A Poverty Article about the Philippines that May Surprise You

A poverty article should be sad with lots of pictures of dirty and diseased children with hollow eyes, right? Wrong! Sorry to disappoint you, but this article on poverty in the Philippines is not like that.

poverty-article-1
Philippine Children at Play
You see, when I visit children living in poverty, I notice something different from the normal story that poverty essays tell. Yes, there are those occasions when the children are discouraged and sometimes even too weak to move around much. But much more often, I see something else.

Children are children, and they are beautiful and sometimes it breaks your heart to know how they are surviving day to day. But… they also love to play and be kids, running around and laughing with their friends.

What I have noticed is that the poorest people often have something that I lack, and that is a smile and a thankful heart. They are truly thankful for the blessings that God has given them each day. How many people who are wealthy can say that?

I have been told by marketing experts that a poverty article or website should focus on the miserable conditions that the poor are living in, especially if you want to raise money. But I want to share a more optimistic and realistic outlook on this site, www.Poverty-in-the-Philippines.com.

poverty-article-2
What?  No TV?
In my travels through the Philippines, I have seen again and again, poor Philippine children giggling and singing all day long – in spite of their hunger and poverty.

They love to play with a long string of rubber bands looped together, or sometimes take a plain old stick and turn it into the next best thing to a Playstation.

There is a joy in life that many (Americans especially) miss because of their endless pursuit of wealth and the belief that they must have the latest toy, whether it is a child’s toy or an “adult’s” toy!

Yes, I want to share the realities of poverty in the Philippines, but I want to share all of the truth in these poverty essays, not just the sad part that makes people give money.


A poverty article on the joy of life for the poor is just as true as one on the hardship of life. We who have much in this life should take a lesson from those less fortunate.



Return to Poverty in the Philippines Homepage

3 comments:

  1. ...its so very disappointing to see some children who are forced to work because of poverty...the parents were so irresponsible that they could not finance their children...

    ReplyDelete

  2. Just as a note: Most of the children I come in contact with are not the product of irresponsible parents. Unfortunately, lack of opportunity perpetuates the poverty cycle for the parents and the children are greatly affected.

    However, there are cases where cruel abandonment or alcoholism has caused the situation. Thanks for your comment!

    ReplyDelete

  3. As a resident of Korea who is in the midst of an intense vacation to the Philippines and deep into the heart of Filipino society, I can testify that these people have resources for cheerfulness that I never thought possible given seeing the conditions that they live in. I am astonished and deeply moved by the joie de vivre that these people display in the face of daunting hardship. We are not talking about irresponsible parents who have abandoned their children; we are not talking about irresponsibility of any kind--on the contrary, I see at every step I make into this remarkable, resilient society a mastery of what family caring is about at its deepest level--when the luck has run out--or perhaps, when it was never there.

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear your comments on this post!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)