Poverty

Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, in other words, the condition of being poor.

Absolute poverty is something the people in Singapore cannot understand because our standard of living is too high. It is said that the people who are suffering from absolute poverty depend on only $2.50 US dollars to survive their day. However, in Singapore, we tend to splurge and spend money unnecessarily without thinking twice, while the people in third world countries can only think about ways to survive the next day.

Because most of us live in at least average households, we seldom hold a thought for the people who are in relative poverty and are unable to keep up with the standards of living that the society determines. However, it does change over time. As the wealth of a society increases, so does the amount of income and resources that the society deems necessary for proper conditions of living. I am well aware that there are people like this in Singapore, but I never really harped on it. Now that I think of it, I realised that when the term "society" is mentioned, it can also be related to individuals. This means that the standards of living the society sets is really down to us. I may have told myself to go with some of the current trends and in turn, others may follow. During so, the people who are already facing relative poverty may need to force themselves to adapt to such situations and thus shift the standards of living up again. I noticed that such situations can happen and are happening; people are trying to change themselves to either become better or to suit others and in turn may affect those who are already affected. 

Generally, in Singapore, the people suffering from such poverty is declining, at least those in our generation, because they have begun to adapt to the kind of living. Not given the adequate amount of education and health care, etc. can definitely lead to a lot of problems. Our world is filled with words and politics. Without the education needed, these people will find it hard to survive in our fast-changing country. Not only that, with the lack of healthcare, diseases and other illnesses may spread and cause even greater harm than before if not properly treated and tended to. I find this kind of living very scary because I am someone who is very particular about hygiene and I find it hard to believe that there are still people in this world who are illiterate and have problems coping with their lives.

Poverty may also be understood as an aspect of unequal social status and inequitable social relationships, experienced as social exclusion, dependency, and diminished capacity to participate, or to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. Such social exclusion can be minimized through strengthened connections with the mainstream, such as through the provision of relational care to those who are experiencing poverty.

Most of the people who are suffering from poverty can be found in third world countries. However, that does not mean that there are no such people in our more developed countries. Sometimes, the amount of money for living in a first world country may be appropriate for third world countries, it may still not be enough for the more developed countries because the amount required to meet these basic needs will naturally be much higher due to the increase in prices.