Question

Experiences with a school-age child whose family is at or near the poverty level. How did poverty impact their life? Include examples of strengths within the child and family, or relationships and resources available to them outside of the family that may have helped them overcome some of the obstacles to their success.

Answer 1

Poverty makes a lot of constraints in having a good quality of life. A school going child whose family is at or near the poverty line would face a lot of difficulties.

• Difficulty procuring basic necessities like housing, food, financial security, healthcare, etc
• Affordability of quality education and ability to keep up with the resources would be hindered- For instance, the child would find it difficult to get a computer or access to the internet.
• Stress about not able to meet the daily school demands or demands of daily life.

These obstacles can be overcome through various family support and resources

• All family members work together to get some financial aid. For insurance, apart from the father - mother can work as house help and child can sell the newspaper.
• There are many schools and teachers who make considerable efforts for poor children.
• Many NGO's work towards providing various resources like a book, internet access, etc
• Family and neighbour community support helps in emotional upliftment.