To me, the definition of poverty is a person in lack of not only money, food, or education, but also his/her disorder of mental healthiness, the hate for the world, and the adaptation of being mistreated.
What questions do you have about poverty?
-What is the world's poorest continent?
-Even in the worst circumstances imaginable to you, there always happens to be a positive side to it. In this case, what is the positive side of poverty?
-How do people who live in extreme poverty (less than a dollar per day) practically survive each day? Be mindful that a loaf of bread here at school is sold at nearly a dollar.
Interview 3 other people (an elementary student, MS student, HS student, parent, teacher, Indonesian staff member) and compare their answers with yours. Example: According to Pak Dawi he said the definition of poverty is:
-My Mom says, "Poverty is unfairness for people who are suffering it, since they don't deserve something like this at all." Basically, my mom and I have the same point of view of poverty, and she doesn't consider poverty as a "relative poverty."
-"My definition of poverty is: The people who beg on the streets, sleep on the streets with no education, health or food. And for 10 hours a day, they work so hard just to earn less than 1 dollar to live with." This was stated by my friend, Armand, who happens to have the exact same point of view about poverty with me.
-My household maid said this about poverty, "Poverty is everywhere as if it is a part of the world, a demon in which it does not belong in. Many people are going through things that they don't deserve at all, and I really can't bare watching them suffer." My maid, even if she doesn't have alot of wealth, has a same point of view as the rest of us.
What is the minimum wage in Jakarta Indonesia? See this link: http://www.gajimu.com/main/Gaji%20Minimum
The minimum wage in Jakarta is Rp 1.069.865 per month in 2009, which is just a little more than last year's minimum, when it was Rp 972.604 per month.
What feelings did you write down associated with poverty?
-Powerless: Without any money, you are basically a sitting duck.
-Temptation: You see your money, and then you see Bill Gate's money. Odds are you are gonna steal some of his.
-Emotional Breakdown: You try your best to survive, you try to avoid starvation, you try to escape poverty, but none improves, not even an increase of a cent in your monthly income. Most people at this period would basically give up and simply cross their fingers.
-Insecurity: You have made a huge achievement because your monthly income has increased by a dollar. But then you see Bill Gate's monthly income. Your achievement suddenly becomes an embarassment.
What are some ways you think will get people out of poverty?
As mentioned before in my previous blogs, optimist people in poverty will keep looking into themselves for a natural talent they've been given, and use that talent as an advantage to get a proper job and escape poverty. Or, for the lucky people in poverty, they can simply win a million dollar lottery. ^^
