UK is sending hundreds of thousands of people to poverty, all thanks to welfare cuts for the past two years. It caused an estimated of 760,000 go into poverty, according to last public report (2009-2012) by The New Policy Institute (NPI) thinktank. All people of different age classes are going to poverty, but child poverty is the most compared to the rest. Around 29% of the UK’s children are in poverty. The government had refused to release the income statistic report of 2013-2014. There had been promises that the child poverty will be eliminated, but The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that child poverty will rise to 23% by 2020.
12 per cent of Edmonton’s population is currently living in poverty. Edmonton’s job markets have been thriving, but there is some exceptions, which are doing poorly. One in five children under 18 live in poverty, and that number increases dramatically with aboriginal children, with 43 per cent of kids under six living in low-income homes. The study also found that people of African ethnic origin have the highest prevalence of low income. People seem to notice about this crisis, and decided to help out on this cause. They are supposed to create a monthly transit pass to seniors, offer a living wage for contracted City services, and expanding land for building affordable houses. If Edmonton is known to be rich with oil from the oil sand, how does poverty occur there?
The First Nations natives are ironically living in poverty in Canada, one of the richer countries in the world. Manitoba natives are more likely to grow up in poverty, drop out of school, live off social assistance in dilapidated housing and suffer family violence, not to mention, a shorter lifespan than average. The government are not taking any action for this, and based on the UN Human Development Index, quality of life on Manitoba First Nations ranks the lowest in Canada. 25 percent of the First Nations’ children population across Canada live in poverty. There is less money to afford infrastructure, and most of the houses there require repairs. The government is not planning to help out the First Nations there at all. Is the relationship between the First Nations and government the cause of the government letting the First Nations live in poverty? READ FOR MORE INFO
jANUARY 29TH India is planning to escape poverty by weakening the legislative act for child labour. The Child Labour Prohibition Act, permits children under 14 to work in “family enterprises”. But in reality, it’s just allowing children to work in for industries such as carpet-weaving, beedi (cigarette) rolling and gem-polishing. The children are supposed to work during their free time, balancing education and financial support. India had changed the illegal child labour legal, encouraging children to leave school to go work to support their families. This law affects the lowest classes, practically forcing the children to quit school to work, simply because education is expensive, and there is no choice but to work. There is no proof that child labour will help change poverty, but rather make it worse. This is because children are more easier to trick and employers can scam the children’s paycheck easier than adults. They are also vulnerable into becoming slaves. India had also decided to cut education budgets by 57%. With the education budget slashed, and the legal child labour law, children are expected to drop school to work, causing the cycle of poverty to go on. If children are expected to balance school time and work to escape poverty, why would education be cut, since education is considered to be one of the most important factors to avoiding poverty? READ FOR MORE INFO
MAY 18TH All children deserve an education. However, in Bluefields, Nicaragua, children are not sitting in desks learning to read, but outside. Children are working, or hanging out outside listening to music. It’s not they hate school or playing hooky, it’s the fact that they can’t go to school. Families are unable to afford their children to go to school, so children kill boredom by working. Nicaragua is the second most poorest country in the Americas next to Haiti. Half of the children and adolescents live in poverty. Nicaragua had put up multiple international treaties and has strong national policies, but government claims that it is reducing child labour are not supported by any published evidence. UN officials decide to raise the compulsory age for mandatory education in order to reduce child labour. They believed that if children have more education, they will have more chances to receive a better job, and maybe help the next generation. However, Philippe Barragne-Bigot, Unicef representative in Nicaragua, believes children drop out because of cultural norms driven by the cycle of poverty, poor-quality, lacklustre classes and the chronic lack of economic opportunities that makes school seem pointless. Knowing about these key facts, just raising the time duration for mandatory education really help get rid of poverty? READ MORE FOR MORE INFO
MAY 19TH 2015 |