Being a psychology student in one of the countries most expensive schools, I would often think on how other people see me. My course’s purpose is basically to help people live a fuller life, in contrary to the common notion that we only handle ‘crazy’ people, and when I thought of how other people think of me being a student in one of the countries most expensive schools, I realized that I might actually be at a handicap. That who needs most help belongs to that population under the poverty line. But then I remembered what one of my major classes’ professors told his class. He said that the Filipino population that are under the poverty line are actually mentally healthier provided that they have a supportive neighbourhood who shares their status of poverty. But the thought that the people who needs help most would look at me and might not let me help them since they might think that I am working for my own benefit, bothers me since this would mean that I might not be as effective to help them. I want to help them change their lives, not to give band-aid help which is what politicians give to them most of the time.
But to end poverty, one needs power. A person of no influential power can only do so much as to perform what I call “damage-control” of poverty to people and not give long term help.
While thinking about how to end poverty, I realized that I do not even know what that means. To end poverty. What would that be? Everyone will be rich? Everyone will be satisfied with their living? Everyone will be secure? Ending poverty seems to be impossible. The article of Pasha in the book by Edkins, even said that ending poverty is impossible in the foreseeable future. That despite certain campaigns and movements by different groups of people to fight poverty, no notion is perfect and often these notions does not serve effective to everyone in the world who is labelled poor.
As I write this entry, I can overhear one of the politicians commercial. This politician claims that he was once poor and under the belt of poverty and that he knows how to help these people. He said that if he wants to be richer than he is, he would just remain as a businessman and not enter politics at all, to counter the accusations that are against him saying that he only entered politics to be richer. In my opinion, he really understands how is it to be poor. He takes advantage of this knowledge! The way his campaign is designed would attract these people who are suffering from poverty. He knows that at least 30 percent of his country’s population cannot but what is needed for survival (according to nscb.gov.ph) and this is only those that can not buy what is basic, how much more if we factor in those people who just manages to sustain their lives in the most bare way, where their lives are stagnant and is not improving. When I listen to the news, the issue of inflation would often scare me because I would think of people who can only manage to maintain a stagnant sustainable living. The costs of the common needs would increase, these people would not be sustainable anymore, and they would be under the belt of poverty. And this politician knows all about this. And yet with this knowledge, he still has exceptionally luxurious properties which he tries his best to hide. How can this person say things like he can help the poor when his way of life shouts the opposite. How can people actually trust such a being? And yet according to statistics mentioned in the news, more people are still voting for this politician and what I think is that most of these people are poor. How can poverty end with such things happening to this world?
Maybe ending poverty is just a dream and we can do is act and act and act until there is no more hope. But then having hope is what pushes us to act on this issue and without action, how can we end a problem? So maybe, the cure for poverty is hope. It may not seem effective, but because of hope, we developed initiative to act. We were able to think of possible solutions and maybe, in the future, one of these solutions, campaigns and movements might just end poverty. I truly hope so.
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