The Effects of Poverty in India

India, a country famous for its IT, engineering and medical professionals. Yet, it’s stricken with poverty which was so serious that almost every day, there will be a person or a child dying on the streets with sickness, hunger, and unloved. There were even cases of abandoned babies on the streets.

One of the person that I admired and I read, was Mother Teresa. She was a saint living among the poor. Devoting her life to the poorest of the poor. To stay by their side during their dying moments, saying words of comfort and offering them her prayers. She had done so much for the people around the world. Yet, her quest was still far from over.

The government’s aid to alleviate the problem is not helping much at all. There were almost 8 states in the country that was identified as the poorest. And they have to contend with the largest and fastest growing populations.

In the rural areas, where the effects of poverty is the most obvious to be seen, they still practice the caste system. This system identifies a family’s rank in the society based on their wealth. And as the richer becomes richer, the poorer becomes poorer. Some families were not able to afford food every day. Even the rivers and ponds were used to wash their clothes, to bathe, are not sanitised for drinking. Which caused illness to the people. People who are not able to afford the medical expenses were refused admission and were left to survive or die on their own.

Children from the rural areas did not receive proper education as well. They would only learn how to work from their parents and teach them to their children and then their grandchildren. They will not be able to further improve their lives without proper education if Mother Teresa had not stepped in to establish new schools for the children all over the country.

One of the other reason this issue was never resolved was due to the war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir which had lasted more than 50 years. The government spent a fortune on military might and most probably even nuclear weapons as well but this is not the war that they should be fighting.

The issue of poverty and the concerns of the citizens are the main things that should be resolved first. Not waging wars with Pakistan over control of Kashmir. Because of this war, many of India’s citizens paid with their lives as they were not able to have access to the basic necessities like food and medicines. Some of them have even decided to leave the country to find a better life in other parts of the world.

But, with the effect of globalisation, India may be able to be free from this dilemma. Though not immediately, but there will be improvements with increased job opportunities that can bring in more income for the country.

Being a Malaysian, I feel blessed that we can have access to all the basic necessities here. And looking at the effects of war and poverty that has affected the other countries makes me feel more appreciative of what we have here and not wasting them.

Goal Assignment

Hi guys,

As some of you might know, I have a goal which is to create awareness to the public on the effects of war and poverty on the people in the Middle-East, Africa, Burma and India. This particular assignment will also be evaluated by my seniors as well based on the end result of 40 comments from the readers. So, I would sincerely hope that you can take a few minutes to read them and leave a comment on your opinion. This would be a great help to me and also others who are less fortunate.

The links are as follows :

 Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


Regards,

William Kim

Personal Goal #1 Part 3

Hi guys,

This time, part 3 will be about the cause and effects of poverty in Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma.
There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the country. This is due mainly to the poor financial management, oppression and corruption within the ruling government. It was said that majority of the budget planned was to spend on acquiring military goods and only a small portion of the balance was left for the people of the country.

Those who are poor only earns income which place them below the poverty line. They faced difficulties in access to food, medical, education and other necessities. Families sent their children to work at a young age and even the women had to work to support their family.

The effects of such causes are as follows :
1) Majority of the children are malnourished
2) There is no proper infrastructure to help improve the lives of the people
3) Refugees fled the country to search for a better life in other countries due to government's oppression
4) Many of the people didn't get good education
5) Prices of commodities are highly inflated and they are not easy to obtain due to extremely low monthly salary earned

Other countries are providing humanitarian support directly to the underpriviliged to help alleviate the problem and at the same time, they were pushing the government for a political change towards a better and developed country.

The people of Burma wants a free country. They took the courage to stand for their rights even when they were being oppressed by the military government. It is this kind of courage that I feel all of us should embody within ourselves to help us make it through in our lives.

References

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9942
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Burma-Myanmar-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7023548.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/08/opinion/08iht-edwelsh_ed3_.html

Personal Goal #1 Part 2

Hi guys,

Previously I've posted on the effects of War in the Middle East. For this time, I'll be doing about the causes and effects of poverty in Africa.

Causes of Poverty in Africa

1)    Mismanagement of Lands

There were huge areas of arable land in Africa south of the Sahara Dessert. But due to land ownership issues and the poor state of the legislation governing this, most of these lands are wasted.  Imagine the potential if the lands were used in a beneficial way to sustain farming and food supplies.

2)    Misappropriation of Money

Financial aids were directly provided to the African countries but they were misappropriated by the corrupt government for all the wrong reasons like purchase of weapons, nuclears and other things which leaves little for humanitarian purposes. This effort proves to have no long term benefits to help the country. There were also misappropriation of the monies into large projects that ended up becoming white elephants than their initial intention.

3)    Human resources

Cheap labours are often used those in production and manufacturing industries where other countries have used machines for years in the same area. Though Africa may have rich amount of natural resources to be explored, the use of human workforce has pulled down the efficiency and effectiveness of the industries’ performance in the country.

