More than 32% of the nation’s families are low income households. With a rise in low-income students, school districts support these families, through reduced pay lunch and other benefits. After school ends, how do students provide themselves with the basic necessities of life, consequently when they aren’t given these means of financial aid? Poverty is a recurrent topic of the news, but as a society, we haven’t helped these people to our full potential. If half of the world’s population, more than 3 billion people, live off $2.50 a day, is it because they were born to live in a state of destitution, or because we haven’t assisted enough to minimize this ever growing population of penury stricken individuals?
When we think of poverty, the first thing that comes to mind is undernourishment, and the sad reality of unequal wealth distribution. The richest people would have to contribute 60 billion dollars in order to end global poverty annually, which only happens to be ¼ of their overall income. What we don’t realize, is that 1 billion children are living in poverty, and 22,000 children die everyday because of hunger, and lack of healthcare, due to their financial situation. Children that are born into a state of destitution, have a higher chance of contracting diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, since they cannot afford vaccinations to prevent these illnesses. Low income students have a higher chance of developing cognitive disabilities, and are seven times more likely to drop out of high school, than those from families with higher income. Poverty isn’t just one issue, but a daily obstacle in many aspects of a child’s life. From unsafe drinking water, to an increase in illiteracy rates, impoverished families aren’t able to provide the basic necessities needed to thrive in an evolving world. Our contribution as a society, is to restore the lives of low-income families, and make sure that global poverty develops into a nonexistent problem, that no one should face. – Siya Sharma (10th Grade Student, Santa Clara, CA)
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