How Does Poverty Affect the Community?
Poverty never just affects one individual or family. Communities are made up of families, and since poverty tends to run through whole communities, it’s important to understand the impacts. How does poverty affect the community? In a myriad of ways.
Employment opportunities within a community can make or break the fabric of an area. With enough economic drivers, a village or town can employ multiple people, raising the overall flow of opportunities and resources for the people who live there. For example, if there is a large farming business, the farm can hire on many people for harvesting and other duties. Those people in turn can buy goods and services from others, and the flow of money creates an economic environment of hope and possibility.
Lack of jobs, though, can bring entire economies to a halt. As the United Nations sees it, “There should be a focus on creating better and more productive jobs, particularly those that can absorb the high concentrations of working poor.”
Among the necessary elements for creating such jobs are investing in labour-intensive industries, especially agriculture, encouraging a shift in the structure of employment to higher productivity occupations and sectors, and upgrading job quality in the informal economy. In addition, there should also be a focus on providing poor people with the necessary skills and assets that will enable them to take full advantage of any expansion in employment potential.”[1]
This is one of the reasons GFA World created our Christmas Gift Catalog. Years of serving those in need has proven that income generation is one way to loosen the bonds of poverty. A gift of two chickens means eggs to sell and future chicks to lay more eggs or sell to someone else. The cycle of income can continue with just these two animals. One pair of chickens only costs you, the donor, $11. That’s less than most meals out these days.
A pair of goats, at $140, goes even further, with the goat’s milk to drink or sell and possible offspring to sell or raise. And, of course, a cow or water buffalo can set up a family’s future for even longer. These gifts are more than an animal. They are the beginning of a business and economic sustainability in areas of the world where industry is not available for jobs and training for skilled labor is scarce.
The joy of a family with a future is a bright thing in a community. Each family that is able to see hope in their circumstances builds a town or village with hope to spare and the ability to care for others. You can be a part of that today.
Learn more about the effects of poverty and how GFA is helping!
[1] “Employment and Decent Work.” United Nations. Accessed July 8, 2023. https://www.un.org/development/desa/socialperspectiveondevelopment/issues/employment-and-decent-work.html.