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Attitude: The Forgotten Power
What would you consider is your most valuable tool for staying in shape? Is it your treadmill? What about your weight set? Is it your arsenal of low-fat cookbooks, and low-carb diet snacks? What about your collection of workout videos? Would you...
Diet Food Doesn’t Have To Be Boring!
Not too long ago, my mother and I were talking about food and diets. "Your grandmother used to feed you pasta five nights a week," my mother insisted. "She did not!" I exclaimed, stung. After all, I remembered my grandmother as a wonderfully...
Dieting? What You Need to Know About Physical Activity
What is the best form of physical activity? The best form of physical activity is what you will actually do often. That is it. What you will actually do. And the good news is, it can be something different every day. You can walk one day, run...
Let the Holidays Be
Ah, the holidays. That sleepless time of the year. That season when we become so frantic and panicked and worried about everything we've got to do that we forget to enjoy the process. That season of giving. And shopping and wrapping and shipping....
Natural Acne Treatments – Helpful Remedies in Your Kitchen
These days we are exposed to so many harsh chemicals, and many people are beginning to wonder if the products that contain these substances are in fact as good for us as the advertising claims. Various skin conditions, such as acne, are increasingly...
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The Roots Of Poverty
Remedying only the superficial manifestations of the deeper
underlying problems of extreme poverty will never end
poverty itself. At best, this approach will temporarily
relieve urgent problems; at worst, it will exacerbate them
or create long-term trade-off problems. If we want to
eliminate poverty, we must look at its roots and apply
sustainable, pragmatic development solutions.
There are many popular misconceptions about underdeveloped
countries that prevent both politicians and private
citizens from seriously considering solutions. Some people
think less developed countries (LDCs) are poor as the
result of laziness, mismanagement, and corruption. While
corruption and mismanagement do play a role in the
inefficient and criminal diversion of aid funds, they
definitely do not make it impossible to conduct successful
development operations--unless, of course, we use corrupt
regimes as a justification to not give aid at all.
So what are some of the common root causes of poverty? Each
of the following roots of poverty can be eliminated through
development projects when they bypass government
involvement or develop mutual-accountability agreements
with governments to ensure the best results for the
program constituents:
Geographic Isolation:
Geographic isolation actually occurs on two levels:
1) within regions and continents; and 2) within countries.
The first type of geographic isolation generally includes
countries that are landlocked hundreds of miles away from
the closest port. These countries end up paying excessive
fees and costs for freight to export and import goods. The
other type of isolation--that occurs within countries--
generally includes villages that are separated from the
rest of the country because of a lack of infrastructure.
These villages typically lack electricity, adequate food
markets, and adequate sources of clean water.
Inadequate Access to Medical Clinics:
Most citizens of the Third World lack access to medical
clinics and basic medical counseling. This is
generally
because governments in LDCs do not have enough resources
to sponsor sufficient medical programs. Many LDCs also lack
medical professionals as a result of underfunded
educational systems. When people cannot visit clinics
regularly, they do not get the counseling they need to
prevent illness and often end up incapacitated by easily-
curable illnesses and parasites, such as worms.
Underfunded Education:
Many citizens of the Third World also lack access to
education. Since governments in LDCs do not have funds
to provide an educational system for all students, they
often create unreasonably hard standardized testing systems
to prevent students from graduating; and even when they
do pass the tests, they are often held back because there
simply are not enough resources to support them. Without
access to basic and vocational education, new generations
in LDCs are being severely limited in both future choices
and ability to contribute to the country’s development.
Inadequate Access to Nutritious Food:
Much of the Third World lacks the money and resources to
eat or grow a nutritious diet--and instead must subsist on
one meal each day of starchy local food staples and
vegetables. This leads to severe undernutrition in both
adults and children, the often-fatal malnutrition-infection
cycle in infants and young children, and high-incidence of
diabetes in adults. Many people--specifically in certain
geographic areas--also lack the means to cook meals. This
causes those affected to choose between hunger and food-
borne illness.
Inadequate Access to Improved Water
About the Author
Isaiah Hull is the CEO of Social Justice Incorporated,
a hybrid business that offers information and news on
poverty, hunger, and the Third World; and also operates
a cause related shopping mall, bookstore, and jewelry store
which donates 75% of profit to social justice charities.
Go to http://www.socialjusticeinc.com to learn more about
similar topics or to make a donation to charity by simply
shopping online.
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