By maggie d., poet and retired educator, Washington

1. The Harvesters

“Be at peace with your
Enemy” our ancestors
Preached
But what if they were
Police
The authorities who
Handcuffed and
Hunted you down like
An animal
That gave you no relief
When you sought to live
Freely in America
Continually we battled
Our poverty hunger strife
In our native land
At one time the fields
And orchards offered a
Way to excel
It was a place where hope
Dwelled
And Cesar Chavez’s Spirit
Existed

2. Escaping Hunger Pangs

Stealing food heals
My momentary hunger
Making me wonder
About the noises
In my stomach
They sound louder than
Thunder as they rumble
Inside
But I relentlessly search
For slumber and shade in
The city sun
Oblivious to places too
Obvious for rest
I recall how nice the
Beans and rice
Are when I realize I can
Get caught someday
Living life on the streets
I savor solutions to stay
Alive without needing to
Hide

—maggie d., African American poet and retired educator, Washington.

By Maya and Arjun Govindaraj, both aged 17, Chennai, India.

Our dad grew up in Chennai, India. He has always told us stories about how he struggled to reach great heights. When we were leaving the children’s home after serving dinner, we will never forget the way he looked at those kids with tears in his eyes and said in Tamil, the local language, “Study hard and you can be very successful someday.”

India is the second most populated country in the world with some 158 million children below the age of six. There are 30 million orphaned and abandoned children and according to figures published by SERUDS*, and the numbers have increased since 2020. Majority of these children are girls because they are considered a ‘burden’ in their communities. Less than 1% of the abandoned children are in childcare institutions, 91% of which are run by non-government organizations. Many end up living on the streets, begging for food, or are forced into child labor.

Our interest in community service started in Pre-K when we packed shoe boxes during Christmas, to send to kids in developing countries. Our parents always encouraged us to help people in need and took us to volunteer during school holidays. We moved to Chennai from Houston, Texas in January 2023 so my mom could care for her elderly parents, and during our time here, we have witnessed firsthand the harsh realities of poverty.

Our school involves us in many service activities that teach us about environmental and social issues and the value of collaboration, social awareness, respect, and empathy. We were able to interact with our host community through the Discovery Program and volunteer through the Seva (service) Program. Although we come from different backgrounds, teaching the local underprivileged children, and playing with them after school we developed a bond with them and realized how happy they were to spend time with us. All children need is unconditional love, opportunities to play and learn, and a sense of belonging.

Seeing the amount of poverty that’s around us, and learning about the challenges these kids face in accessing a healthy meal and a good education inspired us to do something to show them that we do care. So, we bought backpacks, filled them with school supplies and gave them to 20 orphaned children along with evening snacks. We also served dinner to 60 children in a children’s home.

What we did were simple acts of kindness, but like Mother Teresa (the famous Nobel Peace Prize winning nun who lived and worked in and around Kolkata, India) had said, “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” To see the kids living alone without the love of parents and companionship of siblings is heartbreaking. Spending time with them we came to realize the privileges we take for granted and how fortunate we are to have a loving and caring family that meets all our needs.

The joy reflected in their eyes on receiving a simple backpack and the smile on seeing a small cup of ice cream made our hearts swell with pride, and although they have nothing, they were kind enough to offer us in return the power of their collective prayers as thanks.

We will be heading back to Houston, Texas soon, but what we have learned and experienced in the past two years in Chennai, will forever be etched in our minds, and we hope to continue to visit these children and share with them what we can.

As tech savvy Gen Z’s, it is our duty to use the power of social media to tell the stories of these children and to initiate global dialogues around the issues they face so we can find them the resources to face challenges and bounce back from adversity to fulfill their dreams of a better tomorrow.

* https://serudsindia.org/orphans-the-forgotten-children-of-india/ (From Sai Educational Rural & Urban Development Society, SERUDS) https://serudsindia.org 

—Maya and Arjun Govindaraj are Indian American siblings, both aged 17, and from Texas. They are currently studying at the American International School in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in South India.

