|
Global
Poverty
...................................................................................................................
This past weekend, in addition
to the expected protest march against the War in Iraq, there
was a demonstration against the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund for their programs or policies to alleviate
global poverty, the subject of the Sunday sermon at my church.
One of our four speakers, a Peace Corps volunteer and staff
member for over twenty years, shared his experiences of living
in more than one African country. Then his daughter, who was
born in Zimbabwe and moved to the United States at age sixteen,
spoke of the culture shock she felt in entering life in a
high school located in Fairfax County, VA, cited as one of
the wealthiest counties in the U.S. An economist provided
us with statistics on incomes in developing countries and
on current aid programs. As well, he addressed some of the
additional social crises that accompany poverty - hunger,
illiteracy, child labor, disease, and violence. Once we were
given this overview, the fourth speaker asked us to "think
globally, act locally." Of course, all of us are aware
of the opportunities in our own communities to make a difference;
so, I shall refrain from offering suggestions. In turn, you
know how to locate international organizations through the
World Wide Web. I got over 300 hits in my search on Google,
even though I used the advanced search mode for the exact
phrase "global poverty " and further limited my
retrieval to English language, "in the title of the page,"
and "past year."
For background reading, visit the following
sites and read judiciously.
International
Monetary Fund
The
IMF at a Glance: A Factsheet
World
Bank
Global
Poverty Monitoring
The World Bank
Group PovertyNet
US
Census Bureau: Poverty 2001
United
Nations Development Programmes, Millennium Development Goals
, are an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving
lives that world leaders agreed on at the Millennium Summit
in September 2000. For each goal one or more targets have
been set, most for 2015, using 1990 as a benchmark:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote gender equality and empower women
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
Vandemoortele, Jan. United
Nations Development Programme Bureau for Development Policy:
Are we really reducing global poverty? New York July 2002
Chossudovsky, M. (1998). Global
poverty in the late 20th century [Electronic version].
Journal of International Affairs, 52, 293-311.
The late 20th century will go down in
world history as a period of global impoverishment marked
by the collapse of productive systems in the developing world,
the demise of national institutions and the disintegration
of health and education programs. This "globalization
of poverty"--which has largely reversed the achievements
of post-war decolonization--was initiated in the Third World
coinciding with the onslaught of the debt crisis. Since the
1990s, it has extended its grip to all major regions of the
world including North America, Western Europe, the countries
of the former Soviet block and the Newly Industrialized Countries
(NICs) of South East Asia and the Far East.
In the 1990s, famines at the local level
have erupted in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and parts of
Latin America; health clinics and schools have been closed
down; hundreds of millions of children have been denied the
right to primary education. In the Third World, Eastern Europe
and the Balkans, there has been a resurgence of infectious
diseases including tuberculosis, malaria and cholera.
Innovative
Development Network, The Synergos Institute
The Synergos Institute and its partners
mobilize resources and bridge social and economic divides
to reduce poverty and increase equity around the world. Http://www.synergos.org
The Innovative Development Network (IDN)
brings together individuals working to engage their peers
in global poverty alleviation. Members are in the first decade
of their careers and work in many fields, including business,
the arts, non-profit, government and technology.
I always learn at least one new thing while compiling information
sources for a Resource Note, and this week it was about the
Millennium
Challenge Account, an initiative introduced by President
Bush in March 2002.
Through the MCA, " . . .the United
States will increase its core assistance to developing countries
by 50% over the next 3 years, resulting in a $5 billion annual
increase over current levels by FY 2006. This increased assistance
will go to a new Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) that funds
initiatives to improve the economies and standards of living
in qualified developing countries. The goal of the MCA
is to reward sound policy decisions that support economic
growth and reduce poverty."
The above are government sources, so
here are two other sources on the MCA.
Sperling, G. & Hart, T. (2003). A
better way to fight global poverty: broadening the Millennium
Challenge Account. Foreign Affair, 82, 9-14.
Summary: The Bush administration's proposed
Millennium Challenge Account is welcome but with a few simple
changes it could do far more to help the world's poor.
The Brookings Institute, Global
poverty and the Millennium Challenge Account.
Interestingly, I found this article in
OT SEARCH that speaks of another effort to alleviate poverty
and provide economic stability.
Ganguly-Scrase, R. (2000). Globalisation
and its discontents: An Indian response. Journal of Occupational
Science, 7, 138-147.
