abroad

STREET LIFE

Homeless men in Los Angeles, California complete daily tasks. (Photos from MCT Campus)

Land of the Free...and the Poor

Poverty in the United States is overshadowed by the poverty of third-world countries, but remains a growing problem that needs to be addressed.

BY TAYLOR PITZL A&E EDITOR

The United Nations sent a representative to investigate extreme poverty in the United States in December. Although the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, they found that more than 40 million Americans were living below the poverty line and almost half of those in deep poverty, defined as earning an annual income lower than half of the poverty threshold. Poverty has been steadily growing in the United States since the 1996 welfare reform, according to the Washington Post. Although the economy has been growing and with it, the median income, which increased another 3.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, the most disadvantaged have been left behind.

With sewage running back into their house, little food, and no access to affordable health care, these people face unthinkable conditions, similar to those of a third-world country. People are increasingly concerned with poverty abroad, which is a worthy and necessary cause. However, people living in poverty in the United States also need help and support. Poverty is not just across borders or oceans, it is right here in our own backyard.

Living conditions below the poverty line in the U.S. are horrific. Some even go without working sewage systems, contributing to the return of the parasite hookworm, according to The Guardian. The parasite normally only found in developing countries with limited sanitation was discovered in rural Alabama, according to The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Hookworm causes iron deficiency, impaired cognitive function and malnutrition. This reemergence demonstrates the severity of the problem of poverty in the United States.

Forty-one million Americans struggle with hunger, more than 18 percent of which are children, according to Feeding America. Hunger and obesity rates continually rise among poorer demographics as healthier food prices remain high. This is similar to trends occuring in the developing nations of Mexico and Indonesia whose poorer populations also do not have access to healthy food leading to malnutrition. Though free and reduced meals through schools have helped, much more still needs to be done to alleviate this worry.

In order to halt and reverse the trend of growing poverty in the United States, steps need to be taken to empower people living in poverty to improve their situations. More opportunities for higher-education and job training. A higher level of education can lead to higher paying jobs, helping to establish better economic security. In addition to this, the amount of well-paying jobs should be increased. Many people living under the poverty line are employed but are unable to support themselves with their salary. Additional support to people below the poverty line searching for work needs to be established. Affordable, adequate childcare needs to be accessible. Fifty percent of single parent families live in poverty. These parents desperately need more affordable childcare allowing them to get full time jobs. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the high rate of poverty in the United States is completely unacceptable. As a country, we need to recognize this problem and move to fix it. To truly provide “liberty and justice for all,” we need to dedicate resources and time to end extreme poverty.

Voluntourism:

The Feel-Good Evil

Though there are good intentions backing their actions, mission teams are frequently unaware of the socioeconomic damage they can cause.

BY LANIE JONES PRINT CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Each year, thousands of mission and service trips are taken to countless countries around the world, many of which are povertystricken with struggling economies. Hundreds of participants take supplies and toys to their destinations, but unknowingly make a larger impact than simply building wells and chicken coops for a week. Little do they know, those few days can have a more detrimental effect on communities and their economies.

While teams have good intentions in helping the local people, their actions can cause more problems than they foresee. For example, a group spending a week building a school prohibits local construction workers from receiving a job. In turn, this obviously means they don’t take home a paycheck, which leads them to struggle to provide for their family. The same goes for tasks such as painting structures or any other similar jobs. To better impact and help these communities, it’s best to support or volunteer with organizations who are familiar with the area, know their needs well and prioritize the well-being of its people.

Many times, visitors are shamed for taking the time to shop locally while spending time in a foreign place. However, investing in businesses, artisans and other sellers is a rather beneficial way to support the local economy. Rather than focusing complete time and energy on a project, volunteers should indulge in leisure to purchase items from those who are making a living off of their products. Cultural immersion is an important part of making a difference in communities. From personal experience, teams form stronger, more influential bonds with locals when they invest in the community they visit.

Another common act for volunteers is to bring toys or old clothes to their destination. Soon, young children are running around wearing tattered clothes donated from those who are too embarrassed to wear that 2007 concert t-shirt. While this may seem to be beneficial to those they’re serving, the act can put a strain on local productions. Bringing a surplus of items that can be purchased in the location visited has the ability to put locals out of business, similar to volunteers doing work that can be successfully accomplished by local laborers. Though it’s a great thought and incredibly sweet, it can put a damper on business.

Additionally, the motives of volunteers can come into question when service trips seem to be more of a vacation. When social media feeds are filled with photos of young, starving children in horrible living conditions, it’s often a reality the photographer has no concept of. Following this post, one may snap picture sipping smoothies on the beach. No, going to the beach or a cool market is not a “bad” by any means. The issue arises when people are intrinsically motivated by the prospect of posting photos of a struggling nation to say “look at me volunteering with these starving kids!” It’s not meant to pass judgment, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about these trip

While volunteering abroad is not a bad thing, participants should be more conscious of the decisions they make, taking the repercussions into consideration beforehand. Shop to support the economy of the places visited, and be aware of physical labor putting local builders or artisans out of business. It’s important to support locals in these places, which will better the communities that volunteers are working in, not destroy.