This assignment was difficult for me in that I have never experienced any of those stressors listed growing up as a child. It was not until college where I heard my first stories of people growing up poor. I remember the story my friend told me of her experience. Her, her mom, and her brother lived in a 1 bedroom apartment. They received public assistance to pay the rent, get food, and pay bills. They all slept in one bed in a rodent infested building. On morning she was sleeping and woke up to a dead rat in her bed. She said she was forced to work as soon as she turned 13 to help bring income into the house. She said there were many days were they had limited food and many times she went to bed hungry. Her mother worked but did not make enough to fully provide for the house. Her experiences with poverty are her driving force for the work she does today. She is a member of many organizations that empower girls and help guide them to make the right decisions. She is extremely money conscious, ensuring that she and her son would not fall into the situation she was raised in as a child.
There are many stressors children face in Brazil. Poverty and drug use are very common among children as more than half of the countries population lives in extreme poverty (Children of Bahia, 2005). It is estimated that 8 million children are living on the streets. Brazil has one of the highest populations of AIDS in South American, which effects families and children (Children of Bahia, 2005). Last year the government implemented a program called Brasil Sem Miseria (Brazil Without Poverty). This program is designed to provide health and education programs as well as giving money to the poor (BBC, 2011). In return for some of the services, guardians must ensure their children attend school and are vaccinated (BBC, 2011).
Resources
Children of Bahia (2005). Child Poverty in Brazil. Retrieved from http://www.childrenofbahia.com/childpoverty.htm
BBC News (2011). Brazil launches scheme to lift millions out of poverty. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13626951
Wow. It's unbelievable that families have to live in such deplorable conditions and still have to go to school and be ready to learn. As rich as this nation is, some families are still plagued with the adverse conditions related to poverty in 2012.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I also did not experience much poverty until later on in life. It is amazing to me what people overcome and how it influences them later on in life. I see lots of poverty in my fifth grade students and often wonder where they will be at in ten years or twenty years from now.
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