Poverty is not Black and White: The Different Shades of Our Community

“Poverty is too complex to be answered with a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen

During the summer, our family often travels to all types of places around the world––be it the snowy mountains of Sapporo, Japan, the historic royal palaces of Bangkok, Thailand, the art museums of Paris, France, or the soccer-infested corners of London, UK. Regardless of where we travel, I have witnessed, heard, or read about poverty in various forms: homeless families sleeping on the sidewalks, problems of food insecurity, under-resourced neighborhoods, and more. The younger version of myself considered the unfortunate consequences of poverty and thought: “That really sucks… What can we do for the poor?” Sure, I had a sense of sympathy but I was unconsciously perpetuating the cycle of poverty by generalizing people as poor and failing to recognize an individual’s particular experience with poverty. Condensing a group of people into one label neglects the full context of the person and their story. This is just one of the many other misconceptions I had about poverty. Instead of generally asking what we could do for the poor, I’m continuing to realize the importance of targeting specific elements within the cycle of poverty and acknowledging the nuances we unintentionally overlook.

One of the ways to complicate the cycle of poverty is considering struggles with education that frequently stem from low personal income. When I visited HomeFront for the first time on Thursday, it was inspiring to see that education was one of the major pillars of the organization, and there were a variety of offerings from coding classes to other workshops that cover skills required for future jobs.

As Jeffrey Sachs noted, education could be a means of addressing cultural barriers that lead to worse economic situations and prevent families from making uninformed decisions. Establishing the women’s role as mainly “child rearing” and minimal education leads to women “[lacking] basic economic security and legal rights” (60). Yet, depending on a case-by-case structure, education may not always be a priority. For some, education may be viewed as a secondary objective that is not as urgent as finding food and shelter. When I asked about whether or not HomeFront had civics programming focused on empowering people’s political rights, our tour guide noted that for some community members, voting may not be the #1 priority, which I totally understand. Who am I to say that voting should be emphasized over everything else? However, if people are looking for opportunities to explore and learn more about civic engagement, we should definitely make them available! I think it is also incredibly important to consider the long-term implications of providing educational resources that enable people from underprivileged backgrounds to effect change. Implementing a branch of civics under HomeFront’s education program would be an incredibly supportive tool that helps members build a sense of identity and reflect on their values or beliefs. As the term continues, I’m excited to build off of my past experiences of working with civics curricula to find effective ways to break the cycle of poverty through education :).

Mother Teresa once said: “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” In this regard, we can also complicate the cycle of poverty by emphasizing the psychological influences of poverty. It is vital that we also highlight mental health and wellness as a component of poverty. Poverty is not always about money. How we define poverty is flexible and broadening boundaries that encapsulate mental health encourages us to go beyond statistics. For instance, numerically speaking, China has worked miracles in minimizing extreme poverty through technological advancements and government initiatives. In 1981, approximately 88% of the Chinese population were living below the poverty line ($1.90 a day), but in 2019, only 0.09% were under the extreme poverty threshold (Our World in Data). The improvement on paper seems incredible, but the numbers don’t tell us that the Chinese government forcefully relocated people from rural villages to apartment complexes. The numbers don’t tell us about the worsening urban-rural divide. I have heard anecdotes of Chinese workers traveling countless hours every day just to get a minimum wage job in the urban side of China. The numbers don’t tell us about the government’s intentions to go “all in” on urban cities and let the rural regions fall behind. Thus, in the case of China, the numbers are misleading. Many Chinese citizens may stand in decent financial standing but suffer from depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues.

Lastly, I want to talk about trust––an element that both directly and indirectly ties into all sections of the poverty cycle. Whenever I walk past a homeless person, it sparks an internal dilemma in me: will the few dollars make a difference or will it exacerbate their living conditions and habits with alcohol, gambling, or drugs? I still do not have a direct answer, but it is a hard “reality-check” pill to swallow. As I continue to explore the multidimensional nature of poverty and reflect on past experiences like these, I am beginning to see additional layers of our societal structure arise. When we view poverty with our “glasses of class” and preconceived notions about those stuck in poverty, finding trust can be challenging. But as Mauricio Miller discusses in his book “The Alternative,” the urge to direct our own lives often leads to the best outcomes. We all want stable jobs, and opportunities to improve our social/economic standing. We all want to directly choose the direction of our lives. But why don’t we apply these values and desires to those on the other side of the fence? Perhaps, it is because we lack trust. We often shy away from directly funding families and individuals in need. We don’t view poverty through a case-by-case lens and fail to see that those in poverty are capable of directing their own lives. If we can couple direct donations with guidance on independently managing one’s life, we may pave the way for a quicker exit from this poverty cycle.

I look forward to revisiting my values, pushing myself to recognize my biases, and collaborating with my peers and those around me to absorb as much as I can about a complex subject that is so prevalent in our lives today.