Poverty

Los Angeles, USA

For some time now, I have been trying to get involved in rural development efforts in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, twiddling with ideas and plans for organized efforts. A friend who has been involved in this area espoused that “There will always be poor people in every country. But, they don’t have to be this poor, and they don’t have to be so many in number.” While I perceive rural development as an excellent start to poverty alleviation in many developing countries (especially in Asia, since the countries I have studied thus far are all Asian countries), I am increasingly beginning to question the futility of international efforts like ours.

Particularly, beyond a certain point, what if our idea and direction of development is different from the way the actual people in the communities and societies view it to be? Thinking about the social and cultural differences in perceptions of wealth, poverty, wellness and development, I find myself wondering about the effectiveness of my foreign approaches and efforts in making sustained change in another society. It is my thinking that no amount of international intervention is ever going to make a sustained impact in a society, unless the privileged in these societies themselves take on the task of social justice and equity.

Should the prime focus be on alleviating absolute poverty that exists in certain regions of the world, or on relative poverty that’s inherent in every society? While I do believe absolute poverty should be absolutely dealt with as much as possible, perhaps we should increase our efforts in alleviating social poverty in our societies as well.

Ask any Singaporean youth about poverty, and they will wax lyrical about the starving children in Africa or Asia. How many of them would think of that scruffy old man walking around with a plastic bag every day, looking for possible void-decks he could rest for the night in; or that disease-struck woman trying to get by with $2 a day for both medications and food? That’s absolute poverty right here in this red dot of an island. While most Singaporeans do own their homes, and are covered adequately for health, many still struggle to provide adequate education for their children, which is increasingly preventing social mobility of the lower income categories. In this atmosphere, meritocracy is only widening the gaps between the rich and the poor in the country. That’s poverty too.

Thinking of poverty as some faraway problem takes away the need for many to truly get involved in it, beyond fundraisers and random overseas community involvement trips. However, if it’s recognized as a persistent problem that’s close to one’s home, and in which one could truly make an impact, one might involve themselves more in it. While there will always be people who are involved in international efforts to lift communities out of absolute poverty, the cause for alleviating social poverty rests with awareness and efforts of the people in these societies themselves.

Mumbai, India

Photo Credits: Steve McCurry