Ethiopia Adoption Blog, Ethiopia Adoption Blog - What does poverty look like around the world?

07/04/07

What does poverty look like around the world?

Posted by : Mary Owlhaven in Ethiopia Adoption Blog at 11:52 am , 369 words, 369 views
Categories: About Ethiopia, How To Help

In honor of the 4th, I thought I'd share a little more perspective on poverty in America versus poverty elsewhere. Awhile back I read the interesting statistic that nine out of ten people in the world have never made a phone call in their lives. The phone is such a normal part of life in America that I could hardly imagine that so many people go through life without it. That statistic got me thinking and digging for more stats on life in our world.

According to a recent U.S. Census, forty-three percent of all families defined to be poor by the U.S. government own their own home. The average home owned by these families has three bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. Poor families in America also typically own a car, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a stove, a washer and dryer, and a microwave.

In contrast, the World Health Organization reports that in the year 2000, only 24% of the population in Ethiopia had a safe and adequate water supply. In that year, twelve percentage of the population in Ethiopia had adequate sanitation facilities. Facilities deemed 'adequate' range from simple but protected pit latrines to flush toilets with a sewerage connection.

SPONSOR

Also according to the WHO, forty-two percent of people in Ethiopia die before the age of 40. Many of those who die are decent, hard-working mothers who want nothing more than to raise their children to adulthood. But instead for lack of $50/year medicine they leave orphans. Currently the number of orphans in Ethiopia is over four million. That is equal to ALL the children in New York State, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. combined.

If you need just a little more proof of just how fortunate you are, check out this interactive tool on the Global Rich List . You can plug in your income and find out where you rank in relation to the rest of the world. With this fresh reminder of the privilege in which most of us spend our days, let's move on to using those blessings in a way that will benefit others.

Related links

Poverty in Ethiopia

Grace for Children- Ethiopia

More ways to help in Ethiopia

6 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Aquagal80 [Member]

Amen, sister.

Permalink 07/04/07 @ 11:31

Comment from: miriam [Member]

· http://www.growingjwards.blogspot.com

This post has really opened my eyes to how sad and petty it is for my husband and I to limit our search because of fear. We're afraid we aren't qualified to raise a child of another race, we won't handle criticism gracefully, we might get tired of always talking about the child's adoption rather than just the child.

That's so incredibly small. Who are we to choose, or limit God's leading? We have a lot MORE thinking/talking/researching to do.

Thanks for posting this, how perfect on the fourth of July! You are a blessing, thanks for writing.

Permalink 07/04/07 @ 12:49

Comment from: AdoptionBlogs Editor [Member]

· http://editor.adoptionblogs.com

Great blog!!!
For many people who have never been outside the U.S., grasping exactly how wealthy they are is a difficult thing to wrap their minds around.
Hopefully people will read this blog and visit the Global Rich List and get some perspective on just how lucky they are!

Permalink 07/04/07 @ 17:48

Comment from: romee_1101 [Member]

No doubt! I have traveled extensively, mostly in third world and impoverished countries. I was completely shocked the first time I encountered the abject poverty rampant in much of the world, and this was in the country I was to live in for two years.

The other thing I often find ironic (and we certainly do have poverty in the US) is the number of times I have encountered people who are "poor" who have more gadgets, tvs, computers and toys than I could every hope to have.

Romee

Permalink 07/04/07 @ 22:16

Comment from: Mary Owlhaven [Member]

· http://ethiopia.adoptionblogs.com/

Romee,
My husband and I have sponsored families with the Salvation Army in our area at Christmas time for years. (ie, each Christmas we were assigned a family to bring the fixings for Christmas dinner, as well as toys for the kids).

Several of the families truly seemed to need the assistance. One in particular I remember had 6 kids in a tiny ramshackle house with duct tape and trash sacks over the broken front window. We were glad to be able to give them a hand.

However, the last family we sponsored had a giant-screen TV that was as tall as I was. At that same time we ourselves had an ancient 19-inch TV. We didn't feel quite so pleased about helping out that family....

Mary

Permalink 07/04/07 @ 23:09

Comment from: lynn33 [Member]

Growing up poor in America is tough. Expectations from others is even tougher!

My family was very poor, we lived in a house that was once a chicken coop on a farm. My grandparents purchased a new Suburban for my parents because my brother's wheel chair would not fit in a regular car (he had CP.) This was back in the days when no one owned an SUV.

I found out later how much grief my parents received for driving this brand new car and living in a ramshackle house. No one new the circumstances behind the purchase.

Some poor people use their money to buy what they can afford & try to get the biggest bang for their buck. It's much cheaper to purchase a new TV, xBox, etc, then it is to afford the mortgage on an average home in a nice community or take a nice vacation, sign your kids up for sports & other treats, etc. I remember when my parents traded in our goats for a nice sized used TV (we didn't own a tv for most of my childhood.) It was one of the only 'middle class comforts' we had. We would get sox and underwear for christmas and had a Ben Franklin stove in the kitchen to heat the house.

I also remember my mother taking in people from our church and friends who were even poorer than we were. It used to drive me crazy as a kid, but now I see that no matter how poor your are, there are many who are even worse off and could use a helping hand.

I feel very blessed to have escaped poverty and am able to afford to adopt. I see now that being poor in America is a combination of bad choices, lack of education, missed opportunities and events out of your control (sickness, losing your job, accidents, etc.) Many once middle class families are living below the poverty line due to divorce or a death in the family. 3 br houses & large Tv's may be reminants of a former life.

Thanks always for the interesting posts! Lynn

Permalink 07/05/07 @ 12:15

Leave a Comment: You need to login to leave comments.:

Login | Register