try everything they could to improveyour current situation but knowing that no matter how hard you try, you willnever going to be able turn your life around. How would you feel if you're inthe situation?? You CANNOT control whereyou want to be born, who you want to be raised by…so basically I'm saying thatyou do NOT have control over your life. So don't you think that for those whois grateful to be in a 'good' place where they can get what they want shouldhelp those who are suffering?
As students, I thinkthere are some things that we can do to help, even though we don't have as muchpower as the adults do, but we can help by starting from a small thing."Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe(Timothy 4:12). For example, education. We can set a goal for ourselves- forexample it could be: study hard and become a doctor one day in order to go tothose developing countries and givemedication or just be with them and experience their lifestyle, because reallysome people have to experience it first for you to care.
I think that we have only
I think that we have only have the obligation to make a difference to poverty if we feel that the people of a certain country are really in a tough position. Or to be more precise kids, who are a way to draw in people to give money to porer countries. For someone like me, I dont have much interest in poverty because my family was in the same position.
What is poverty? There's
What is poverty?
There's a lot of ways that we as an individual can view poverty. For example, it could be those starving children in Africa, or just people in developing or third world countries. From my point of view, it is the deprivation of basic rights such as safety, clothing, shelter, food, money etc, which the majority of the world may reeceive.
Ways which we can help.
The most obvious way is to donate to charities. It is so simple that there is basically no reason not to donate. But if you are more keen on donating and want to know where your funds go, you can donate a certain amount and delegate it to be spent in certain areas (health, food etc) also known as philanthrapy.
But the thing is, a lot of people don't really care about people living in poverty; they follow the crowd most of the time. Others don't even have enough knowledge of the topic to make an opinion out of it..