Philippine Poverty

[daisy]

With the pandemonium around the world's economy, I was thinking in my little room, while watching a TV documentary on poverty where a filipino family could even barely eat one meal a day, what could be worst than that? With a seven year old boy looking around the muddy canal for scrapped and junk iron and a disabled father doing whatever it is that can be repaired in the neighborhood and with a hungry and lactating mother and to make it worst 7 months pregnant? Huh! Yes, I don't care so much with the newspapers but I do watch a lot of local channel late night documentaries...although it bleeds my heart! A small time politician as in Barangay Captain acting as if he owns the coffer of his barangay and spending for his own family.... a mother begging for her child to be admitted to a public high school. My lists could go on....but i am asking what could go wrong in such already worst situation? Poverty rate? Inflation rate? Unemployment rate? and whatever rate there is...I only believe on one thing.....they are unbelievable!!!!!! :36_1_68[1]: If and only if, even 25 percent of the supposedly national budget will be spent properly.....by the way, my government is in a hurry to approved the 2009 National Budget for the world to know that we have a budget, even if a dot of that 20 percent budget will be spent for educating the less fortunate, then no Filipina will came on TV and declare that the reason she had plenty of children is because of her goiter...ohhhhhhhhh arrrgggghhhhh! Where will we go from where????????

[Mr Lee]

My heart goes out to all the poor too Daisy. I only wish there was a real way we could help. I have tried and failed so many times, to make a difference in our families lives and I no longer know what else to do besides supplying them with food whenever we can. All the money we wasted on trying to educate the nieces and nephews was a total waste IMO and could have been better spent on food. I will not waste money that way again on anyone's education unless they go out and help themselves first, like my wife had done before I met her.With all the corruption in the Philippines and the give me first attitude that seems to be prevalent among those who get to touch the money first, I fear unless the attitude of the people changes, there will be poverty in large numbers forever.Example, I asked one nephew why he had gone bad and taken money from the college account that we had set up for him, his sister and his brother, and wasted it, and his brother had not gone bad and his answer was, "because my brother did not have to touch the money" Truly sad IMO but I think that seems to be the attitude of most who grow up poor and he was in his 4th year of college, so he should have known better if anyone would. I fear that it is a battle that can never be won. :1 (72): :36_1_68[1]:

[chimellie]

Example, I asked one nephew why he had gone bad and taken money from the college account that we had set up for him, his sister and his brother, and wasted it, and his brother had not gone bad and his answer was, "because my brother did not have to touch the money" Truly sad IMO but I think that seems to be the attitude of most who grow up poor and he was in his 4th year of college, so he should have known better if anyone would. I fear that it is a battle that can never be won. :1 (72): :36_1_68[1]:

Same here Lee.....We sent 4 kids to college. Two still going and the other two failed. I think the 2 that failed spent the money instead of paying to the school. In my case it is 50% successful.

[Hoz]

I like the "did not have to touch the money" excuse. My Father sent money to Ilocos for years to hel ppay the education of one of my cousins. Later this cousin joined the military and became a Filipino Scout. He spent years in Mindinao fighting the insurgency during Marcos time. As for the education money. Come to find out the sister Dad was sending money to was spending herself and not giving it to her nephew. She was the older sister and was supposed to be the trusted one. A family feud came out of that one and my Dad never spoke to her again, even though she eventually immigrated to the US and lived in California.

[twostrokes]

As ohter have, I have been burned on the "education" route. It just cost me a lot of money. I guess I have done better than most in that area. 2 quit part way through, and two have graduated. The last one, I don't know if I can call a success yet or not as she takes the Nursing boards next month. The results will tell from that. That is at least part of the success will be known. She will still have to pass the US NCLEX for this to be successful to me. Only because of the investment. But it is also the failure in all the "business startups" that fail...How many thousands have expats thrown away in this area??? for me Many thousands over the years. I really believe it is nearly an impossible downward spiral to stop. Because a meal today is all that one can think about, how do you teach those to thnk ahead a month, a year, a lifetime?? And with so many corrupt people, how the the gov't even help???From one of the first major problems that will never get fixed and only gets worse each year is the land values.Land should not be over php50/m2 for good residental land and php5000-10000/m2 for average commerical. At these prices everyday people could afford to buy land for a house and or open a business. That could be the beginning of getting a keeping a middle class, but it is something that will never happen, so I do't see a way out at all.jim