How long will it take for poverty to change?

“It is a tragic mix-up when the U.S. spends $500,000 for every enemy soldier

killed, and only $53 annually on the victims of poverty.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Some of the causes of poverty are: the lack of education, health,

culture of poverty, discrimination, war, agriculture, droughts, floods, and natural

disasters.

What is the Issue?

Poverty is mostly known as the lack of basic human needs because

of the inability to afford them. Another definition is the condition

in which a person lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of life including food, safe drinking water, sanitation, shelter, health

care, and basic education. Destitution is another word used

for poverty.

Did You Know?

Half the world- nearly 3 billi0n people-live on less than

two dollars a day. 640 million have no adequate

shelter 1 in 7 has no access to health

services The richest 2% of the world’s

population own HALF of the world’s wealth

Causes and issue of poverty in Haiti:

There is no public water systems and poor access to education. There is a lack of environmental degradation and lack of employment, language as an oppressor and ignorance and illiteracy because of the system of education (or miseducation), soil erosion and export crops vs. local food crops. The lack of a social infrastructure: inadequate roads, water systems, sewerage, medical services, schools. Under development in an age of international economic competition and Haitian self-image are other issues.

Empty pockets never held anyone back.

Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Did you know? Haiti, once called The Jewel of the

Antilles, was the richest colony in

the entire world. Economists

estimate that in the 1750s Haiti

provided as much as 50% of the

Gross National Product of France.

HISTORY Haiti struggled to feed and shelter their expanding population long before the disaster on Jan.12. It is known as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, but the history is still rich. Haiti went downhill after 30 years of American occupation, corrupt regimes, natural disaster, environmental devastati0n, and the out- cast of HIV. Haiti has not changed since the 1980s. It is known as the second to last in the world, in a comparison measure of global

poverty.

Haiti

Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, West of the Dominican Republic

Capital: Port-Au-Prince Population: 9,719,932 Size: 27,750 sq. km Languages: French and Creole Child Mortality Rate: 54.02/1,000 deaths Life Expectancy: 62.17 years Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Adventist Access to Clean Water: 46% Literacy Rate: 15+ can read and write Doctor to Patient Ratio: 1:4 Living on Less than $2 a Day: 72.1%

Current situation:

Roughly 13-17% Americans lives below the poverty line. The poverty level in 2011 is $22,350 for a family of four. 58.5% will spend at least one year below the poverty line. Mostly single parent families, non-Hispanic and 18-21 are the higher risk people for being under the poverty line. What should the Government be doing? The government should be spending more money on the poverty level than on wars and other things that can wait. They should spend about twice as much money as they do on poverty and half on war. The benefits should last longer and be more helpful to the community.

Case Study:

There is a woman named Michelle Stewart and she doesn’t work, while her husband makes $6.25 an hour for up to 25 hours overtime just to make enough for the month. She explains after paying all the bills, they have about $60 left for two weeks. Another woman named Christina Mattison who works for $7.25 an hour and her husband makes twice as much. They have four children in day care. They are considered above the poverty line.

OTHER LINKS TO DONATE OR HELP THOSE IN NEED: www.childfund.org/Donate www.worldvision.org/Poverty www.children.org www.freepoverty.com/

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

www.newsweek.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.nationsencyclopedia.com/americas/haiti-HEALTH.html

www.bigthink.com/ideas/21237

www.thinkexist.com/poverty

www.gdrc.org/icm/poverty-causes.htm

www.povertycrisis.com/stats.html