Poverty that looms amongst us has become a social stigma. It is simple to wish for a star and get a stone in return. Against all odds, survival is noticeable in the teary eyes of a man, barely earning less than $2 a day and is surrounded by nine empty stomachs to look after. “What will I do, my family needs to eat, clothes, to go to school. I have nothing with me except this three thousand shillings I earn from my job every month,” cries a watchman living in the slum. He sadly tells of how he has to spend a night guarding a three storied maisonette house a with heated swimming pool in one of sprawling suburbs of Muthaiga, while he sadly looks at his shanty, a one toned room house with a leaking roof. The reality of doomsday is vividly real in the society, where the poorer gets poorer and rich gets richer day by day. It is a repetitive trend while it seems to be a cliché; there is not other way to explain the situation.
Poverty is not simply an issue of income, it highlights all areas such as: health, safety, education, food, shelter and basic services (energy, water and sanitation).
The process of seeking more abundant life has led man to destroy the environment and made him not acutely aware of the effects on his life. The poor are highly dependent on a wide range of activities that constitute their livelihoods. Many people especially in the Coast province are squatters with no title deeds of the lands their ancestors lived on and some cases threaten them to eviction. They depend directly on the diverse environment to get fuel, building materials, medicines and most of all earn to their means of livings.
The ever-growing population has exerted pressure on land, congestion and mushrooming of slums and competition of available products other than supply has increased. Poverty has forced people to reverse their moral dignity and opt to petty crimes, prostitution, and drug abuse, due to the high unemployment rate. Whereas education is a priority and a crucial route to reduce poverty, children spend most of their time helping with households tasks e.g in some semi-arid areas like Mwingi ,Daadab ; when looking for water, one has to spend 8 hours searching for the precious commodity and trek several miles back home or look after their cattle or goats. This has influenced school-drop outs and poor performance in some instances.
Lack of access to clean water and water-borne diseases due to pollution, has made it impossible for some households as they rely on untreated water for drinking and washing. The motto from Environment Day read: 2 billion are dying from it.
The vulnerability of man to reduce poverty is visible as he tries to improve his standards of living by using all means available. The cry of the poor has been shut down by the existing social classes in the society and thus created a continuing a gap. The call of globalisation looks promising but has to benefit the poor who are in isolation. It should be geared to global integration based on fair and equitable distribution of resources.
As the third millennium promises huge technology and scientific breakthroughs, is their hope for the poor man to reach that horizon? The greatest challenge remains for us the achieve the Millennium Development Goals in order to reduce poverty in our societies.
Neema is a taking it global member and can be reached by email.
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