HomeTeeter Totter ~ Finding a Balance Between Me-Hood and Motherhood
Gender: female Date of Birth: January 01, 1973 Member Since: September 11, 2007 Last Signed In: January 09, 2009 Blog Views: 9145 Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend
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Blog Action - Poverty
My husband sent me an interesting e-mail from a site called "Blog Action Day." I've never heard of them before, but the concept is very interesting... I'll give you the 10cent tour. The point is to get everyone who owns, or types on a blog to write about the same important topic on the same day.
The topic for today is POVERTY. My gut reaction when I think of poverty is to feel uncomfortable. No one likes to talk about it, hear about it, or see it. It is however, a very real issue all over the world. Here's some startling statistics for you. ~According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. ~Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. ~Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. ~Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen. ~Number of children in the world 2.2 billion - Number in poverty 1 billion (every second child)
Thanks to the Regan administration closing down the mental hospitals, most of the homeless you see out on the streets are people with mental disorders who can't take care of themselves and aren't getting their medication. This is a fact. So, what can you do about it? Short of building a shelter in your own backyard or adopting a million children? 1) Next time you eat out and have leftovers, give those leftovers to the first homeless person you see (if you are in a major city, you'll see dozens before you even make it to your car.) 2) Volunteer any spare time you may have to serve your community. Soup kitchen? Yeah, they're still around. 3) When you see a coat drive for children, give a coat. It's not that hard to do people! 4) Research any organization you donate to thoroughly. Many only give a small percent of what they receive to the actual cause. Be smart and cautious, or better yet! Just get hands-on and make a difference yourself. 5) Behind someone in line who is short what they need to pay? Pay for them. 6) Offer to start a "salad bar" or healthier hot lunch option at your school. Even if your child brings healthy foods from home, the low income children are stuck with the crap they get for free from the government. Is isn't good people, flys wouldn't eat that swill! 7) Many cities have clothing donation centers for women who are trying to get out of a bad situation and always need help, and/or donations. Same with the battered women's shelter. Pick up that extra pack of pampers next time you're at Costco, then drop it at your local shelter. You'll feel great for helping out! Same with those little travel soaps and shampoos when you're on vacation. Bring a zip lock bag and take them home to donate. 8) Go to a rally, write a letter, send an e-mail to our law makers telling them that we DEMAND better education for all children. Did you know that janitors make more and have better benefits in the USA than the average early childhood teacher? What does that say about our priorities in this country. The people who wipe your kids butt and kisses away boo-boo's in preschool get less money than the one who cleans the floor. If we all took time to do simple little things and care for one another how we would want to be cared for, perhaps poverty would be a thing of the past? 3 comments from 3 users
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posted by
hmoeckli
on Oct 15, 2008 at 08:44 PM
posted by
girl4agreenerworld
on Oct 15, 2008 at 08:47 PM
I loved your points Creatress. There are so many little things we can do that would really make a difference without a lot of effort. We need to change the mentality of our current world to take action and to get involved and to take care of one another. That, I think, is our purpose in being on this earth! Also...we need to educate ourselves politically and vote. As Kennedy said many decades ago, and it comes back to what you are saying Creatress...."ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." It is a difficult time for our country and world right now and more people are going to need a hand, so, again, I appreciate your points.
posted by
creatress
on Oct 15, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Thanks ladies! Great suggestions from both of you. Glad you liked the blog.
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My suggestion: put together a box of necessary items for foster youth who are exiting the system. It can be real simple: toilet paper, dish towels, pen, paper, spaghetti, etc. You can drop it off at a healthy start office at your school or in your district or look up the foster services in your area. So many of our foster youth end up homeless, and there's so much we can do to help. The small things do matter.