SENIORS PROGRAMME

GLOBAL AWARENESS MODULE

POVERTY
GLOBAL ISSUES ELECTIVE

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 WELCOME

Welcome to the Global Issues Elective on Poverty!

This lesson will take approximately 60mins to complete.

It will cover the sub-topics:

• Homelessness
• Debt
• Lack of Fair Trade

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 INTRO

DEFINTION
Poverty is a situation in which one is unable to get even
the minimum basic necessities of life such as food,
clothing and shelter. A person is considered poor if he is
not able to fulfil his basic needs.

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 INTRO

M U LT I D I M E N S I O N A L P O V E R T Y
Most countries around the world define poverty as the
lack of money. However, this is not enough to capture
the true reality of poverty.

Multidimensional poverty considers how poor people

are lacking in various areas in their daily lives – such as
poor health, lack of education, poor quality of work, the
threat of violence, and living in environmentally
hazardous areas.

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 INTRO

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

Insert infographics

Source: 2018 Multidimensional Poverty Index

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 INTRO

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

Source: 2018 Multidimensional Poverty Index

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 INTRO

VIDEO
Watch the following video to see how poverty impacts
the lives of children in the Philippines.

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8
 INTRO

EXPLORING THE ISSUE

How did Michael land in a situation like this?
Select 3 options from the following list:
๏ Inadequate access to ๏ Poor Education
clean water and food ๏ Climate Change
๏ Little or no access to ๏ Infrastructure lack
livelihoods or jobs
๏ Limited capacity of
๏ Conflict Government
๏ Inequality ๏ Lack of money

SUBMIT

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 HOMELESSNESS

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 HOMELESSNESS

VIDEO
Most countries around the world define poverty as the
lack of money. Focusing on one factor alone, such as
income, is not enough to capture the true reality of
poverty.
Multidimensional poverty encompasses the various
deprivations experienced by poor people in their daily
lives – such as poor health, lack of education, inadequate
living standards, disempowerment, poor quality of work,
the threat of violence, and living in areas that are
environmentally hazardous.

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 HOMELESSNESS

VIDEO
Watch the following video to learn about children who
live on the streets.

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 HOMELESSNESS

W H AT W O U L D Y O U N E E D M O S T ?
What do you think you would need most if you were in a
homeless situation? Indicate your choice on the slider.

Level of Importance
0 (not at all) 10 (critical)
Food

Care

Shelter

Work
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 HOMELESSNESS

What do you
think we can do
for children like
Praveena,
Abeeda and
Afroz?

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 HOMELESSNESS

SOLUTIONS
We can join with others to provide shelter.

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 HOMELESSNESS

CASE STUDY

Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing

organization working in more than 70 countries around
the world. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone
has a decent place to live. Habitat works toward its vision
by building strength, stability and self-reliance in
partnership with people and families in need of a decent
and affordable home.
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 HOMELESSNESS

SOLUTIONS
We can give support (eg. food, care, education).

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 HOMELESSNESS

SOLUTIONS
We can help children like Praveena, Abeeda and Afroz
find parents (adoption/ foster care).

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 QUOTE

Poverty is not made by God. It is

created by you and me when we
don’t share what we have.
–MOTHER THERESA–

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 DEBT

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 DEBT

INSIGHT STORY
Read the following story adapted from the article below
to learn how the burden of debt can be overwhelming.

S o u r c e : h t t p s : / / w w w . n e w y o r k e r. c o m / n e w s / d i s p a t c h / t h e - e p i d e m i c - o f - d e b t - p l a g u i n g - c e n t r a l - a m e r i c a n - m i g r a n t s

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 DEBT

TOUGH CHOICES (I)

18 year old Elias López lives in Guatemala, and works
in construction and as a day laborer harvesting
vegetables. He barely earns enough to cover his living
expenses. He decides to leave home in search of a
better life in the United States. The quickest way to the
US is to pay a smuggler USD12,000 to get him there.

There were a few options for López to raise the money.

If you were him, what would you do?

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 DEBT

W H AT W O U L D Y O U D O ?
๏ Keep working and hope things improve

๏ Get a secure but expensive loan from the bank and

risk losing the family home if it can’t be paid

๏ Get a cheaper loan elsewhere but face the other

risks that come with it

SUBMIT

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 DEBT

LÓPEZ’S CHOICE
In exchange for a loan of about
six thousand dollars, López
opted to mortgage the plot of
land where his family grew
their food.

“I would pay off the loan once

I made it to the United States,”
he recalls thinking.

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 DEBT

Men working in the field outside Lopez’s community.

S o u r c e : h t t p s : / / w w w . n e w y o r k e r. c o m / n e w s / d i s p a t c h / t h e - e p i d e m i c - o f - d e b t - p l a g u i n g - c e n t r a l - a m e r i c a n - m i g r a n t s

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 DEBT

TOUGH CHOICES (II)

López set out for the U.S. with a friend, and they
advanced through southern Mexico without incident.
As they neared the U.S. border, their smuggler
disappeared one afternoon. López and his friend got
lost, wandering in circles for many days without food
or water. His friend began to feel sick from
dehydration, grew weak and lost weight, his skin
turning a pallid gray.