Also, most of the natives in Africa are illiterate. Those who holds degrees or have furthered their studies are only few and some migrated out of Africa to live a better life. If the people received proper and effective education, the country would have transformed into a developed country given time.

4)    Diseases

People in Africa are often plagued with diseases that are treatable in other countries. This is due to consumption of unclean water as they have no proper water treatment processes nor clean water resources. They are also inflicted with AIDS. Drought and plagues of locusts have caused famine and hunger and people have died from all these conditions with children among the highest number due to poor living conditions and malnutrition.

5)    Conflicts

Internal and external conflicts in Africa has left people to struggle every single day for their survival and worried about their future. People have left their homes to become refugees in neighbouring states who are handling a huge burden in logistics for them. Those who were well educated enough have fled to other more developed countries in search of a better life.

The effects of poverty in Africa are as follows :

1)      High mortality rate especially in children due to diseases and poor living conditions.

2)      Unrest among the citizens due to conflicts and corruption.

3)      People would forever work as cheap labours and not receiving proper education, medical and humanitarian assistance.

As the situation continues to worsen, Africa will never be able to progress further to become a successful, well developed nation.

LP Goal #1 - Part 1

Hi guys,

As part of my 3 months goal, I have committed myself to research and come up with a presentation on the effects of war and poverty on the Middle East, Africa, Myanmar and India. This presentation will be spread over 4 parts based on the countries of my research. This is the first part : The Middle East.

Effects of war on the Middle East

Over the years, we have heard on the news of wars going on in the Middle East. May it be between Iran and Palestine, citizens overthrowing the current ruler, war against terrorism. It’s endless. The reasons for war to occur are varied. Ranging from political purposes, freedom, disputes over territories, greed…the list can go on.

Yet, with war comes consequences. The innocents were killed and families torn apart. People who thought they fought for the right reason gave up their lives by becoming suicide bombers.

“Geoff Hoon, the [U.K.] Defence Secretary, suggested yesterday (April 4, 2003) that mothers of Iraqi children killed by cluster bombs would “one day” thank Britain for their use.”

Bombs and bullets have no eyes to recognise their targets. They were built to kill and destroy the enemy forces.

 

Children enlisted to become soldiers at a young age. Never knowing the fun and experience of growing up and making new friends when all they learn is to only fight and shoot.

Buildings and houses destroyed, where once these places were called home by its residents now lay in rubbles and ruins. No more can people hear the sound of laughter and conversations among neighbours as they cower in fear at the sound of a gunshot or a plane flying by.

Quoted from BBC News…”Rebuilding the Gaza Strip after Israel's three-week offensive will cost billions of dollars, the UN has warned.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been left homeless and 400,000 people still have no running water”

Social and political stands will change as they make way for the new ruling parties to lead. Such as the changes in Iraq’s political aspect after the execution of Saddam Hussein that ends his dictatorship.

As war continues to rage on, citizens feel unrest as they will never know how much longer they can live before becoming the next to fall by the bullet. Economies fall drastically and riots will break out which further worsens the current situation.

How Do We End War?

The answer is simple, yet it is hard to be implemented.

As quoted by Monica, whose husband is in the army and is currently in custody.

“To bring about the change we all are seeking, we must realize that the change must be a choice we all are allowed to make, as individuals and in our own time. We must learn to live our own lives, not to presume to know what is best for others. We must educate ourselves, and we must love others enough to give them the same opportunity for themselves.

Patience and acceptance of others is what will stop war. Education will stop war. Understanding will stop war. Humility will stop war. Realizing our place, accepting our responsibilities and remembering our humanity will stop war.

Love will stop war. You are all free to choose”

Love, Understanding, Education…these are simple yet big words in stopping war. Yet it is hard to be implemented as humans have emotions, beliefs, religion…which created barriers among themselves from making that first move. If only everyone could break down those walls and start loving, understanding, trusting each other, only then there will never be war on Earth.

REFERENCES :

How to Stop A War 

Casualties in War 

Casualties of the Iraq War 

BBC News - Gaza Rebuild 

Effect of Iraq War by RAND 

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

What Do You Want In Your Life?

This was the question that my friend, Aaric asked on the phone one day out of the blue. I thought this was some kind of silly question but I answered him anyway. He pressed on asking what do I want and how do I consider that I've achieved something that I said I want. I kept on answering and answering and answering until I noticed that I'm going around and around in circles.

That's when he asked me to take a chance and attend the Asia Works Basic Training Course. After some considerations and events that happened unexpectedly, I finally walked in on the first day of the course.

