Poverty Reduction – It’s Not All About Money

Tokunbo Ifaturoti

Introduction

The United Nations’ Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, otherwise known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs have as its first goal “No poverty” with an attendant target to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”. The essential idea in that target is poverty comes in many forms.

Defining Poverty

Investopedia  offers the following definition: “Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of life and well-being that’s considered acceptable in society.” This powerful definition brings a few important points into focus.

1. Poverty affects individuals and groups of individuals.
2. Poverty is about more than a lack of money (but what are the “essentials” to which the definition alludes?)
3. Use of the term “enjoy’ in relation to having at least what is considered the minimum standard of living suggests that where there is poverty, instead of “joy” we will find the opposite – “misery”.
4. Poverty is unacceptable.

The Essentials

Money or “financial resources” aside, what other lacking factors should we consider when discussing poverty? According to the United Nations, poverty also involves several social, political and cultural aspects. It encompasses

• a lack of “access to health care and education”
• infringement upon the “freedom of thought, expression and association”
• prevention of “the right to maintain one’s cultural identity and be involved in a community’s cultural life”

The World Bank highlights that over three-quarters (77.8%) of persons below the poverty line live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank goes on to list the “essentials” that these persons are having difficulty accessing as “schools, healthcare, electricity, safe water and other critical services”.

Reducing Poverty In All Its Forms: Self-Reliance

In order to eradicate poverty in all its forms, the world’s poor must be empowered through self-reliance to rise above the threshold of financial poverty. This can be done by implementing entrepreneurship initiatives that allow individuals and communities to earn an acceptable income out of the skills and resources they already have.

All persons within poverty stricken communities must be able to freely access educational facilities which provide even the most fundamental levels of literacy and numeracy. Where there are no such institutions, these need to be built and persons trained to work in them. Ideally, over time, these persons will be drawn from within the community – an example of community self-reliance.

Provision of clean water

Self-reliance in accessing clean water is also vitally important. There are many charities that focus on bringing in drinking water to disadvantaged communities. While this assistance is absolutely needed in the short-term, it is not a solution for the long-term. Communities need to be exposed to practical innovations in harvesting fresh water, such as by the drilling and maintenance of wells.

Conclusion

Attainment of the SDGs hinges on finding ways to address the issues that lead to poverty in the first place and then later pose as obstacles to persons retaining their new found status above the poverty line. Providing assistance now that is geared to helping the poor eventually taking on the responsibility of improving their own well-being is the key to eradication of poverty around the globe.

International Day Against Nuclear Tests – August 29, 2016

Tokunbo Ifaturoti

The International Day Against Nuclear Tests has been observed since 2010 with the hope of drawing attention to the need to finally bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force.

The first successful test of a nuclear bomb, code named Trinity, was carried out at Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Most of the world’s population had no inkling of its occurrence, but that event set off a chain reaction of events. Those events have included close to 2000 nuclear tests, growing awareness about their starkly negative effects and the adoption of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests.

The lingering and as yet not fully understood impact of exposure to nuclear radiation and contaminants have provided ample reason for a feeling of wariness about the negative consequences of nuclear tests. The world saw the utter devastation that occurred when the United States detonated two bombs against Japan. Over the ensuing decades, the lasting repercussions of the explosions on the health of people in the affected areas have been brought to our attention time and time again.

There have been several nuclear plant incidents, as well, of which the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine and the recent tsunami induced nuclear plant accident in Fukushima, Japan stand out for most people. These coupled with a push by a growing number of nations to develop nuclear weapons as a means of offense and defence, have fuelled a call for the need to put an end to nuclear testing.

In the days around August 29, the member states of the United Nations will highlight the relevance and necessity of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests by hosting various activities aimed at disseminating information about it. Organizations such as the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Greenpeace International and Global Zero, have also joined in the call for greater awareness in the push toward a world without nuclear weapons.

As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon points out, disarmament is important “because the resources it will free up could be used for other global challenges.” These challenges include those faced by poverty and strife stricken regions around the globe. Within these areas many people barely survive below the poverty line and are in need of resources to help jumpstart their journey to being able to provide for themselves and their families.

“On this Day, I call on all countries and peoples to work for the CTBT’s entry into force as soon as possible so that we may advance toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.” — UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon

Helping Boys Grow Into Well-Rounded Men Despite Poverty

Tokunbo Ifaturoti

Introduction

A group that often goes dangerously unnoticed within much of Nigeria’s patriarchal society is that of young boys living in poverty. The boys face many of the same struggles as everyone else around them but are often ignored with the thought that they are “tough”, “naturally able to cope” and already living with the benefit of being “preferred” over their female counterparts.

These boys are often left on their own to decipher what it means to be a mature and responsible man through the haze of poverty. Few solutions are put in place to ensure that they grow into well-rounded men who are ready to take on the responsibilities of adulthood and contribute positively to the upliftment of their families and communities.

Lessons From Sports

One proven way to address this issue is through sports. Sports can play an active role in the transformation of boys to men. Additionally, to a great extent, it requires less financial input than many other initiatives. Football, often considered Nigeria’s national sport, is a prime example of how sports can make a change.

All that it takes are a ball, an open field and a coach prepared to work with the limited resources the community has. Willing and capable coaches and mentors play an indispensible role in and are a major benefit to many impoverished communities. The coaches guide boys in these communities in the display of acceptable and respectful behaviour while passing on valuable life-lessons.

Social lessons and skills learnt through playing football include (but are certainly not limited to) the following:

1. Handling Conflicts – When conflicts arise, boys on the field take the matter to whoever is in charge, be it the referee, coach or team captain. Football teaches them to solve their problems without violence. They respectfully plead their case and accept the decision of the authority figure.
2. Self-confidence – A sense of pride comes from contributing to the success (or good performance) of a team. Boys feel a growing sense of self-worth in that their input made a difference in the team’s overall accomplishments. This confidence in their abilities makes it easier for them to seek out new prospects off the field and to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
3. Perseverance – Defeat and set backs are part and parcel of the game, so too are analysis of failure and strategizing for making another attempt. Boys learn that life is not all about winning but about learning from our mistakes and having the diligence to keep tackling the challenges life brings.
4. Individual Contribution – By playing football, boys learn that each member of the team plays a role in its overall performance. Scoring a goal is as important, as setting one up or foiling an attack from the opposite side. They transfer this lesson to their families where they begin to see the value of both males and females, young and old to the advancement of family.

Conclusion

These lessons are profound and are taught in an informal and supportive manner. The beauty of it all, is that the things the boys learn are naturally and subtly transferred into the homes and communities from which they come. This makes football and sports in general, a vital tool not just to distract boys from their condition of poverty, but to instill positive traits needed in adulthood.

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