What Is the Poverty Cycle?

The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out.[1]

Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children.

This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to earn a livelihood to support his family. It wasn’t long before Nalah had to forsake his education to join his father to earn enough money. Tea gardens regularly pay their laborers below minimum wage, making it extremely difficult for them to provide the basics—clothes, school supplies and even food—for their families. Despite this rough childhood, Nalah grew up and started his own family. With three daughters and one son, the pressure to provide was immense, and Nalah could not meet all their needs as he desired, causing him to sink into a depression. Like many men from the tea gardens, Nalah turned to alcohol and gambling to ease the depression, and his family suffered even more because of this.

Then, just when Nalah’s life was spiraling downward, a Christian shared the love and peace of God with him. Wanting to live a life with purpose, Nalah accepted Christ. Soon, he met a GFA pastor, and he and his family began attending church. The pastor noticed Nalah’s impoverished condition and how it was impossible for him to escape it on his own, so the pastor coordinated with church leaders to do something about it. Through God’s faithfulness and the generous giving of supporters around the world, Nalah received a sewing machine. Now, Nalah could make and sell clothes on the side while continuing to work in the fields. The extra income meant he could provide for his family’s needs; there was hope for the future.[2]


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in Gospel for Asia.Net

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Attitude Towards Suffering

Image
In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Everyone, at some point or another, faces suffering, the soldier especially. However, it is not so much what we suffer, but how we suffer that matters. The way our heart responds to suffering is crucial, because by it we will either advance or become stagnant. To suffer like a good soldier is to willingly endure all for the sake of the call. To suffer like a bad soldier is to grumble when difficult situations and hardship arise. Instead of throwing our lives into what God has called us to, we can try to hold on to our lives, wanting to get away with as little suffering as possible, paying as little price as possible. We have forgotten that we are under the orders of our Master and that we willingly gave up our lives. Christ’s Example of Suffering Christ lived with the expectation of suffering. Throughout the Gospels, He repeatedly referred to ...
Read more

Where Can I Learn How to Break the Cycle of Poverty?

Image
There are many methods for how to break the cycle of poverty which one can learn about. From education assistance to income-generating gifts like sewing machines or farm animals, there is hope for families who have been poor for generations. GFA World works in communities in all these ways through sponsorships and gift distributions, and one by one, we see lives changed as families escape poverty. Raina’s life had been dominated by poverty. She was part of a highly underprivileged people group that faced discrimination and deprivation from others in the region. Despite that, Raina had been able to attend school up until tenth grade, but she discontinued her education when it became too much for her parents to afford. Rather than receiving her certificates of completion, she had to join her parents in the field to earn money to put food on the table. After she married Ander, Raina continued to work in the fields to supplement his income with her own. In search of better job opportunitie...
Read more