Content
Poverty is a tragic problem affecting millions of people around the world. Many people go to great lengths day in, day out to provide for their basic necessities and to provide for themselves and their families. Most of them would love to live a somewhat calmer and more comfortable life, without having to spend all the time dealing with the concerns of living in poverty. Unfortunately, they can often only dream of that. In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide. Unfortunately, the arrival of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus and the economic crisis that will result from it may undo much of what has been achieved in recent years. It may be comforting to think that many governments are already planning to provide assistance to businesses and individuals during and after the crisis, but there is a good chance that more and more people will be living below the poverty line in the near future. The world economy will recover over time, but a recession is almost impossible to avoid. In order to guarantee the basic necessities of life for as many people as possible, the involvement and effort of society as a whole is necessary. Yet you can also contribute to the further eradication of poverty in many ways.
To step
Method 1 of 2: Helping others by taking action yourself
Volunteer. There are all kinds of ways in which you can help people who are less fortunate in your area by taking action yourself. Ask about the possibilities at the Volunteer Work Foundation, the church or a Muslim community near you. Ask the library or community center or community center if they might have volunteer programs, and then identify where they need help. - There are different groups of people you can work with: children, the elderly, people with mental health problems, homeless people, refugees and women. You can decide for yourself which group you would like to help.
- For example, you can teach a computer skills course or help you apply for work. You could start an allotment or give a course on how to grow [Spinach growing sustainable food]. For many people on a budget, eating healthy is very expensive, so by teaching them how to grow their own vegetables sustainably and cheaply, you can help them save money and eat healthier as well.
- You can volunteer at homeless shelters, community centers, and after-school shelters.
Help one specific person. Even by not helping more than one person, you can make a small positive contribution and bring about change. If you see someone who needs help, talk to them. Give him or her some money; sometimes a few euros can make a big difference. Offer your help without being demeaning or judging. - Try to help him or her with a meal or overnight care.
- If you ignore the poverty around you, or condemn people living in poverty, you can rest assured that you are not doing anything to help them. You don't know how someone got into a certain situation and you don't know what they will use their money for.
- If you're concerned that the person you want to help might misuse your money, offer something else. For example, you can offer to help them get food, find work, or buy clothes, a warm blanket, or an umbrella. That way, you can make sure that the person you want to help gets what he or she needs without and won't spend your money on anything bad, like guns, alcohol, or drugs.
Inform yourself well. Poverty is often the result of a lack of knowledge of civil and human rights such as the right to birth control, unemployment benefits and your rights as an employee. By making sure you are well informed, you can find out where you can best spend your time and energy helping poorer people gain the skills and strength they need to save themselves. - Research shows that many poor people end up in a vicious circle of crime and punishment. In some countries little is done about rehabilitation or the re-education of criminals. Particularly in the United States and in many South American countries, but also in the Netherlands, people who have been imprisoned often have difficulty returning to society, so that after their sentence they fall back into poverty. This is often especially true for immigrants and other people belonging to minority groups, as they often do not speak the language well, do not know their rights and have no one to turn to with questions. It can therefore be extra difficult for those people to find their way around after a period of imprisonment and to be able to function within society again.
- There is also a link between poverty and the right to birth control. For women, access to contraceptives certainly means that they will have fewer children, which means that they will continue studying earlier and therefore have a greater chance of finding work. Birth control education programs can reduce teenage pregnancies, giving more women access to better education.
Donate money. Donations to organizations working for the poor, both locally and internationally, are extremely important. Many such organizations depend on donations to survive and help people. Just make sure you know exactly where the money you donate is going. Only then can you be sure that the organization is indeed helping people. - For a month, take yourself out of something (like drinking coffee somewhere, the chocolate bar you always buy, or those new clothes) and donate the money you save that way to a local or international charity or non-profit organization.
- In addition to money, you can also donate food, clothing, toiletries, old furniture, toys, and books to local shelters. You can also check when special fundraisers are being held near you. By donating things in this way you help all kinds of people who are struggling for various reasons.
- There are various programs that collect books for, for example, prisoners. Check if there is such a thing in your place of residence or municipality. And if not, you might be able to start something yourself. By helping to ensure that inmates receive the education they need (and not always access to), you can help them become productive members of society and are less likely to be detained for the rest of their lives remain in the criminal justice system.
Join or start your own organization. Gather a group of like-minded people and choose a problem related to poverty that you could work on. Start a group with the intention of helping people to become more aware of the poverty problem or, for example, to set up a program with after-school activities for children in disadvantaged neighborhoods. - Organize a benefit concert with your band. Hand out flyers to your city or municipality and ask the local newspaper to publish a piece about it. Use the proceeds to help poor people in your local community.
- Start a signature campaign in your area to help children from low-income families eat healthier, or to help schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods provide better sex education.
- Organizations such as the Children in Need Foundation and DCI-Netherlands are working at both a local and international level to improve the laws and measures aimed at helping children out of poverty in particular.
Become active in the field of legislation. Intervene with both local and state government. Learn about existing laws and new laws that are passed that affect programs designed to help poor people. - Support a system that people can join for help and advice. Often people who are struggling financially also have to deal with health problems because, for example, they cannot pay the deductible of the insurance or the dentist.
- Support better education in your hometown and nationally. Better education means people who have the life skills and knowledge to help them realize their full potential and become productive, interested members of society.
Help create a dialogue about poverty. Just starting a discussion in your local community, and on a global scale, can help alleviate poverty. Challenge your friends and family's ideas about poverty. - Write a column for your local newspaper, or write a letter to the editor, outlining what needs to be done in your community to help those who are poor.
Tips
- If you can donate the price of, for example, one cappuccino or one beer per week, that will soon be more than 250 euros per year.
- Donate stuff instead of money.
- Connect with people. Because they are poor, often not many people want to talk to them. Communicating with poor people, even if only in a few words, can brighten someone's day.
- Make others more aware of poverty through social media. Consider starting a campaign on the Internet.
Warnings
- Don't judge people living in poverty. There are so many ways that people can fall into a hole that they cannot escape from; from addiction to health problems, psychological complaints, debts, abuse and much more.
