Poverty infection must be cured

Schoolchildren writing in class at Undugu Society School, Mathare Valley, Kenya [Sean Sprague]

Anyone who remains unconvinced about the importance of the MDGs should realise that the curse of poverty hampers every stage of development

The MDGs falling behind schedule is becoming a familiar cry to those involved with development but, regardless of the fighting over the feasibility of the timetable, there is no argument that the issues inspiring those eight pledges must be resolved.

It is true that many countries are making progress in different areas, but is also a fact that poverty is the underlying root cause of all the problems, and needs to be tackled with a wide range of solutions if the targets will ever be met.

CAFOD partners witness poverty at first-hand every day. Many recently took the time out to write a letter to the leaders of the world’s richest nations – the G8 – explaining the obstacles they face in the slow struggle towards the 2015 targets.

Letters to the G8:

Dozens of CAFOD partners from all over the developing world wrote heartfelt letters to the leaders of the world's eight richest nations, spelling out the problems they face on a daily basis in terms of poverty. > Read the letters

An extract from the plea sent in by the CESTRA Taskforce, in Bogotá, Colombia, illustrates perfectly how so many of the reasons for poverty are inextricably linked together – and how, without a solution, these problems can form a devastating cycle.

“We can feel poverty everywhere. So much is lacking: health is a serious problem, there is no money to buy the increasingly expensive medicines; there is a lack of suitable housing, families crowd together in small, run-down residences; many of them do not have any public services.

“Increasing unemployment becomes a problem of vital importance. Without money there is no food; without food and money there is no health and no means to pay rent or educate the children, not to mention recreation.

“Our youth, forced into idleness, become attracted to bad habits and dangerous pastimes; they also leave school because of poverty, which deprives them of a future.”

No reliance on hand-outs

Education and skills are crucial to countries working themselves out of the poverty trap. But, even though the poor are eager to learn, a daily hand-to-mouth existence can limit their opportunities.

John Seti, the programme co-ordinator for the Community Initiatives Trust in Kenya, wrote passionately about the need for better infrastructure in order to support the people’s desire to improve their situation.

“Most of the people living in Soweto do not possess competitive marketable skills for the labour market. To scratch out a living some are hawkers or petty traders.

“Generally, the area is characterised by urban poverty and decay as exemplified in the absence of roads, electricity and telephones. Water is nearly non-existent and there is no sewage system. As a result there are piles of rubbish and raw sewage. Disease is rampant.”

This decay is mirrored across the developing world – not just in Africa. In Peru, Sister Ana María Burke of Peruvian Altiplano spoke of witnessing the “injustices suffered by the poor” on a daily basis.

“They are mistreated when they go to hospital and do not get the treatment and care they, as human beings, deserve, because they lack financial resources. Many die before their time.”

Several countries have managed to begin the journey out of poverty – debt cancellation and priority funding for education often being the key factors in their achievements.

Women from Kisomoro Women's Group, Kisomoro Parish sell mushrooms and other produce at Nyakigumba Market. [Annie Bungeroth]

But, despite this encouraging start, many more poverty-driven barriers to development still remain. For example, in Uganda, teenage school dropouts who have been trained in organic farming find themselves with no markets for their surplus produce at the end of it.

Rosemary Nakijoba, deputy director, of CAFOD partner MAHCOP in Uganda, says in her letter: “The government has tried giving primary school-going children access to free education. However, due to the tremendous poverty, some have dropped out of school because they cannot afford buying uniforms and other scholastic requirements.”

Lack of infrastructure

Access to trade is a common problem for those countries, which appear to be on the brink of success in driving out poverty, but are still falling short. Despite forging successful business models, poor infrastructure can mean new entrepreneurs have nowhere to sell their products, as they cannot physically reach national or international markets.

Zenilda Da Silva Vilacio, co-ordinator of AMISM in Brazil writes: “We lack financial support to improve the quality of the goods, we lack places to sell them, and we lack good urban transport, which makes it difficult to transport the primary materials that come from the villages.

“The capitalist world needs to have a wider vision in order to reduce poverty, giving a better future for each nation, including the workers and those who do not have the opportunity for a start in life. So, here we are ‘building one world for all’.”

Poverty eradication is possible. Many countries have shown real development in recent years, with the right help and encouragement from the rich. However, even for these potential success stories, much more still needs to be done.

“We have moved forward in many respects. In the last fifteen years, we have managed to halve poverty and the government education budget has more than trebled,” wrote Eduardo Rojas, from the Church Social Pastoral Department in Chile.

“However all is not well, we are among the 12 countries with greatest inequality between rich and poor; thousands of children still have to work to help their families financially and still, almost a million Chileans go to bed hungry.”

“In this country, despite enjoying peace and having good macroeconomic indicators, almost a million men and women, especially young boys and girls, do not have a staple diet.

“Do not forget those countries where development is still a mirage on the road ahead.”

Achieving the MDG targets will not only provide a better future for poorer nations – it will be of benefit to everybody. As Jean Darius Vernet, the chairman of COPEDHAS in Haiti, points out: “The fight against poverty should be a concern for all humankind.”

“When poverty holds sway in a country, children die of hunger, they have no access to health, to education or constructive recreation; furthermore, the environment is damaged, violence spreads and citizens cannot live in peace in their own country.

“All of this has direct consequences for the peoples of the developed world.”

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