One of the things you will notice throughout this blog is that I am focusing on Canada and the US.
Why?
Well, it’s certainly not because poverty or lack of education doesn’t exist anywhere else. In fact, I know it is rampant in some countries that didn’t make my shortlist. I am focusing on these countries because it’s where I live and it’s likely to be the area where I can make a larger and more realistic difference. The ideas that will be generated, I hope, could be exported to other areas of the world; and as I mentioned before, if ideas are already working in other places, maybe those could be imported here.
Now, to get back to your question: “Why?” I’ll take you back to the last paragraph of my last post: the notion of the stone in the water creating ripples. It’s important to make a difference in our “circle of influence” (Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). Sure, I’d like to save the world; wouldn’t we all? But, we have to focus on where we can make the biggest impact, and hope that the positive changes we truly influence will generate ripples into the future, and maybe even into the larger global community.
I mean, most poverty-targeting charities are focused on under-developed countries. And, I’m not suggesting (as mentioned before) that there isn’t a need to help the people in those countries, but who’s looking at the issues on our streets, and in our cities? The poverty-targeting charities in Canada and the US usually only garner media attention around the holidays, or around natural disasters (think Katrina).
How is it that we get “guilted” into focusing our charities and efforts on these places miles and oceans away from us when there is poverty in our own city – if not on our own street? How can we then turn around and dare ask why there is crime in our schools; why so many of our youth choose "the wrong path"; and why so many people in our towns are homeless?
So, that’s why I am focusing on Canada and the US: I believe that if we focus on our streets, our neighbourhoods, our families, our communities, our cities, our countries – we can more likely have an immediate impact, a more direct influence, and make a bigger difference in the long run. When those we help choose to “pay it forward” – maybe even like Chris Gardner did – perhaps the greater circle of influence expands into other parts of the world.
Why?
Well, it’s certainly not because poverty or lack of education doesn’t exist anywhere else. In fact, I know it is rampant in some countries that didn’t make my shortlist. I am focusing on these countries because it’s where I live and it’s likely to be the area where I can make a larger and more realistic difference. The ideas that will be generated, I hope, could be exported to other areas of the world; and as I mentioned before, if ideas are already working in other places, maybe those could be imported here.
Now, to get back to your question: “Why?” I’ll take you back to the last paragraph of my last post: the notion of the stone in the water creating ripples. It’s important to make a difference in our “circle of influence” (Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). Sure, I’d like to save the world; wouldn’t we all? But, we have to focus on where we can make the biggest impact, and hope that the positive changes we truly influence will generate ripples into the future, and maybe even into the larger global community.
I mean, most poverty-targeting charities are focused on under-developed countries. And, I’m not suggesting (as mentioned before) that there isn’t a need to help the people in those countries, but who’s looking at the issues on our streets, and in our cities? The poverty-targeting charities in Canada and the US usually only garner media attention around the holidays, or around natural disasters (think Katrina).
How is it that we get “guilted” into focusing our charities and efforts on these places miles and oceans away from us when there is poverty in our own city – if not on our own street? How can we then turn around and dare ask why there is crime in our schools; why so many of our youth choose "the wrong path"; and why so many people in our towns are homeless?
So, that’s why I am focusing on Canada and the US: I believe that if we focus on our streets, our neighbourhoods, our families, our communities, our cities, our countries – we can more likely have an immediate impact, a more direct influence, and make a bigger difference in the long run. When those we help choose to “pay it forward” – maybe even like Chris Gardner did – perhaps the greater circle of influence expands into other parts of the world.
So… what does the picture look like in Canada or the US? Well, I suppose you could say it’s like Vegas, to quote the new and improved INXS, “It ain’t pretty, after the show!”
Canada (stats from
• One in six Canadian child is living in poverty;
• Canada’s child poverty rate of 15% is 3x higher than the rate of child poverty in Sweden, Norway or Finland;
• Every month, 770 000 people in Canada use food banks; 40% of those are children!
USA (stats from http://www.heartsandminds.org/articles/childpov.htm):
• One in four American child is living below the official “poverty line” (who knew poverty had a line?);
• 22% of Americans under the age of 18, or 25% under the age of 12, are hungry, or at risk of being hungry;
• Everyday, 2 660 children are born into poverty; 27 die because of it;
• Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless population, representing about 40%!
If these stats aren’t enough to convince you that there is a real problem here, you could always Google the issue for yourself and see how many links you could check out!
To be clear, I am not suggesting that the poverty issue is not very real in other parts of the world; I know that it is. But, if we can turn this blog into a movement over time, the goal needs to be to focus at home and bridge the gap between lack of education and poverty. I believe that by keeping our focus on our true circle of influence, by becoming teachers and by modeling the concept of paying it forward, we will positively impact the bigger community, and maybe even the world…
We can be the stone and we can create ripples in the water.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment