Have you ever woken up in the morning and wonder if you will eat today or if you will even have a decent meal this week? Have you ever had to wonder if you will make it to the next month? Have you ever had to do anything possible just to get a paycheck in your hand? I’m sure many of you said no to these questions, but to many civilians in Africa these are the very question they ask on a daily basis. Many Americans do not fully grasp how horrible the conditions are in Africa and I want to help put it into perspective for you.
Poverty is when someone lacks the basic human needs and is faced by difficulties and struggles. Africa is the continent that is the most povershied nation in the world at this time. To help you gasp how much Africa is in poverty I wanted to tell you some statistics I found shocking.
Statistics:
· In 2006 34, of the 50 nations on the UN Human development in poverty were in Africa
o This means that 68% of the world that is in poverty currently is in Africa. This is a crazy thing to think of. It makes me wonder why we aren’t doing more to help this nation.
· The average yearly capita in Africa is $200 dollars per year!!!!
o Can you even begin to imagine what it would be like if a family of four had to live off of only $200 for a year? I can’t even imagine going a month with $200 for myself. This is truly a sobering statistic and makes you think of what you can do for these families.
· 3,000 people die each day because of AIDS in Africa because they could not afford treatment.
o Can you imagine being diagnosed with a disease and knowing you’re going to die from it soon because you don’t have money to prolong it?
These are just a few of the sad statistics I found that really put it into perspective how much this nation is suffering. When I go on with my daily life task I rarely think of how good I have it and I rarely have to worry about anything. I can honestly say I have never had to worry about when I would eat next or where I would be sleeping at night. Next time you sit down with your family at supper make sure you thank them for all they do for you and be grateful for all you have.
People always say you’re only as poor as you really think you are, but in Africa that is so much more true than imaginable. It makes you really think when we complain about not having our favorite foods or best clothes what we could be faced with, children over in Africa don’t have a choice. They live on what they can get by with. It really makes my heart go out to them, which is why I absolutely love that you added a website down at the bottom of your blog to help donate what you can to the less fortunate!
ReplyDeleteAs Americans we are always looking for the biggest and the best. For centuries the average American looks for fame and fortune. We are all obsessed with the "American dream" at one point in our lives. It’s just so shocking and humbling to hear about what’s really going on in Africa. I’ve been told about poverty and disease that’s going on overseas but your statistics just took hold of me! The average pay is 200 dollars a year!? I know most people complain about fewer than 5,000 a year, it’s just unbelievable how much these people in Africa go through. It makes me want to just drop everything right now and give all my belongings and time to help these people as best that I can.
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