There are a lot of questions to ask in order to properly reflect on how we lived our lives all these while.
1) How often have you ignored or not listen to what other people had to say?
2) How often have you insisted people that you were right and you knew better than them?
3) How often have you not talked to the people around you who cared about you?
4) How often have you blamed someone or something else when things don't go the way you want?
5) How often did you broke promises and agreements you made with people
6) How often have you given up on doing something halfway?
7) How often have you said something that you really mean it?
8) How often have you lied to people around you?
9) Have you ever shown your true self to other people or your image?
10) When was the last time you actually let your feelings show up?

The questions are endless in a way. Like what the trainer says so often during the training.

"Not that it's wrong, just that you need to be aware of it." Which is the main part of the whole training process. To be aware of the things you do routinely in life and acknowledge these things that we do.

In life, I noticed that there are a lot of things that I want. But, I gave up halfway because of time, money, lack of support, lack of confidence. But theses are all just excuses. The fact is that, if there was something that I want, I would have find a way to settle all these problems in order to achieve them. Also, I rarely listened to what people say and most of the times I like to prove that I'm right. I also found out that I was too pampered and too dependent on other people. Usually anything happens, I would think to myself "It's ok...I still got my sisters, friends and relatives to rely on." I've taken them for granted for far too long. I like to procrastinate a lot, I don't take risks. God knows how many more flaws that I have in myself.


From the first day I walked into the training, my automatic reaction is to start looking around the room and judged people on how they looked. I would just sit on one of the chairs and silent until someone started to talk to me.

During the course of the training, I felt like layer upon layer of myself is being peeled away. Most of the participants may not like the way the trainer's method but this is the only way for us to change in whatever beliefs that is holding us back from getting what we want.


In the process, I started to be aware of my flaws. And started to open up myself towards the training exercises and towards the participants. The only way I can describe my experience in the training? It's like a roller coaster ride of emotions. There were times we laughed, there were times we cried. But to know that we're not alone in facing our problems. That there are others who has the same problems as us and also there are others willing to commit themselves to help us achieve the thing we wanted in our lives.

For the past 5 days of the training. I actually felt myself changing into a brand new me. It's still in progress but it's a good progress. And during that period, I've found new friends and shared a strong connected bond with them. The pictures below shows just how we felt during graduation.

 

I remembered one day of the training where everyone really cried their heart out in sharing their true self. That was the lowest point in the training. But, after that session, everyone got closer to each other. On graduation, it was a really grand and emotional event. But what is the best part of the graduation, is that after the trainer gave all of us an amazing guided visualisation, we get to see the people responsible for getting us here in the first place standing right in front of our eyes. SOme of them got flowers and cupcakes which made me feel envious of them. (Aaric...how come you didn't get any flowers or cupcakes for me? *pouts*) Lol...Jokes aside though...For me, just to see Aaric who got me into this training standing there with his trademark silly little smile, it was the best gift a friend could ever give to me. To be able to become my true self again.

It takes a lot of courage in order to take the risks to improve my life.  But once I have the intention and commitment. I'm sure I can overcome it over time. So, stay tuned to the new and improved me in the near future. And that is one of the commitment I intend to fulfill.

The Day I Chose To Do Something Senseless...

The Date ~ 24th June 2011

The Location ~ Midvalley Megamall

I planned to watch Tanglung Hijau with my friends Sanjeev, Jamie, Aaric, Blitz, Virginie and Ron. But, prior to the event, I've made a decision to try a challenge which after doing it, I felt it was senseless...But nonetheless, I still did it anyway (^^)

The Location ~ Sushi King Restaurant (Upstairs)

The Challenge ~~~~~~~~~

Sushi King's Big Bowl Challenge *Applause*

The idea came about when fellow Penang Rotaractors Nicholas Goh and Shea Speare attempted the challenge and failed....

SS and Prawn...You guys got pawned...Lol

Hence, I thought why not I try it as well just for fun. Furthermore, the movie only starts around 11.30pm. I was joined by two of my friends, Virginie and Blitz Gun for the challenge with the lady as our cheerleader and camerawoman.

Is Gun starting to regret about his decision to do the challenge?

A lovely lady for company (^^)

Now, you would ask what are the rules of the challenge? Well, have a look at the teaser video below and it will explain everything.

 

Are the rules clear enough?

So, Blitz had the first turn. Those of you who clicked at the link above would knew the result already by now. If not, go and have a look. I don't intend to be a spoiler here.

Me failing as an interviewer for Gun's Challenge

When he's done the challenge, it was my turn. But while waiting for the noodles, we had a very short clip before I took the challenge.

I was nervous like Hell.

Well, no use turning back now. I've already signed my "will" before attempting the challenge. So, here goes...

 

After 10 minutes of stuffing myself with a huge bunch of noodles, some vegies, seaweed, half an egg and a big bowl of soup......

I've finally conquered the challenge

And in less than 10 minutes

Well, it was a senseless decision. But in the company of friends, it's something that is enjoyable as well. (^^)