When a mother makes her children drink a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner and then drinks the same poison herself afterwards, is it the mother’s fault, society, or government’s?
Is she to blame for not finding another way to put food on the table when her construction-worker husband cannot send home money, or is it the fault of society that is apathetic to the plight of people who are suffering? Or can this sin be placed solely on the shoulders of the government, for the failure of its cash subsidies and other fixits to bring hope to the poor?
I remember hurting this way when Mariannet, a young girl, hanged herself last November 2, 2007 because she was desperate about life itself.
I am not a stranger to poverty. I know how it feels to see a single parent worry about where to get money for the next day. There is no security; no hope. What if your toddler’s hunger brings you to the tipping point?
I don’t have the answers. I’m also not fond of pointing fingers. I just know that something has to be done. And just as I know that we can’t all save the world from cavities, maybe one good deed for others and one intelligent personal finance deed for one’s self tomorrow (we can’t help others if we are not standing on higher plane), could make a difference, if done by 1,000 people all at the same time.
26 Responses to “Tipping point of poverty”
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Pages: « 6 [5] 4 3 2 1 » Show All
September 11th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
[...] My friendship, Salve Duplito, Editor of the Inquirer’s Money Smarts, posed this question in her blog. [...]
September 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
ACN: i bet you watched Umagang Kay Ganda this morning!
September 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
reyna elena, leela, chris, i have seen this happen first hand, too, perhaps, sadly, more frequently than the success stories that we also know intimately. the one thing that’s clear is that everybody has got to do something about it, and that we can’t give up.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
David B. Katague, almira, the figures show that more children are born in poor families than in rich families. even in conservative Catholic families that is the case. good values and education tend to be effective population control measures. chicken and egg situation? i still think the world is big enough for the population of the world and that God’s creation will be sufficient for His children, all things being equal, meaning mankind does not squander those resources.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Bruce in Iloilo, great point about clinical depression. If we follow your line of thinking, this can also happen in wealthy countries. Regarding figuring out who’s to blame, I now think its useless to do finger-pointing?