Thursday, October 16, 2008

Poverty: we can't afford to ignore it any longer

Poverty is not necessarily the lack of money in the pocket.
It is not primarily a money problem. The lack of money ; more precisely, the inability to make ends meet is just symptomatic of a much broader systemic malaise. It is the severest breach of a person's humanity of tentacular dimensions!
It is less about what people don't have and more about why they don't have what they don't have. That is why simply throwing money at the problem does not defeat it. It makes it even worse because it nourishes it.
A very complex state of affairs broadly characterised by hopelessness, indignity and despair, poverty flourishes and thrives by the the very circumstances it creates in the lives of its victims.
Poverty is a state of existence or a way of living that perpetuates a circle of lack or insufficiency.
To successfully combat poverty therefore our attention must be propelled towards creating a parallel but opposite perpetual circle in the areas where it thrives-- a perpetual circle of sufficiency and productivity! This brings up the issue of sutainability in all societal endeavours.
Quality education, policies that support entreprenuership as well as the involvement of Governments in establishing centres of excellence are perhaps some of the most potent weapons needed to be unleashed against this formidable enemy.

4 comments:

Denise said...

Posekyere, Can't believe I didn't find your blog from before! A hint would have been nice. Anyway, better late than never.
You are right though, poverty isn't just about lacking the financial means and I think your description and possible solutions are well worth noting and acting on.

posekyere said...

Hi Denise,

Good to see you visited.
I am fully aware of the fact that the thoughts I expressed are not unknown to many of the leaders who have the means to affect change.
The problem, I quess, is that there appears to be a diminishing desire to combat poverty as people become established in their leadership roles. The affluence, the prestige and the crowd that come to surround them eventually alienates them from the plight of the very poor people who need their attention the most.
We really need a maverick bunch that will be unrelenting in rolling away the frontiers of poverty until a critical mass of our population has successfully crossed the line.

The Author said...

Know what I like about this? It addressed a very desperate and emotional problem with dignity and no mushy emotions. Great read

posekyere said...

Hi Nana Yaw!

As always, how precise are your
expressions and comments!

Thanks.