Word Study: Poverty

“Poverty is not just having enough food or dirty living conditions; it’s never having ever been loved or respected. Poverty is not knowing the difference between love and abuse.”

This is a quote from an episode of a television program I enjoy watching, Call the Midwife. If I remember correctly, it was made by a priest to one of the midwives concerning a pregnant 15-year-old victim of sexual trafficking. When I heard the statement, I found it to be extremely thought provoking.

When most of us think of poverty, we usually think about lack of basic physical needs. But poverty goes so much deeper than that. The psychological effects can also be devastating. The constant stress of having to feed and provide for your family without knowing if your finances are going to meet the needs is one of the negative effects of poverty. Having low self-esteem because you are discounted or disregarded is another. In addition to being victimized without any recourse.

I grew up in the tenements of New York City. My family immigrated from the Dominican Republic and New York is the place where most Dominicans landed. We lived in the upper west side of Manhattan. Growing up I did have a sense of community. We knew our neighbors and the storekeepers. I enjoyed jumping rope and playing jacks with my friends. My mother was a single mom raising five children. She worked every day at a ham factory while my siblings and I went to school and were your typical latch key kids.

As a child, I never realized we were poor – my mother never made it a point to tell us. I was not caught up in having the latest fashions because all my friend’s parents shopped at the same places. My mom cooked every day and we never went hungry. I have a childhood memory which today leads me to believe that we were living at or below the poverty line. There was a mysterious check that came in the mail. I do not remember if it was once a month or with greater frequency, but I do remember hearing my mom or siblings often say, “the check is here.” Of course, now I know that it was actually the public assistance check my mom received to supplement her income.

Poverty brings about some things that are less than desirable. One is a lack of respect and many broken relationships. As a child, watching someone get assaulted in broad daylight was a common occurrence. In our neighborhoods we had to internalize many forms of abuses and keep silent when we were victimized. We never realized the dangers of being left home by ourselves as children because it was the only option our mother had.

Poverty in lesser developed countries looks and feels very different than poverty in the United States. In my country of origin, I have seen abject poverty where there is no food or access to clean water, the basic necessities of life. People go through trash piles to scrounge for food, but since their neighbors do not have much either, there is not much to dig up. It is even more heartbreaking when you see it affect children. This poverty also brings about contagious diseases which run rampant once they catch hold, devastating further a poverty-stricken community.

The Bible says that “the poor will be with us always” and it gives us a mandate to take care of the poor. The Lord has provided enough food on this earth to feed everyone, but because of man’s sinful nature, resources are never distributed with any amount of equity. With the support of our local assembly, I have been blessed to sponsor a young girl who was a victim of abject poverty and its detrimental effects. I consider her one of my daughters and she adds to me more than I could have ever imagined. Let us continue to not just pray, but also do our part to help end poverty.