Poverty In Ethiopia

How would you feel if your body slowly turns on you, devouring the cells that make up your very being? What would you do if you were so weak that you couldn’t even hold a loved one in your arms? How would you feel if you couldn’t think straight because the pain of hunger was so intense? What would you do..?

In Africa, music isn’t just something they see as having fun, it has become something greater. Africans use music in their everyday lives. It has become a social event, where African community’s come together and accompany songs with cultural beliefs, traditions, rituals, festivals and “recreation after a day’s hard work”(Bame, 7). For instance, in some communities it is believed farmers are able to heal people while dancing. Other’s dance to honor the death of a person, and find their soulmates.

Poverty is the state of living without the basic necessities of life - for example, money or a reliable supply of food. People living in poverty might be lacking a steady income, the ability to feed their families, or access to education and healthcare. In 2015, there were 43.1 million people living in poverty in the USA.

countries to the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. When people don’t get enough food, money,

It would be in order to first examine the connotation and exact meaning of culture. Sociologists differ wide in their perceptions in explanting culture and its inter-related concepts. The best definition from the military view point is given by Leslie A. White, who quotes famous sociologists Frank Boas and Melville J. Herskovits. He writes “culture may be defined (as per Boas), as the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterise the behaviour of individuals composing a social group….”. He further quotes Herskovits and says, “When culture is closely analysed, we find but a series of patterned reactions that characterise the behaviour of the individuals who constitute a given group. Another writer Sapir quoted by Leslie white classified culture as the mass of typical reactions.’ Culture is best summarised as a way of life of the people. It is manmade part of environment. Cultures includes beliefs, ideas, religion, art, customs and other habits which the people acquire while living in a society. Another very important aspect of culture is that it is ever changing by learning and transmitting from one generation to other through a

In my situation, I am very fortunate to be brought up in the environment I'm in. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, clean clothes on my back, fresh water to drink, and another day to live. In Angola, children die every day from malnutrition and diseases like malaria. They don't receive the proper treatment needed because families don't have enough money. So many of us are so fortunate to live the lives we have, but we don't give a second to realize that children all over the world are dying everyday from being neglected. In Angola, the country is rich in oil. There are cities that flourish in wealth that you wouldn't even think that poverty exists. However, the outside doesn't always match the inside. The government has neglected them

Culture has different meanings in every country or religion. Ethiopia and America have different ways of celebrating their cultures. For example, America celebrates different holidays such as Columbus Day, Emancipation Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and more which included a vast majority of the country’s population. But Ethiopia only celebrates the culture of it’s states such as, Amhara, Oromo, Tigre, Wolayta, and others. This is mainly because because the calendar and the language is different in America and Ethiopia. They both have different styles and ways of celebrating their culture because the peoples of both countries have different point of views or beliefs on culture.

There are many different forces that cause poverty in America as well as other places around the world. All countries and or territories have some type of poverty, No one can deny that. Different forces such as bad government policy, overpopulation, high standards of living, costs of living, environmental degradation, and lack of individual responsibility are some of the forces that contribute to poverty. The poor in developing countries are trapped. They lack education, good nutrition, and a safe place to raise their families. They cope with harsh social, economic, and environmental hardships that leave them cold, hungry and sick.

My topic focuses on all aspects of Ethiopia, this includes cultural and religious practices that Ethiopians practice every day. I believe it is important to educate others about Ethiopia so that they can be culturally competent. We live in a country that is known as the melting pot; this melting pot includes individuals from different countries with different cultures and religions. Within the melting pot, there are many Ethiopians. Around the United States, individuals are beginning to be more aware and knowledgeable about Ethiopia and Ethiopians; for example, Ethiopian cuisines are beginning to be very popular in the United States, and there has been an increase in Ethiopian restaurants around the United States.

