Poverty beneath the surface

Happy smiling faces, thin hungry faces, solemn faces, frowning faces, we tend to react differently to each image of children we see in front of us. Some faces inspire or charm us, others may evoke pity or make us feel uncomfortable, and some may even offend us.

Claire Jarrold reports 

The circumstances of the children with whom Plan works vary as widely as their faces, but they all need additional support to overcome the barriers that prevent them from breaking out of the poverty cycle.

Victor Brott

Zeinab is a smiley 11-year-old girl living in the Alexandria East district in Egypt. Her family has access to a health clinic and local school, their house has electricity and a latrine – Zeinab even includes watching TV amongst her hobbies. Her cheap local copy of a brand-name t-shirt, her best outfit worn on special occasions, helps her to look like many other teenagers around the world. 

But in Egypt 44% of the population, including Zeinab’s family, currently lives on less than £1.20 a day and levels of income and poverty have actually worsened over the past year. Although a basic infrastructure is in place and families have some access to services, there is still a clear need for support. Plan is collaborating with Zeinab’s community to combat the long-term causes and effects of poverty.

During the rainy season, from November to March, the unpaved streets of the Alexandria East district fill with water and become very muddy. It can be difficult to get around, and damp conditions can increase respiratory infections and waterborne diseases. Houses are basic, often in poor repair, and light may come from a single electric bulb dangling precariously from an unsteady ceiling. Drainage and sewage are inadequate and refuse dumps and piles of garbage are health hazards, particularly for children, who are most vulnerable to disease. Although there are several basic health clinics in the area, they are poorly equipped, and there are no hospitals nearby to cater for more serious conditions. The limited access to clinics, qualified health workers and medical supplies, have contributed to an under-five death rate across Egypt five times higher than in the UK.

There are primary schools in the area, but the nearest secondary school is a good walk away. Even when schools are accessible, parents may not feel that there is any advantage in sending their children, especially girls. Given the often poor quality of teaching and facilities, attending school may mean gaining no more than a rudimentary education to improve future prospects. Moreover, children are often needed to spend what would be study or leisure time carrying out household chores and many have to help earn an income from an early age. Indeed less than 5% of children under the age of six here go to pre-school and only around 40% of women are literate. 

TV is  popular during what leisure time there is; families crowd around a shared, poor quality, black-and-white set in the community, and pay to view their favourite programmes. Where the family has a TV at home, the purchase of a cheap set may have been prioritised above other needs, and represent the family’s one fixed asset - to be taken with them if they need to relocate to find work, or should a flood or earthquake strike.

Malnutrition is a very real threat in communities such as Zeinab’s and is often a cause of child mortality. A family may have enough food to eat, but without an understanding of the nutritional value of different foods, children may miss out on vital vitamins and minerals, leading to stunted growth and other problems with their development and well-being. 

Health needs also rank high. Not just access to a local clinic or hospital, but an understanding of when medical treatment may be necessary and of how to treat quite simple, but potentially fatal, illnesses such as diarrhoea. A lack of education often means that people are unaware of the basics of hygiene.

Jenny Matthews

As with much of our work, raising awareness of issues within all sections of a community is one of the most vital parts of our programmes, yet perhaps one of the least visible.The results are tangible in the longer term, but they can also be the most difficult to quantify and to convey. But every project is designed to help children and their communities achieve their basic needs and rights and so enable them to reach their potential.

Sohrab Baghri

Plan focuses on children in order to provide them the maximum possible opportunities to grow-up healthy, learn, acquire life skills, and to participate in social process, so that they become productive and responsible citizens, thus eliminating the perpetuation of deprivation and poverty.

With our child-centred community approach we involve all sections of a community in its own development. We listen to those, like Zeinab, whose voices are not usually heard and we encourage community members – especially children and women – to guide, and eventually take responsibility for their own development. Slowly, we work with all sections of the community to tackle both practical and more sensitive issues.

Victor Brott

Empowering children and adults to become active participants in their own development, rather than passive beneficiaries, helps them to develop a sense of pride and ownership. Projects become more sustainable because community members have been involved from planning to implementation. New projects become possible because the skills and knowledge to begin them has been passed on. This also means that progress can only go at the pace of the community.

When we withdraw from a community only certain pre-agreed goals will have been reached; however community members will have the skills and knowledge to take charge of their own development.

There will always be more to do. Sponsorship is playing a key role in making this happen – and whatever images may appeal to and inspire us, we can be sure that there is much more going on beneath the surface.