mess_e

Messages and Tools

awareness pamphlet

Things to Think About
Before we figure out how we will fight poverty we first have to
figure out what poverty is:

- Have you ever felt ashamed or been teased by your friends about wearing the same clothes over again because your family didn't have the money to get you new ones?
- Have you ever had to miss going out with your friends because you didn't have money to do what they wanted to do?

- Have you ever felt afraid to go home because it was not a safe place to be?

- Do you ever feel ashamed about your family because they are on welfare?

These are just a few examples of people's experiences of poverty. But poverty goes beyond money, which some people don't know. When we think of poverty often we imagine famines in Africa, homelessness and destitution. This is one extreme of poverty. Being poor is also having parents who are not around because they are working to try and provide for their kids. They may not have the time or energy to be involved in their lives. It may also be about not having parents, growing up in foster care or living in a group home. Poverty is also emotional; some people have their material needs provided for (food, clothing, or shelter) but may be emotionally neglected.