The Endless Cycle of Poverty (Part 2)

Poverty… What exactly is it? I can read a dictionary definition about the “poverty line” or “standard of living”, but what does that mean when you live in a country where the majority of people live below this standard? What does it mean when most of the people can’t get employed without a university degree but can’t afford that sort of education? What does it mean when you feel so trapped in the cycle of poverty that you just give up and beg from strangers in the street because it’s all the hope you can muster? What does it all mean? After living here for almost a year I’m not entirely sure. But I do see some hope. For one, the Filipino people are very creative. They seem to find a way to pass time and earn money in the most amazing ways. They don’t just sit in a heap with an outstretched arm. Children, hop on jeepneys to wipe the dust off people’s feet, men stand out in the street directing traffic and helping people to find parking, ladies sell tattered pieces of material sewn into rags and dish cloths, fisherman walk the street selling fish on the end of poles, other sea folk paddle their boats up to the side of ferries to ply their trade of shells, carvings and pearls, actors sing and dance in the street and others knock on doors on asking for whatever work is available even if its cleaning the garage, weeding the garden or painting a wall. There are some people willing to do anything to survive. There is hope.