By Maggie D., Washington

Summer time is here
Gardens to tend
Money to spend
For back to school
Clothes
That are not too old
Bought at the thrift store
Some will need mending
Others will profit from
Two washes
My gosh
Summer is passing
As quick as a wink
When I think of the
Days disappearing among
The harvested corn
And winter squash

—maggie d., retired educator and African American poet, Washington. She adds: “Summer Work errupted from memories of my grandmother’s farm in Oklahoma.”

By Camila Ayala, age 17, Georgia

“I spent much of my childhood in Honduras, where I was able to observe firsthand the disregard for children’s education. Children without the means to pay for tuition were not assured of a quality education. Later, I was fortunate enough to move to the United States. Nevertheless, when a family member who works as a teacher in Honduras begged my family for school supplies for the children she teaches, I was moved to revisit this harrowing subject. She mentioned the number of children who don’t even have notebooks or pencils. These children also had difficulty traveling to school, and once they were there, they were not provided with the necessary amenities, such as air conditioning in the classrooms to deal with Honduran intense heat. I was astounded at how little thought was given to obtaining the right materials for these young students, and how the teachers were forced to seek assistance because they were not receiving any. My awareness of the severity of the issue has increased as a result of these first-hand encounters, which is why I feel compelled to discuss it and perhaps help others see how serious it is.”

In America, the majority of children eagerly await their summer break. They look forward to living in June and July, when there are no obligations related to school. These children enjoy those months as they are unaware of the privileges of the months that come before June and July. These formative months are filled with possibilities for education.

In contrast, according to Latin America Resource & Training Center (2023), only about 46.8% of children in Latin America are thought to have completed their high school education, compared to 86.7% in the United States. Moreover, approximately 50% of Mexicans, Colombians and Brazilians do not have the skills necessary to solve simple math equations or to explain basic scientific phenomena. They are not granted the same benefits as the children who look forward to summer vacation, the same children who possess something so precious that appears to be a burden to them: an education. Due to their poverty and the lack of government support for these issues, these kids are unable to receive the fundamental right to an education. Additionally, for those that do, the challenges of poverty resurface, forcing them to drop out of school and find employment abruptly in an attempt to support their afflicted family.

The ability to receive a quality education creates a clear divide between the rich and the poor in Latin America. Identity, background, and ability determine educational opportunities for many of these children. According to the Global Education Monitoring Report, “In Panama, 21% of indigenous males aged 20 to 24 had completed secondary school, compared with 61% of their non-indigenous peers, in 2016. In Paraguay and Honduras, 32% of indigenous people are illiterate. Afro-descendants were 14% less likely in Peru and 24% less likely in Uruguay than non-Afro-descendants to complete secondary education in 2015. On average, 12-to 17-year-olds with disabilities were 10 percentage points less likely to attend school than those without disabilities.” These unfortunate children on the other side of the border struggle with discrimination in their education, which leads them to not qualify for prosperous jobs in the future. In a report published by the World Bank it was determined that the completion rates of lower-secondary school are lower for boys than for girls in most Latin American and Caribbean countries. All these factors contribute to children remaining in poverty, unable to access proper education, and subsequently as adults, they bring up children who also face similar struggles, thus continuing the cycle of poverty. Additionally, the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean (2023) states that Latin America was the area most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many school closures.

It is still challenging to offer these students the education they need and return to normalcy following COVID as a result of the lack of resources in most Latin American countries. Even the kids who are lucky enough to attend school frequently struggle to get enough supplies. In several countries, buying school supplies is not a yearly ritual, and many children are lucky to own a book-bag at all. For these kids, going to school is a hardship in every way, including getting the materials they need for the entire school day.

Finding qualified educators to instruct these receptive minds also becomes difficult, particularly in underprivileged areas where a large proportion of the people lack the necessary skills. Furthermore, children’s transit to the schools is often troublesome due to the rural seclusion in some areas. A report by UNESCO highlighted that “while nearly all children living in urban areas eventually enter the education system, the problem of lack of access to primary education is much greater for those living in the more impoverished rural areas.” Families often find themselves contributing to the truancy of the children, as the students oftentimes forgo attending school altogether due to the family’s inability or stagnation in their efforts. I have seen first hand that often the rural communities are less developed and therefore more impoverished. By giving more focus and resources to something that’s so important, many of these problems could possibly be mitigated over time. These children are their most valuable resource, yet they aren’t receiving the education needed to succeed in life and improve the communities in which they live.