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 DEBT

W H AT W O U L D Y O U D O ?

๏ Give up and turn back

๏ Keep going and try to find a way across, even if it

means risking death

๏ Look for help, even if it means giving yourself up to

the authorities / border police

SUBMIT

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 DEBT

LÓPEZ’S CHOICE
One morning, his friend said
he couldn’t go any farther. He
later died in López’s arms.
López walked the rest of the
day and night without
stopping, and reached the
border early the next morning.
He turned himself in to U.S.
Border Patrol, and, a month
and a half later, was deported.
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 DEBT

TOUGH CHOICES (III)

Back in Guatemala, López is now more desperate than
ever to make money as his family’s land will be taken
away by the bank if they are unable to repay the loan.

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 DEBT

W H AT W O U L D Y O U D O ?

๏ Take a bank loan to pay another smuggler to get to

the US

๏ Sell off the family home and just use the money
until it runs out

๏ Try to find another way out of poverty

SUBMIT

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 DEBT

LÓPEZ’S CHOICE
López borrowed USD12,000
from the bank and paid
another smuggler to get
him to the US. He put up his
family’s house as a
guarantee for the loan.
López’s second attempt at
entering the US was
unsuccessful. He now owes
the bank about USD19,500.
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 DEBT

Elias López and his grandfather Julio stand in front of the

property they have put up as bank collateral.
S o u r c e : h t t p s : / / w w w . n e w y o r k e r. c o m / n e w s / d i s p a t c h / t h e - e p i d e m i c - o f - d e b t - p l a g u i n g - c e n t r a l - a m e r i c a n - m i g r a n t s

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 DEBT

PONDER
Qn: What are some possible ways out of this complex
situation?

SUBMIT

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 DEBT

SOLUTIONS
One current solution is to provide micro-loans.
Some organisations provide access to small funds so
that poor people can set up a simple business to earn
money and provide for their family.

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 DEBT

SOLUTIONS
Another approach is
to provide education
as it leads to the
reduction of poverty,
increases individual
earnings, reduces
economic inequalities,
and promotes
economic growth.

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 DEBT

CASE STUDY
Goducate is a Singapore-based not-for-profit
organization with projects in nine Asian countries. Its
mission is to Go and Educate people who otherwise
have no access to education, so that they can escape
lives of hopelessness and uselessness. To meet this aim,
their mission includes matching willing financial
sponsors with the needy whose lives can be
transformed by an education they would otherwise not
receive.

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 DEBT

SOLUTIONS
A third approach is to create employment / livelihood
programs to help individuals secure the basic
necessities (eg. food, water, shelter and clothing) for
their household on a sustainable basis with dignity.

12 Chicken Farm
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 DEBT

HELPING THE LEAST OF THE LOT

Dropping out of university wasn’t the end but the
beginning for “big-hearted” Julius, 23, who went on to
launch a different kind of coffee shop in east London.

His cafe helps homeless people get their lives back

together – by training them as baristas. Julius’ business
also has a pay-it-forward scheme which has seen
customers pay for 7,000 coffees and 5,000 meals for
others living on the streets.

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 DEBT

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 DEBT

SOLUTIONS
What ideas do you have?
Some communities have
their own system of
sharing resources locally
with a form of community
currency. This helps people
in a local community
exchange what they can
do and what they have, for
what they need.

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 QUOTE

Poverty is not an accident.

Like slavery, it is manmade
and can be removed by the
actions of human beings.
–NELSON MANDELA–

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

VIDEO
Watch the following video to learn about what is fair
trade.

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

W H AT D O Y O U L O O K O U T F O R ?
What do you look out for when buying a product?
Indicate your choice on the slider.

Level of Importance
0 (not at all) 10 (critical)
Quality

Price

Brand

Fairtrade
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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

DID YOU KNOW?

There are 5 widely recognised fair trade labels.

Certifiers:

Membership
Groups:

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

1 0 P R I N C I P L E S O F FA I R T R A D E

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

SOLUTIONS

One approach is to
create cooperatives
so that farmers and
producers can share
knowledge and
support each other
to sell quality
products at a good
price.

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

SOLUTIONS

A second way is to
challenge businesses
and governments to
make trade more fair.

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

SOLUTIONS
A third approach is to have consumers vote with their
spending choices. Buying fair trade products sends a
strong signal to businesses that consumers care where
goods are sourced from.

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 L A C K O F FA I R T R A D E

SOLUTIONS
The approaches presented above are highlighted in
the following video which outlines how fair trade and
sustainability are closely linked.

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 QUOTE

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 SUMMARY

IN A NUTSHELL
• Homelessness is the experience of individuals or
families who have no fixed, regular or adequate
nighttime shelter, and is interrelated to poverty.
• Debt is the loans the poor take up to improve their
livelihood situation. However, they are often unable to
repay their lenders, driving them deeper into poverty.
• Lack of Fair Trade is a situation where workers in a
company’s supply chain are not being treated and
paid fairly.

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