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Children in poverty, poverty and the effects on children
Poverty in south africa 2021
Poverty in south africa 2021
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“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.” (Mother Teresa) South Africa’s poverty affects the country in numerous ways; however and the most vulnerable margin in the country is the most effected. Children are the most vulnerable aspect in any country, as they are still developing, and don’t have the resources to be independent; they are also only able to take what they are given without being able to change or produce anything. So children being uncared for and abstained from a healthy atmosphere that helps them develop properly, does not only traumatize the child permanently on the long run; but also provides an unpromising future to the country’s development. 65.5% of children living in South Africa are members of the poor households, contrasted against 45.2%of the adult population. (Lareya 6). This is the reason why this paper is focusing on how poverty affects children particularly those living in an unstable, developing country such as South Africa, where they are the dominating population in the rural areas. This is particularly important because that South Africa is one of the countries that have been majorly affected by the international financial crisis and still is having a hard time recovering from it. (Lareya 4)
Understanding the poverty that South Africa is facing and the affect that poverty has on children will help find solutions or remedies for the damage that poverty has on children. Finding solutions will decrease the 65.5% of children living in South Africa amongst the poor. Decreasing child poverty will cause the economy to flourish. This paper will focus on how the household’s poor atmosphere in ...
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...tion of poor household’s in South Africa, making it easier in the future understanding the affect it has in children.
The poverty line in South Africa is a fantasy for almost half of the households in South Africa. “In 2006, more than two out of every five (42,2%) households in South Africa were living below the upper-bound poverty line”. (Lehohla 40) A lot of households in South Africa are suffering, because of the lack of income relevant to food prices, which reasons the prominent suffering of individuals in the family. The suffering of individuals instigates the decrease of resources of a country, which announces an unpromising future for a country for decades. Equally children are the most permanently influenced by the household’s lack of resources, as their first developing years of a child are the most important years, and the ones determining the future.
Even the mere inequality of wealth in a child’s social, cultural, or educational setting can have effects on a child’s peer to peer interactions, hierarchical structure and their ability to achieve. Gorard 2010 as discussed in Victoria Cooper, 2014 (p160), links poverty and or social deprivation with lower academic results. In the Xiao Bo case study by Child poverty research and policy centre, 2013 (Heather Montgomery, 2014) it demonstrates the multifaceted effects of poverty on a child, such as the stresses it places on the family to educate children, pressure on the children themselves to succeed in education to enable them to assist with family finances and lifestyle, the compromises and sacrifices made as a family unit in lifestyle and financial planning in order to pursue education of the child, as well as demonstrating the wide range of instigators that create inequalities of wealth, such as political/policy decisions, loopholes in aid assistance, cost of education and unequal access to resources. In 2001 the Millennium development goals were set out in response to the millennium summit of the united nations to reduce poverty and its associated issues, of the eight goals, the first goal was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, demonstrating the comprehension of the wide ranging affect of poverty on children and society as a whole, and an understanding that poverty ‘Damages children in every way’ as stated by Unicef
"The Working Poor Families Project." The Working Poor Families Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014. .
Poverty has many influences on children under the age of 16. The research fined out that in recent year, an increasing number of children become poor, live under the poverty condition- childhood poverty lasted 10 years or more. So, what does the poverty exactly mean to children? According to Brook-Gunn and Duncan, The kids who live in the poverty condition have the low quality of schools; more likely to have domestic violence and become homeless; less access to friends, services, etc.
Poverty has been a growing problem in America, and it most likely will never stop being one. Someone who is identified as being in poverty lives beneath the poverty line determined by the Federal government. The poverty line in 2015 for a family of four was $24,250. These are the people who are really considered poor. Poverty isn’t just a problem in the United States; in fact, other countries struggle just as much, if not more, than the United States does. Many people struggle to keep themselves above the government’s poverty line, shown by the fact that the percent of poor people in America hasn’t drastically changed over the years. However, it is possible to get out of, and ultimately stay out of, poverty.
