Hunger Rumblings

I was looking at pictures of flooded Iowa today and was awestruck by the destructive power of too much water. I've blogged about how important water is to life. But it's amazing how you can have too much of a good thing. So much land completely under water, killing the crops and destroying livelihoods. Between floods, tornadoes, and wildfires, it's been a rough month or two in the United States.

How many people's lives have been altered by nature in the past couple of months? And how many of them have the means to recover? Some are insured, have savings, and other support structures. Reconstructing their fractured lives will be difficult and emotional, to be sure, but largely a matter of time. But those living at or near poverty before disaster struck are facing a whole different reality. Disasters destroy homes, leaving some with nowhere to live. Disasters close businesses, sometimes permanently, causing loss of employment and income. Disasters interrupt health care treatment, making it difficult (or impossible) to tackle the work of recovering. Disaster interrupt education. For those who were struggling to stay in school in the first place, it can be difficult to go back. In the short term, disaster can destroy local food supplies and roadways, making short term hunger very real for everyone. But longer term, especially in rural areas, those who relied on gardens for even some of their food face new and unwelcome challenges.

The list of ways that natural disasters exacerbate the conditions for hunger and poverty go on; I've mentioned just a few. Knowing how many disasters the United States has had already this year, I wonder what the longer-term effect will be. How many who were living on the edge of poverty will now be solidly in it? The U.S. Census Bureau provides annual data about poverty in this country. It will be interesting to see how 2008 compares to 2007.

Labels: flood, hunger, natural disaster, poverty, water

My scientist husband directed my attention two weeks ago to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (Feb. 29, 2008, “Researchers Probe How Poverty Harms Children’s Brains”). In it, the author interviews neuroscientists studying the impact of poverty on the neurological development of children living with poverty. Their primary findings – that poverty (aside from hunger/malnutrition) appears to affect a child’s brain development in ways we don’t quite understand yet – are both intriguing and yet somewhat of a – pardon the pun – no brainer. Poverty is complicated and complex. To think that we could easily categorize the impact of childhood poverty is to underestimate this multi-faceted problem. This research also questions the slippery integration of poverty, literacy, family stress and other socio-economic factors and their combined impact on a child’s brain development. “Growing up poor is bad for your brain” one researcher summarizes in the article - and I’m not sure we really needed research to acknowledge that fact.

In the end, it's just one more reminder that children are often the most vulnerable in environments of hunger and poverty. When hunger, poverty, racism, and family systems are interwoven, we’re left with complex situations that require – that deserve – our focused attention and smartest thinking… in our schools, in our public policy, in our congregations and in our community services. The solution to hunger and poverty will never be just one thing (food assistance, welfare, school lunches) but an interweaving of many different strategies.

There’s a lot of talk about the economy these days… but what would be a better long-term investment than in strategies that could promote healthier brain development of our children? Now that’s a no-brainer….

Labels: brain development, children, poverty

This winter has been brutal for the roads in Chicago. Huge temperature swings and plenty of snow and ice are crumbling the concrete. My commute to work has become an obstacle course of potholes. There are two strategies for navigating the course: 1) slow down and drive through the potholes, hoping you're not causing too much damage to your suspension and tires, or 2) slow down and weave around - in your lane and out of it - to avoid hitting them. In the end, you do both, and so does everyone else. The main results are that it takes longer to get anywhere, and all the swerving makes driving scarier than usual. I'm guessing the mechanics are doing a better business than usual, too.

Winter-ravaged roads are a great illustration of their importance. If you don't have good roads, life is harder. Poor road conditions mean it's difficult to receive or send goods. Remote villages the world over experience poverty and hunger, partly due to the roads. When roads are badly rutted, frequently muddy, washed out, or in some other form of disrepair, vehicles trying to pass will have to go slowly and are likely to sustain damage. If you're a business person trying to deliver goods, you'll have to raise your prices to compensate for the time, fuel, and maintenance costs. Schedules may be irregular depending on when you can get through and how long it takes. If the goods being delivered are perishable, and if delivery schedules are dependent on road conditions and whether or not a truck breaks down, villagers may face perpetual shortages. And to top it all off, once the goods arrive, villagers may not be able to afford them. The suppliers must raise prices to cover their transportation costs, which may make the items too expensive for the small incomes of remote villagers. If suppliers are unable to sell their goods, they are likely to stop coming altogether.

This road is a two-way street (a little infrastructure humor, there). The transportation challenges are true for the villager trying to sell outside the village, too. The costs required to get goods or people to other markets may raise prices to such a degree that the villager can't compete. The remote village is cut off from larger markets that can increase incomes, create jobs, and improve standards of living. Poverty and hunger become more common.

All of this about roads, and they are only one aspect of infrastructure! It still amazes me, sometimes, how many factors contribute to poverty and hunger. But if there's a bright side, it's that all these factors mean there are lots of ways to approach solutions, too.

Labels: hunger, infrastructure, poverty, roads