Poverty is not just about the money
So, the thought for the day is Poverty. It's Blog Action Day 08 and the all-too-appropriate theme is poverty.
I've been musing on this all day, and I'm really not sure what I can add to other posts I've read on credit crunch, mortgage misery, or financial failings - maths was never my strongest subject.
But what has hit me is that poverty isn't really about money. Let me explain.
One of the most life-changing things I've ever done was to visit Khayelitsha, one of the massive townships outside Cape Town. Poverty doesn't even begin to describe the conditions that some of the locals were living in. We heard some horrific stories, including the women who insert Femidoms before walking home at night, figuring that they can't do anything to stop being raped but they could do something to stop them contracting HIV.
But in a weird way the people we met weren't living in poverty. They were the most hopeful, aspirational, creative people I've ever met. They really had nothing but felt so lucky to be alive.
Contrast that with high-earning people who often don't see their families from one weekend to the next, with no time for relaxation or inspiration. The latter group may have money - or at least perhaps did until a few weeks ago - but are the ones truly living in poverty. Their lives are poor.
In these troubled time, go figure.
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