When one thinks of poverty often the mental picture that comes to mind is of single parent welfare, dependent, women and unemployed, drug-addicted, alcoholic lackadaisical men. The children are often forgotten. The impact of poverty, the destruction of crime and stigmatization of the violence on the children is more devastating and irreversible than the miseducation and illiteracy that most often companies poverty. The implication is not the poverty can not be overcome but that the cycles of teenage pregnancy, welfare dependency, and dropping out of high school continues and are hard to break. The badges of poverty are just as addictive and capitiving as any disease such as alcohol or drugs.
Poverty is “the inability to acquire enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (Gosselin,2009). This social disadvantage limits one’s ability to receive a quality education and it is a constant problem throughout the world accompanied with“deleterious impacts on almost all aspects of family life and outcomes for children”(Ravallion,1992). Poverty is a main factor that affects normal human growth and development in a variety of ways, primarily impacting children’s early development, social behaviour, health, and self worth.
Childhood development is both a biological and psychological period that occurs to every human from birth to adolescence. The transition from dependency to autonomy characterizes this period. The crucial factors that affect this period include parental life, prenatal development and genetics among others. Childhood period is immensely significant for the child’s future health and development. Efforts in ensuring proper child development are normally seen through parents, health professional and educators who work collectively. Such efforts are essential in making sure that children grow to reach their full potential. However, it is not extremely easy to raise a child in modern times because certain factors emerge to ruin this pivotal stage in life. Poverty is a serious problem that can immensely affect childhood development (Horgan, 2007). Children are susceptible developmentally to problems in their earliest period of their life. Poverty is not a selective issue and it can affect all ages in any place, but its
According to Anup Shah, a researcher for Global Issues, “almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day” (Shah). For most people, it would be super hard to survive on this little amount of money every day. People who live this low in the poverty level walk several miles just so that they can acquire basic needs such as water and food. These people also have no way to afford medical attention and will often die from a preventable cause. According to Anup Shah, “1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day)” (Shah). Children who have these poor family situations usually will die from hunger or diseases at a young age. Children who live in this type of poor environment do not have the money to go to school. Without an education, these children will have a hard time obtaining jobs when they reach adulthood. They will also have problems receiving
Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or “the Third-World,” and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries.
Poverty is an ever-growing problem throughout our modern world, with millions living in its extremes. There are many consequences of poverty and the way they affect children and family life is absolutely detrimental. Poverty can be simply defined as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Encyclopedia Britannica 2014). There are two distinct variations of poverty – absolute poverty and relative poverty, which will be further discussed throughout this essay. The total number of people worldwide who live on less than $2.50 (the bare minimum of the poverty line) is 3 billion (Global Issues, The Human Development Report, 2012). According to many, there are a varied number of consequences for those who live in poverty, especially children and families. The effects of poverty have proven to have detrimental effects on child development and the nature of family life. Saunders (2005) reiterates these factors of poverty in his book “The Consequences of Poverty”. This essay will state the many aspects of poverty and the detrimental effects its holds within child development, family life and the health of indiviudals.
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors.
Poverty is one of the greatest problems facing South Africa. South African families live in very unsatisfactory conditions. The South African government works hard to bring down the rate of poverty but it also seems to increase as they try.
In the decade prior to the onset of the crisis a large number among the new social protection programmes had emerged in the South with a specific focus on children. Children are the largest group within the global poor, and by investing in children’s development, social transfers contribute to providing a permanent exit from poverty. The focus on children signals the fact that social protection is as much to do with reducing current poverty, as with investing in the future (Barrientos & DeJong, 2006).
Child poverty is a major and complex issue that New Zealand faces today. The degree is far more severe than the public's perception and it is a problem that we cannot afford to ignore. A combination of factors contributes to child poverty, from individual causes at the micro level to the macro collective government involvement. This occurs partly due to social construction and it is potentially avoidable. The consequences can impact on both individual and to a great extent affect significantly on the country as a whole. If the issue is not resolved, the inequality will continue, if not worsen and becomes an ongoing intergeneration cycle. 'The poor get poorer and poorer', children can easily fall into the poverty trap where it becomes nearly impossible to reach an end to this issue. The consequences of the disparity have a major outcome on the societal level.
The majority of South Africans are unemployed and therefore can’t satisfy their needs and wants, and also their children’s needs and wants, thus more than half of South Africa’s children live in poverty.