This week I conducted a conversation with my foreign contact. Molly has been living and working in the Marshall Islands for two years. All of her first- and second-grade students speak Marshallese, and Molly teaches them English. The population is so small that two grades are put together to save money on teachers. This means that the children have varying language abilities in her classroom. Molly has learned a lot of Marshallese, but still struggles with communicating with her learners. There are not a lot of jobs in the Marshall Islands because they have to import a lot of their goods. This means that poverty affects the children in Molly's classroom greatly.
Molly says that some children arrive at school without shoes or adequate clothing. Most of her children do work for their families' farms after school or help with fishing. The US government pays for a lot of the school's resources, so the children are well fed during the day, but Molly says that the children sometimes do not appear to have eaten enough, or they are tired and can not focus. She also says that the children get sick more often and are not able to come to school than when she worked in New Hampshire. The school closes once a month or so because of illness but medicines are at least available to the children from the government. Molly says the situation in the Marshall Islands seems that poverty is more visible and that it affects children more than when she worked in New Hampshire.
What I have realized is that poverty is a global issue that affects children much in the same ways. Molly discussed health and safety, adequate shelter and clothing, and more. These issues are certainly relevant in the continental United States in terms of homelessness, food insecurity, and more. The issues Molly talked about with her children and being able to focus and appearing hungry are things that we see here in New Hampshire. The difference is, of course, that there are a lot more programs here to help with children in poverty. Unfortunately, we do not have a widespread 'cure' for poverty and we have not found a systemic solution for these vulnerable children.
Hi Neisha,
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that those children have to go through that. I think if the federal government start helping places like the Marshal Island, it will be a better place for our children in other countries. I don't it's fair for us to have everything, such as money, better healthcare, food, and these poor children are starving. I think we take these things for granted, and not appreciate the luxury of these things, because the people over in such countries will love to be able to eat, get a quality education, and better healthcare. I really enjoyed reading your blog.
Neisha,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. It is hard to believe in 2017 that poverty is a reality for so many people. Growing up poor, I can identify with their stories on some level; nothing like what children in other countries experience. Good post.
Neisha,
ReplyDeleteI was not familiar with the Marshall Islands until reading your post and I did some research. It is appalling to learn the conditions that most of the residents live in, and to think it is because of the United States nuclear and missile testing that has destroyed their islands. Normally I do not think that a foreign government giving money to a country is helpful, but in this case, since our country is ultimately destroying it, I believe that we should help them.