Ever seen real poverty, and how has it affected you?

I went to visit Mexico with my family when I was young so I know the kind of conditions alot of people live in. Houses made of cardboard, children not attending school because down there they ask for weekly money, dinner consisting of tortillas with chili sauce, etc. I had to drink water that had bugs in it because it was just in a tank without a proper covering on top. Someone had told me while that the most poorest American will never know true poverty because to them the poorest American was still rich. I truly believe that even when I see homeless asking for money they get more than a mans daily wage over there and there is always a place to eat for free.

I live the Northwestern part of the US. Back in the early 70's we had a part of our town called 'Miget Town'. It was a area not more that afew houses would take up on a block full of little shanties much as what you decide the area there in Peru. This was where a group of migets lived because the town would not except them or they thought they wouldn't. I don't know what ever happened to them but they have disappeared years ago. Talk about a hard life. And sad.

yes i have... i live in the third world country and i had seen many people live in slums area or even under the bridge because they do not have a house... even if they have a house, their houses are made of cupboards or straws which can collapse very easily if there are strong winds... i really pity them and i cannot stop to say thank you to God for all His blessings to me... take care and have a nice day...

Yes I survive with no money and sometimes $3 a day. How about you? I know there are people who is not lucky out there. And I have my heart for them. So grab any opportunity that comes by or else it would be not easily.

ive witnessed poverty around me and people struggling to survive. kids are out there on the streets begging for money. i would say i come from a middle class family and i can eat my favorite foods and finish my degree. the government is struggling to support this overpopulated. i guess everyone must do their part and help each other. and the government must do its part also in giving assistance to the oppressed and less privileged.

Hi fixe, I grew up in a place where the rich are very rich and the poor very poor. I know my family is one of the poorest poor when I realized one has to eat at least three times a day, have a roof whenever it rains, have decent toilet facilities and running water. I have begun to accept that hunger is a part of life when I began see others eating their hearts out with good food all the time. I would have accepted all the things I used to grow up when I see another world different form the one I grew up with. From then on, I made a resolve to have at least two meals a day. From the deepest part of poverty, I crawled with all the capacities I have to attain my goal (which is not much for I am a malnourished kid to start with). I finished school, took several jobs to earn a living, almost all on my own. No father, no mother, no backers, I have to rely on my limited ability to make it out with the ways of survival. I may say, a lot is still to be desired with my station today, but at least, I have food on the table, even if it is not up to certain standards, we have running water, permanent roofing (even if I do not own the house), and a few modern amenities courtesy of junk sales and flea markets. Being poor may be a curse but going out of it takes a lot of courage and determination. I fell it made a real man out of me. Breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, though, takes more than human effort to do so, and it is never easy. With the years of struggles, ridicule, and rejection, this real man is almost a broken one. But seeing my kids still in kindergarten school, I'll have to carry on many more miles in spite of the weary years on my back. When will it end, I have no way of knowing. My only wish is to have more strength to see them through and not going the way I was once before, and my father before that. Thanks for the opportunity to share something, even if it is from the ugly side of my life.

I've seen many of them, especially back in my home country. Many of their houses made of cardboards, scrap metals, unused woods. They live near filthy river where I saw children were bathing there. The conditions were not nice to live in, sometimes there several of these houses were just located next to the complex of elite houses...I don't know how these poor people feels when they live next to the riches. I was born in a well established family with more than adequate income so I have never felt what it feels like to live with them.

I have experienced some poverty, but nothing like in a third world country. I know that access to clean water for cleaning and for consumption is a key to improving lives and reducing poverty. I will not burden people with the things I have experienced, but have you ever tried to feed a family of four on one 6.5 oz can of tuna? I think my obsession with food is because we had very limited portions. However,I know that compared to many countries, that was a feast. Have you ever looked at the site freerice.com ? It is a legitimate site, as seen on television news shows. At the site you can play vocabulary games and earn grains of rice to feed the hungry.

I have not seen it too up close and personal. However, even seeing it from a distance, it is really horrifying to see the state that some people around the world. It does really make me appreciate what I have even more. Even in the darkest day, my worst day does not match up to even theirs. So it is really horrifying to see that people are worse off. It just proves that there is really no bottom, as people can be dragged lower and lower all of the time.

I live in India well you guys must be knowing be knowing that it comprises of one of the richest people in the world and also poorest sections for the world who really earn less than dollar a day! With such a huge population of the country around a billion! and still increasing really affects the government and the middle class of the country also like myself. I think it helps me to appreciate that what god has given me i should be grateful for that and be content.

I had to go through New Orleans on the way home from school and it was right after Hurricane Katrina. I can't say I witnessed real "poverty" but I did witness destroyed homes and I saw people who had lost everything. That made me more grateful for the small things in my life.

Here in our country there are places that are really poor. The people living in this communities are what we call the informal settlers of the place. The people that inhabit these places are those coming from the provinces and they do not have anywhere to live in the city.