Based on recent ethnographic research
among salaried workers and their families in West Bengal,
India this paper examines the lived experiences of people
in lower-middle class households under a globalising Indian
economy. The major finding from this study reveals that there
is a stark contradiction between the rhetoric and reality
of globalisation, economic liberalisation and structural adjustment
programs for the lower middle classes. The vast majority of
my informants have not benefited economically over the past
nine years, since the implementation of structural adjustment
programs and the New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1991. However,
while they remain doubtful about the long-term benefits of
the NEP and the liberalisation they positively evaluate many
aspects of cultural globalisation. This paper focuses on their
ambivalence towards globalisation, and examines their criticisms
and their simultaneous and paradoxical espousal of the government
rhetoric of work place restructuring and global competitiveness.
While sitting in church on Sunday, I
wondered how I could make global poverty a Resource Note (RN)
topic. One of the objectives for the RN is to make a connection
with the role of occupation in societal crises. Obviously,
poverty affects dramatically the occupational roles of everyone
involved; plays havoc with any routines; and makes it impossible
to select meaningful occupations when survival takes all of
a person's time and energy. OT Search delivered the following.
Lobo, F. (1999). The Leisure and work occupations of young
people: A review. Journal of Occupational Science, 6, 27-33.
This article presents perspectives on
leisure, work and the relationships between work and leisure,
in relation to young people. It argues that leisure is a complex
phenomenon which affords young people an arena to experiment,
to take risks and to face challenges. Its dimensions of time,
occupation, and experience offers opportunities for relaxation,
personal development, anti-leisure and serious leisure. Leisure
is shaped by social factors and a culture of consumption.
Young people are targeted as consumers of leisure not only
through goods, but also by packages of experience. The work-leisure
relationship shows how paid occupations influence leisure.
In times of high unemployment and under employment, the quality
of leisure may be diminished and its quality reduced, but
young people learn to cope with deprivation, impermanence
and temporary relationships in new and emerging ways of living.
Nelson, A. & Allison, H. (2000).
Values of urban aboriginal parents: Food before thought. Australian
Occupational Therapy Journal, 47, 28-40.
Using qualitative methodology, this study
investigated values of urban Aboriginal parents, particularly
with respect to parenting and child development. Data were
collected from five urban-dwelling Aboriginal parents aged
between 25 and 55 years. Participants were parents of children
aged between 18 months and 25 years. All participants were
also employed in the fields of education or health where they
had frequent involvement with other indigenous parents through
welfare support or school or health programs. Each informant
participated in either an individual interview or focus group.
Supplemental data were also collected from participant observation
in a kindergarten setting. Descriptions of Aboriginal parents'
values and parenting styles are reported. The main values
included an emphasis on maintaining social relationships and
cultural identity with an overriding need for survival and
security. Implications for occupational therapy practice and
further research with urban Aboriginal families are suggested.
Papesca, L.K. & Joss, D.M. (1996).
Global health issues: child labor: a global problem on the
rise. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation,
7, 129-137.
This paper intends to review and analyse
the literature focusing on the topic of child labor. Child
labor is a global problem on the rise despite modern Western
beliefs. Today, such complex and interrelated issues as poverty,
illiteracy, and politics fuel the growth of the number of
children being exploited for economic gain. It is often difficult
to imagine that the products we purchase are manufactured
in such horrible conditions, but as consumers we must take
responsibility for the well-being of these children.
Peterson, C.Q. & Nelson, D.L. (2003).
Effect of an occupational intervention on printing in children
with economic disadvantages. The American Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 57, 152-160.
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study
was to evaluate whether an occupational therapy intervention
improved an academic outcome (D'Nealian printing) in a school
setting. The study specifically examined improvement inprinting
skills in economically disadvantaged first graders who were
at risk academically and socially. The intervention was based
on an occupational framework including biomechanical, sensorimotor,
and teaching-learning strategies. METHOD. The final sample
consisted of 59 first-grade children from a low socioeconomic
urban elementary school-based health center who were randomly
assigned to an occupational therapy intervention or a control
condition. In addition to regular academic instruction, the
intervention group received 10 weeks of training twice a week
for 30-minute sessions. The control group received only regular
academic instruction. Subjects were pretested and posttested
on the Minnesota Handwriting Test, which assesses legibility,
space, line, size, and form (the main variables in this study)
as well as speed. RESULTS. Multivariate analysis of variance
confirmed that the gain scores in the occupational therapy
intervention group were significantly greater than those in
the control group. The Hotelling-Lawley Trace value was 0.606,
with F (5, 53) = 6.43, p < .0001). The estimated effect
size ([eta]2) was .378, with an observed power of .994. Largest
gains for the intervention group were in the areas of space,
line, and size. CONCLUSION. The intervention group demonstrated
a significant increase in scores on the posttest of the Minnesota
Handwriting Test when compared to the scores of the control
group. Occupational intervention was effective in improving
the academic outcome of printing in children who are economically
disadvantaged.
