A future in poverty

A few weeks ago as my father and I were driving to work in the morning, he pointed out some women carrying big bundles of firewood walking besides the road. The size of the bundles on their backs would automatically make a spinal specialist or rather a chiropractic physician wince out in pain.

“Joy, do you see how difficult life is?” my father said in a sad tone. I could tell that my father was lovingly telling the reality of life. It’s never that easy.

As I write this article, I have a mental image of the three women and their bundles. I keep wondering where they were off to? Were they going home to prepare a meal for their children? Would they sell the bundles of firewood in the market?

Two weeks ago, in this blog, we saw that there is hope in poverty. We also learnt that hope is what keeps us moving even the circumstances around us seem to point out the opposite direction.

Women carrying firewood 

So is there really a future in poverty?

Poverty as we had defined earlier is the state of being extremely poor and also being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. According to Eric Jensen in his book Teaching with Poverty in Mind, there are different types of poverty:

·        Situation poverty-This is a poverty caused by a sudden crisis or loss and is often temporary. Examples of such cases would be environmental disasters, divorce, or severe health problems.
·         Generational poverty-This generally occurs in families that have been born into poverty. Most of the poverty cases here in Kenya or in Africa in general can be attributed to this kind of poverty.
·         Absolute poverty- This is whereby there no necessities such as shelter, food and also education. This type of poverty normally leads to a day-to-day survival.

Now that we know the different types of poverty that we have around us, it would be great to understand what future means. Future according to the online dictionary means a prospective or expected condition, especially one considered with regard to growth, advancement, or development.

The word future and poverty are quite complex to think in the same line. This is because in most cases of poverty, it’s the now that matters.

What will my child eat?

 What will the children and I eat today? Where will I get an extra coin?  Where will I sleep tonight?  These are just some of the questions that really matters when in such a state.  At that time the future doesn’t really matter.

Does that mean that because of our present circumstances we cannot think of the future? Yes, we can.

The Bible speaks positively when it comes to looking into the future. Jeremiah 29:11 states that  for  I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This means that regardless of where we are in life, we can always look to the future knowing that it’s in God’s hands.