“Indeed, there is no such thing as freedom for a man who is starving or for a country who is poor”. Jawaharlal Nehru, 1950
Poverty is not having enough material possessions or income for a person’s needs. Poverty may include social, economic and political elements.
Absolute poverty is the complete lack of the means to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing and shelter.
What is the cycle of poverty?
The cycle of poverty begins when a child is born into a poor family. These families have limited or no resources to create opportunities to advance themselves, which leaves them stuck in poverty. The cycle of poverty has been defined as a phenomenon where poor families become impoverished for at least three generations.
How does the poverty cycle affect children?
Children are most affected by the cycle of poverty. Children are dependent on their parents and guardians and can’t pull themselves out of poverty because of their young age.
Children living in poverty are more likely to experience:
1- Illness due to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
2- Malnutrition and stunted growth.
3- Lack of access to proper education.
4- Inadequate healthcare.
How the cycle of poverty be broken in one generation?
Poverty tends to be intergenerational, and there is no easy solution for its elimination. However there are two measures one can take to lift oneself out of poverty in one generation: education and migration.
A ) Education
Most developmental experts agree that one of the biggest contributions to ending poverty is ensuring that children have education. For any child, education can open doors to the future that would otherwise be locked tight. Children who are not at school are at greater risk of exploitation (child labor) and early marriage. They are on track for lower income once they grow up. This limits the future of their children, thus repeating the cycle of poverty generation after generation.
Adults even with basic education are better equipped to run a business-for example, to keep accurate records and secure loans to expand their business. If they can read and write, they can take advantage of government poverty reduction programs like – subsidized food, subsidized loans, healthcare, crop insurance and scholarship for their children.
All developmental experts agree that the potential benefits for girls’ education is even greater than that of boys. The benefits of girls’ education are many: delaying marriage, decrease pregnancy rate, spacing of children, and reduction of under five child mortality, increase productivity, gender equality in family, decision making and many more. Women who are educated are more likely to work outside the home. Women who have independent income have higher social standing and more likely to run for political office. With political power women can create more opportunities for other women.
B) Migration
Migration is one of the oldest actions against poverty. It selects those who want to help themselves. Poor people who are desperate and bold enough to leave their villages, and move to a nearby or far-off town or city for work, escape the grinding poverty of their villages. As economy Professor Galbraith (Harvard University) said many years ago-“there is nothing great about blue sky and clean air when you are starving”.
When people migrate to a town or city, they usually make a better living, even washing dishes, or cleaning houses or driving an auto rickshaw, than they would have stayed in their villages without enough work. But more importantly their children get a better education and escape the poverty of their parents and grandparents.
In the early 1940s, people of coastal Odisha migrated to Kolkata for work- mostly as domestic help. Their children got an education and many of them moved into the middle class. Many people from Western and Northern Odisha migrated to Jamshedpur for work. These days large number (1.5 lakhs in 2015) of poor Oriyas are migrating to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujrat for work. They are working in brick factories and construction industries mostly as manual laborers. They do so for work and better wages. At the same time educated Oriyas are migrating to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Delhi and other cities and overseas. These migrants are sending money to their families in Odisha and lifting them out of poverty. Large numbers of Oriyas have migrated to Surat, Gujrat. According one estimate they send more than 2,000 crores rupees every year to their families in Odisha.
Studies have shown that international migrants often triple their wages after moving to a new country. Their remittances help their relatives escape poverty. The migration of people from the state of Kerala in large numbers to the Gulf States is a prime example.
Conclusion
Over seventy years ago I was born in the village Mulbar, in the district of Bargarh (previously Sambalpur dist.), with no electricity, running water or all- weather road. Our parents (we were three brothers) farmed four acres of non–irrigated land. Fortunately for us, our village had an elementary school and our parents decided to educate all three of their children. I was educated at Kamgaon Middle School, C. S. Zila School and G.M. College Sambalpur. I was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, strictly on the basis of an entrance examination. After graduation with my M.B.B.S. degree, I migrated to America for better opportunities. As a doctor, I have prospered in America.
I got an excellent education because of the foresight of our parents, help from my elder brothers and some excellent teachers. I also received merit scholarships and loans from the government of Odisha. After coming to USA, we (my wife and I) have been able to help our families and our communities. All the Sahus of the next generation are well educated and are doing well.
In one generation, our family moved out of rural poverty because of education and migration. Hence, my advice to young people is, get the maximum amount of education you can get. There is strong correlation between education and life time income- more education more income. Migrate to a better place, another town, city or country, where there are better opportunities for you and your family. Odisha or India is not going to miss you, but you will be doing yourself a great favor. Get the best education you can and get out!
Dr Saheb Sahu