Much of this could be improved by making efforts to fund school infrastructures and guarantee an equitable resource distribution. Everyone should be able to learn, regardless of their financial situation, so more efforts should be made to support children from low-income families and to provide them with high-quality education and whatever flexibility they may require. In order to help these children as well as themselves, the governments of Latin America should take a more serious approach to the problem of inadequate education. After all, as more people receive adequate education, more prosperity will be brought to these nations.

The education of these young people deserves international investments, and even though we reside far from them, we can still contribute by supporting educational initiatives financially and in other ways. Individuals possessing financial resources and power ought to think about investing in something truly worthwhile. Even though going to school can be stressful, knowledge and growth serve as the cornerstone for all future endeavors, and when these things are denied to you, your life’s foundation begins to splinter. We ought to remain strongly committed to education for all because it’s not always a given and those who understand its value should do their part to assist the unlucky ones around the world who lack it.

By Camila Ayala, age 17, Georgia. Having migrated from Honduras as a child, Camila is fluent in Spanish and English. She values family time and her education. Discovering a passion for writing, she dreams of becoming a lawyer to help those in need. Her future is guided by a desire to advocate for justice and compassion.

References:

• The World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean (2023). COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response World Bank. worldbank.org/en/region/lac/coronavirus.
• Latin America Resource and Training Center (2023). The State of Education in Spanish-Speaking Latin America. lartc.net/Education.html#:~:text=More%20alarming%20is%20the%20low.

A $7.25 hourly wage would mean earning about $15,080 per year. This pay is extremely low, leaving an individual living barely above the poverty line, surviving paycheck to paycheck. A full-time worker living on federal minimum wage would even qualify for food stamps. It’s extremely hard to comprehend how an individual can live on this paycheck, but imagine a whole family living on a yearly salary of $15,080. Quality of life goes down, mental health issues increase and basic needs aren’t met.

Money and financial problems play a huge factor in increased suicide rates. The American Journal of Epidemiology found that financial stressors like unemployment and low income might make someone 20 times more likely to attempt suicide.

Fortunately, there is a solution to the problem. According to a 2020 study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, raising the minimum wage by even one dollar an hour would cause suicide rates to drop. As shown in these statistics, people living in poverty don’t just struggle financially, but also have mental health issues. Many low-income workers are struggling to make ends meet, provoking them to have extreme stress, anxiety disorders, depression, or other mental illnesses. Raising the minimum wage could not only help the quality of life for many struggling Americans but it could also save thousands of lives.

Raising the federal minimum is a long process and doesn’t just happen overnight. Biden has proposed to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. If his plan is successful, he would pull 900,000 people out of poverty, increase pay for 17 million workers, and help narrow the chronic economic gap between white Americans and Black and Hispanic Americans. The minimum wage has been stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but with the Raise the Wage Act the federal minimum wage would go to $9.50 an hour in June. Then it would continue to rise until it hits $15 in June of 2025. The Liberal Economic Policy estimates that 31 percent of African Americans and 26 percent of Latinos would receive a raise if the minimum wage was increased, which would play a crucial role in reducing racial economic disparities.

Some concerns about raising the federal minimum wage are: it would take a toll on the economy and take away millions of jobs, as employers are required to pay their employees more. Two economists from Princeton University, Card and Krueger surveyed 410 fast-food restaurants and found that with higher minimum wage, job openings increased rather than decreased. Professor Arindrajit Dube of Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst, a leading minimum wage researcher, points out that companies would benefit from a wage increase because employees would be less likely to quit, which would save time, money, and resources.

Raising the minimum wage will not completely solve all financial problems for an American living on federal minimum wage, but it will provide some financial freedom. If we start to raise the minimum wage gradually, even by a dollar an hour, it would relieve financial stress and anxiety, and even save lives for struggling individuals living paycheck to paycheck.

References:

https://livingwage.mit.edu/articles/19-new-data-calculating-the-living-wage-for-u-s-states-counties-and-metro-areas

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-raising-the-minimum-wage-can-be-a-win-for-mental-health#Suicide-rates-drop

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-economists-see-bidens-15-wage-proposal