Throughout my travels, I have witnessed poverty and the misery that it can bring. Prior to 2017, I had never witnessed poverty with my own eyes. I have seen pictures but I don't think that is the same as seeing it and standing in it. I was in Guatemala City when I first saw poverty. The smell is something that haunts me to this day. The conditions were difficult and yet, we were on the "good" side of it.
Now, a little over a year later, I see poverty in a different country. I have so far been to two townships (Masiphumelele and Langa). But, what is different with my experience here is that even outside of the townships, poverty can reach your front door. Hardly a day goes by where I don't encounter someone begging for money or looking to sell enough trinkets to scrape by with a living. I have found it to be challenging to understand. I am not of that world. I was born in a middle-class American home with loving family. I have never known poverty. I have never known a life where my needs were not met.
This is where we have to be honest with ourselves. I don't know how to fully eradicate poverty. I wish I did and I think we all do as well. I used to think it was making jobs available but after some reading and thought, it is a little more than that. Over this trip, I read Trevor Noah's book, Born a Crime, and in that book he raises an interesting point about living in poverty. There is a mindset created in it and often, poverty will drag you back in even if you know you shouldn't. There are stories of people quitting their jobs due to social pressure from back home. There are stories of friends from the township ruining prospects for others so that they don't leave. This isn't universal of course, and how prevalent it is I do not know. But I think it raises an important point. It takes a lot to get out of poverty and for many, it's more than just getting a job. It's about being able to get out of poverty and stay out of poverty.
How should those who who are not living in such conditions view those that do? It's easy to dismiss if you don't live, but it's impossible to ignore if you do live in it. I think providing jobs alone isn't enough but also advertising what life is like when you have a career. I think proper educational facilities is key as well. You might note a previous blog post I did where I went and visited a school in Masiphumelele. The conditions of the school was difficult and I imagine there are schools like it in other townships in Cape Town that are either the same quality or worse. Quality education and job aspirations could be what it takes for everyone to have equality of opportunity. If you feed a man a fish, he will eat for a day but if you teach the man how to fish and to allow him the chance to seek further ways to fish better - him and his family will never go hungry.
May what we call a township today be a thriving city tomorrow.
~Noah Goldman
No comments:
Post a Comment