Poverty Sucks

To continue with the theme that poverty sucks, let me be more specific. These two kids were hanging around the hotel day and night so I asked if there was a holiday in the Dominican. Their mother, the cook, told me that she could not afford to send her kids to school. There was no holiday. Her husband is dead and she does not have the proper papers to send them to the local school because they need documentation which she does have .Even if she did have the appropriate paperwork, she told me, it would still cost money.

She makes 30 pesos an hour, which is less than a dollar so she probably makes about $40 a month. The cost of semi private school is $50 a month, and she has to pay for rent because they live off the premises, food when she is not working and clothes. Education is not an option. And this is from a working person. Imagine how many kids are not getting an education because their parents have no money and no job.

Since I am here alone and wanted to explore, I spent a lot of time with the kids and took them to the beach, for an ice cream etc. Believe me, when we ate, they did not leave a scrap of food on the plate. I know these kids are ultra intelligent, well mannered and polite, but do not have a hope in hell of getting anywhere in life because of their poverty. If they cannot read or write (which they cannot), how could they possibly get a decent job, thus continuing the cycle of poverty. I realize once again how important school is.

In my school, the kids are obviously the children of the wealthy or middle class. They will get the best education possible, will meet the right people and proceed with their lives in an orderly (read paid job). I have decided that I have no choice but to help. For those who say you can’t save the world, I agree. But I can make a dramatic difference in the lives of these two kids for the cost of a cup of coffee a day or a pack of cigarettes and since I don’t smoke or drink, I am probably saving money! I know this sounds like one of those cheesy television commericals to help children in Africa.

I did visit a number of schools over the past few days and while not the same standard as I am used to, the kids at least come out of the school with a basic education ( meaning they can read and write). Imagine going through life not being able to read and write. It amazes me that these kids are so well adjusted.

To continue this theme, just for a bit, I realize that this situation is replicated the world over millions of times. What I would really like to do on a personal level is work for some United Nations Agency like Unesco to put pressure on world governments to create free education for all. Other than food, education is the critical missing piece and relatively simple to solve. We have an abundance of teachers in the north with a dearth of jobs and an abundance of jobs in the south with a dearth of teachers. As an aside, which is not really an aside, the receptionist at the hotel, who has teaching credentials, is obviously not working as a teacher. When I asked her what she was doing as a receptionist when she should be teaching in a school, she said you had to know someone to get a job as a teacher. I continually heard the same thing from our Filipino teachers in Asia who were teaching in Myanmar.

What is the solution for the big picture in world education? Any ideas?