Shaw, K. & Dann, J. (1999). Work
is sacred - the journey out of welfare. Journal of Occupational
Science, 6, 80-87.
This paper is about an extended Ngarinyin/Bunuba
family in the West Kimberley in Australia whose forebears
participated in the transition from gatherer-hunter to pastoral
worker. The senior members of the family experienced first
hand the consequences of the introduction of the Pastoral
Award in the late 1960's and the replacement of meaningful
work with welfare dependency and the culture of alcohol. It
is an evolving journey of a non-literate community leader's
struggle to organise out of chaos in order to generate and
sustain social and economic practices that are consistent
with life, and will produce a generation of young people able
to protect a country and reproduce traditional culture. The
process for the senior member of the group is the renewal
of the ethic of socially useful activity, and simultaneous
disengagement from economic subjugation and despair born of
futile dependence on welfare. For the younger members, it
is the discovery of socially useful activity and the experience
of the fulfilment that it can bring. The Journey out of Welfare
is premised on the centrality of meaningful work into the
development and maintenance of productive and enduring human
relations. Work that reflects and sustains strong social bonds
and stimulated intellectual and spiritual development in the
course of meeting the daily and longer term material conditions
for a healthy and happy life.
Thibeault, R. (2002). Fostering healing through occupation:
the case of the Canadian Inuit. Journal of Occupational Science,
9, 153-158.
Despite over 150 years of unrelenting
colonization, the Inuit of Canada have maintained their cultural
identity and established their homeland. But the price to
pay has been high. Today, addiction, violence, depression,
and unemployment plague many Arctic communities. This paper
looks briefly at the evolution of occupation throughout Inuit
history and at its potential for individual and collective
healing. It highlights the fact that Inuit occupational well-being
cannot be dissociated from economic and environmental factors,
making the issue of Inuit survival a global challenge.
Tryssenaar, J., Jones, E.J. & Lee, D. (1999). Occupational
performance needs of a shelter population. The Canadian Journal
of Occupational Therapy, 66, 188-194.
Practice in shelters for people who are
homeless is an exciting and challenging opportunity for occupational
therapists. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about
the occupational performance needs of this population. In
the present study, 25 persons at a shelter were interviewed
using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM).
Data were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative
methods. Several major themes emerged including spirituality,
"we want what everyone wants", choosing satisfaction,
diverse health concerns, power of relationships, the importance
of environment to well-being, and poverty. Altruism in the
midst of adversity and individuality were minor themes. Instrumental
activities of daily living, such as access to employment,
financial management, housing, and recreation, were reported
as more important than basic activities of daily living. Participants
and interviewers also responded to general questions regarding
the use of the COPM in the assessment process. The COPM was
found to be useful for assessing the occupational performance
needs of this population, but should be augmented by inquiry
about environmental concerns, relationships, housing, and
spirituality.
Whiteford, G. (2000). Occupational deprivation:
Global challenge in the new millennium. The British Journal
of Occupational Therapy, 63, 200-204.
Occupational deprivation is a relatively
new term which describes a state in which people are precluded
from opportunities to engage in occupations of meaning due
to factors outside their control. As we face the new millennium,
it seems likely that, due to widespread social and economic
change as well as increasing civil unrest, occupational deprivation
will be experienced by increasing numbers of people globally.
This article describes the conceptual origins of occupational
deprivation, presents definitions of the term and discusses
specific populations that may be vulnerable to being occupationally
deprived. Global, contextual issues of economic reform and
technological advances are addressed with specific reference
to these populations. Finally, consideration is given as to
how an understanding of occupational deprivation is of relevance
to occupational therapy and its concern with social and occupational
justice.
What is Empowerment?
Empowerment
is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people
to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and
hold accountable institutions that affect their lives.
Four elements of Empowerment
- Access to Information
- Inclusion and Participation
- Accountability
- Local organizational capacity
Bertram, M. & Linnett, P. (1995).
Empowerment through Employment? An Innovative Work Scheme
for People with Mental Health Problems: Opinion. The British
Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58, 7-8.
Polatajko, H. (2001). The evolution of
our occupational perspective: the journey from diversion through
therapeutic use to enablement. Canadian Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 68, 203-207.
