Growing up, we were not rich but not in poverty. We never wanted for food, clothing, or shelter -- any of the basic necessities. In fact, I can't think of any stressors I had in my childhood. But I am not naive enough to think that every one's childhood mirrors mine. After all, I live in a small, Southern town where quite a few people live below the poverty line. I've heard stories of families not having enough for food/meals three times a day. And it is saddening.
The area of the world I chose to research was West Africa. West Africa consists of 17 countries and most are stricken by civil wars. The desire to work is strong. Countless children, mostly under the age of 14, have left their families in search of work elsewhere. Some departed "voluntarily" or at the urging of their parents to escape the severe poverty of their home areas. Others were ensnared by labour traffickers. In almost all cases, according to some of the children who managed to return, they ended up in arduous and poorly paid jobs on plantations or in domestic service, often at great risk to their health, sometimes beaten or prey to sexual predators.
http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no3/153chil4.htm
It is sad to think that some children do not have enough to eat. We have the same thing in West Virginia and the poverty makes such an impact on the way these children feel about themselves and their development.
ReplyDelete