This child is unaware of the cruelty in her world. She was not born to abject poverty, her parents were not selfish, substance abusers, nor even nice people out of work. She is growing to be a friendly, confident, bright child. Had she lived in Africa. she likely would not have made it this far.
In 1994, Kevin Carter won a Pulitzer prize for this picture of what awaits babies born where the economy, food supply, nourishment, parental care, supply of love and tactile contact when it counts, is lacking..
Should we really allow the Republicans to make our infants equal in life's chances as they are in third world countries? Shouldn't bringing a life into the world mean quality of life and not just a heart beat with breath, illness, suffering, and starvation until death before a year old?
2 comments:
Far too many African children grow up in dire circumstances, but it should be noted that African poverty rates have dropped significantly since 1994. For more on how to reduce Africa poverty, look up the work of June Arunga, a Kenyan woman who has devoted her life to this issue. June Arunga is a lawyer and the founder and CEO of Open Quest Media LLC. As a law student, she made the documentary "The Devil's Footpath", where she filmed her six-week trek from Cairo to Cape Town, talking with people she met along the way about their country's problems.
Arunga argues that the major obstacles for the African entrepreneurs who would lift their countries out of poverty are trade restrictions and government corruption. Foreign aid, she notes, is counterproductive, since the aid goes to the same corrupt governments that bleed the entrepreneurs. For a quick overview of this amazing woman's life, check out this blog post:
http://uhurunihaki.blogspot.com/2005/04/growing-up-in-kenya-june-arungas-story.html
Thanks for your comment. While it may be statistically true, it totally misses the point I was making. There are still medical people trying to stop babies from dying of malnutrition. I used a 1994 picture to illustrate the point and felt it important to cite the origin, not because it shows only what existed in 1994.
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