Occupational Therapy, in the broad sense
of the term, has become the most serious problem before the
statesmen of every nation in the world at the present time.
All over the civilized globe, the widespread disease of unemployment
(lack of occupation) is monopolizing the attention of national
parliaments and world conferences. Everywhere the effort is
being made to remedy human dissatisfaction and mental unrest
by providing daily tasks so that minds may be occupied, bodies
may be healthy, and the means of sustenance may be found (Howland,
1933, p. 4).
Stewart, A.M. (1993). Empowerment and
Enablement. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56,
433.
Stewart, A.M. (1994). Empowerment and
Enablement: Occupational Therapy 2001. The British Journal
of Occupational Therapy, 57, 248-254.
Wilcock, A.A. (1998). Reflections on
doing, being and becoming. The Canadian Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 65, 248-257.
Yeoman, S. (1998). Occupation and disability:
A role for occupational therapists in developing countries.
The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 523-527.
Disability issues are rarely priorities
for action in developing countries. Prejudicial attitudes
against disabled people among the wider community are common
and opportunities for empowerment are few. As a result, disabled
people are frequently marginalised within their communities
and have limited access to education and employment. Farming
is a basic means of livelihood for many people in developing
countries and for disabled people, unlikely to be able to
secure other employment, farming is of particular relevance.
Yet disabled people are often excluded from opportunities
to develop farming skills, resulting in further disadvantage
and reinforcing the notion of dependence on others. A qualitative
study was carried out in the Bron Ahafo Region of Ghana in
1996 to examine the position of disabled people in local society,
particularly in relation to the range of occupations available
to them. The research highlighted a number of pressing needs
for disabled people in Ghana. Analysis of these needs showed
that, through application of basic occupational therapy philosophy
and skills, occupational therapists have a unique contribution
to make in improving the quality of life of disabled people
in developing countries.
Listen to the Voices http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/voices/listen-findings.htm
The poor view wellbeing holistically
Poverty is much more than income alone. For the poor, the
good life or wellbeing is multidimensional with both material
and psychological dimensions. Wellbeing is peace of mind;
it is good health; it is belonging to a community; it is safety;
it is freedom of choice and action; it is a dependable livelihood
and a steady source of income; it is food.
The poor describe ill being as lack of
material things - food especially but also lack of work, money,
shelter and clothing -- and living and working in often unhealthy,
polluted and risky environments. They also defined illbeing
as bad experiences and bad feelings about the self. Perceptions
of powerlessness over one's life and of voicelessness was
common; so was anxiety and fear for the future.
Labovitz, D.R. (Ed.). (2002). Ordinary
miracles: true stories about overcoming obstacles & surviving
catastrophes. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK, Inc.
Crane, M. & Warnes, A.M. (2001). Older people and homelessness:
Prevalence and
causes. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 16(4), 1-14.
This article examines the prevalence
and causes of homelessness among older people. It reviews
the histories of a sample of older people in Britain who slept
on the streets and stayed in temporary hostels. Some had become
homeless for the first time in old age, having been married
and worked for many years. Others had spent most of their
adult lives in hostels or on the streets. Different events
and states triggered and contributed to homelessness at various
stages of the life course. Although homelessness generally
is associated with shortages of low-cost rented housing, unemployment,
and poverty, among our informants personal and psychosocial
factors had a dominant role.
Wilcock, A.A. (2001). Occupational Utopias:
Back to the Future. Journal of Occupational Science, 8, 5-12.
The paper reflects on the historically
recurring theme of Utopia.
It does so from the perspective of the occupational nature
of the types of
communities envisaged or established in the past. It reviews
the ideas of
visionaries such as Thomas More, but also the manifestations
of practical
utopians, like Robert Owen, credited with being the father
of British
Socialism, and Octavia Hill, a pioneer of housing schemes
for the socially
disadvantaged as well as the Open Space Movement. It is instructive
to
appreciate how others before have taken seriously the need
to establish
opportunities for people to experience well-being through
occupation which
provides meaning. Utopian communities, almost by definition,
have to envisage
or establish environments which enable people to become what
they have the
potential and capacity to become. In the paper three types
of utopian
communities are compared: those which look backwards with
envy towards a golden
age of the past; those in which the successive evolution of
increasingly humane
and advanced communities is seen as their purpose; and those
with a holistic
vision of the future in which people's occupational needs
are not seen as
wholly economic. Without consideration of people's occupational
natures, no
utopia or community of the future will be totally successful
in that it would
fail to meet an important basic human need.
|
