Service Learning Blog # 3

Sources:
http://www.poverty.com/
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/index.htm

1. Choose two sources. Compare views on the causes of poverty and solutions to poverty.

The two organizations or websites I choose to compare were www.usccb.org and www.poverty.com both of these websites focus on poverty around the world and some different solutions to decrease the number of people getting sick and dying from malnutrition. Povery.com says that hunger is a vicious cycle because hungry people lack enough money to feed themselves thus they become more weak and sick more often. This enables them from working which in turn makes them more poor and hungrier. In order to combat the problem surrounding hunger poverty.com suggest two different things. For adults it is called “food for work”, which means people would work for food instead of money. As for children it is call “food for education”, meaning if you attend school you will be fed. Though I don’t necessarily think these ideas are permanent fixes I do believe that they are good ideas for the time being.
As for usccb.org, they believe that poverty is caused by people not being able to make enough money to support them and there families and therefore they do not have enough money for necessary things like housing and especially food. One thing that this organization has done is named January “Poverty in America Awareness Month”. By dedicating a month to awareness they hope to raise more money and help to get people off the streets and food in their stomachs.

2. How does poverty relate to those you are serving at your site? Be specific. What, if any, moral responsibility do we have? How does poverty impact education? Healthcare? Living conditions?
At my site I work with young children ranging in age from four to ten. These children are in a school district called title one, meaning that they are in poorer neighborhoods and most of their families live in poverty. As a child they do not get to choose where they live or how much money their parents will have when they are born and because of this they know nothing more then what they are born into. Speaking for myself, I feel an obligation to lend a helping hand and hopefully become a positive mentor for these children so that they can succeed in life and get out of poverty. Being poor has a significant impact on education because when you do not have a lot of money it is hard to have all the necessary things for school like books, notebooks, paper, pencils, and a backpack. Also when families are poor its difficult for parents to give their kids money for lunches or school fieldtrips. Overall it has a tremendous impact on the quality of education they receive. As for health care being poor can also be very difficult when seeking medical attention. For instance, most people living in poverty cannot afford doctors visits or vaccinations or common medicines, especially when they do not have insurance. Living in poverty affects nearly every aspect of people’s lives and it can often be difficult for people to overcome. By helping spread awareness and lending a hand where we can whether it is in a free clinic or at a elementary school we can hopefully lower the number of people living below the poverty line and make a difference in their lives.


3. Share a teaching, parable or miracle story of Jesus that inspires you to seek justice for your Service Learning site. Explain your choice.

When thinking about different parables and teaching of Jesus with regards to my service learning sight I can think of but one that really fits and that is the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable we learn about a man who got robbed and the kindness and compassion that one stranger showed him. If everyone in the world were to bestow upon another person one act of kindness so many people could be helped. In volunteering at Longfellow elementary I have the privilege of making a difference, if for only one day, in the life of another human being and that to me is truly a miracle.

4. Choose an image from the internet or personal photo that reflects this view.