In the past, Uganda has constantly struggled with some of the highest poverty and hunger levels in the world. Recently, poverty levels have shown significant improvement, but not nearly enough for Uganda to become financially stable in the near future. Many sources agree with this by stating, “Poverty levels declined in the region, but remain the highest in the world.” (“Food Insecurity and Poverty Pose Major Challenge”) This is extremely detrimental to Uganda right now because lack of wealth prevents the country from prospering economically, becoming technologically advanced, and reducing the rates of malnutrition. Numerous factors resulting from malnutrition effects contribute to these monumental poverty levels including health care, the purchasing of nutrition groups, and the missed economic opportunities. Unlike poverty levels, hunger and malnutrition rates remain consistently low, showing little to no improvement. Some sources even believe the rates are slowly increasing, explaining that “despite sustained economic growth and poverty reduction, the proportion of the population that is food insecure increased from 19 percent in 1992 to 21 percent in 2007.” (“Uganda: Nutrition Profile”) This validates that poverty and food security levels are unrelated and “malnutrition exists in both wealthy and poor households.” (“Economic Development and Nutrition Fact Sheet”) Therefore, although these rates are unparalleled, Uganda is beginning to learn how to deal with and lower the

Nigeria, a country in West Africa, also called "the Giant of Africa", due to its large population and blooming economy. Nigeria has a population of over 186 million which made it the most populous country in Africa and the seventh in the world. The CIA reported on 2017 that Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world today (CIA, 2017). Nigeria has over 500 different ethnic groups, and the major once include the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba; there are wide variety of culture and believe in Nigeria. The official spoken language is English. Nigeria is divided roughly equally between Christians and the Muslim. The Christian are predominately in the southern Nigeria and the Muslim predominant in the northern. A minority of the population practice religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities (PBS, 2007). Some traditionalist also exists, who worship the gods know as African traditional gods.

Another third world country that is economically struggling is Kenya. It is one of the most unequal countries of the sub-region where forty two percent of the population suffer from poverty. From the years 2005 to 2006, 47% of Kenya’s population was poor, 46% was living in food poverty and 20% was in severe poverty, (Abdulai, 2011). Even though the percentage of those living under the poverty line decreased from 1997 to 2006, unfairness and poverty in certain areas was still unescapable. Just like India, several people reside in the rural areas in Kenya where agriculture is the main source of income that everyone is dependent on, however, there is food and poverty insecurities here because of the persistent droughts that damage the crops. On the other hand, this drastically reduces the income of the family, making it hard to afford the basic necessities of life. Because of these conditions that the Kenyans live under, the children lack a proper education because they are forced to work to help provide for the family. only 50% of boys and 35% of girls attend school after age of 16. And only 3% of those continue to tertiary education, (Poverty in Kenya, 2011). Along with that, those who are extremely poor, can’t even afford and education so they end up going directly into the work force. There are several issues in Kenya that fuel child labor. Some of the problems include: poverty in various regions, violence, traditional practices, and HIV/AIDS, which has orphaned numerous

The Ethiopia’s economy is predominantly based on agriculture which accounts for 41% of GDP as per 2010/11. About 29.6 percent of the population (as per 2010/2011) lives under the poverty line which is the minimum level of income or expenditure deemed necessary to achieve minimum requirements of life. Poverty in Ethiopia is more pronounced in rural areas as compared to the urban areas ( http://www.eiiff.com/economy/ethiopia/poverty.html accessed on 3 December 2017). 30.4 percent of the population in rural areas is poor whereas in urban areas it is 25.7 percent (MoFED, 2012).

Africa is one of the first countries that come to mind when you think of global poverty. Many places in Africa can be found on the global poverty list, such as Malawi, Burundi, and Madagascar. “Malawi has GDP per capita of $226.50…Holding a population of 16 million while also being of the smallest...” (“Top 10 Poorest Countries in the World-2017 List” 2017) Malawi is considered to be the weakest nation, it suffers the most. From lacking a decent education to the standards of living conditions. Burundi on another hand has a “GDP per capita of $267.10… Aside from the estimated 300,000 civilian casualties resulting in a 67 percent, poverty rate, the violent political rivalries were also detrimental to Burundi’s agricultural development.” (“Top 10 Poorest Countries in the World-2017 List” 2017) With Burundi being the second on the list of ten countries listed, they are struggling because they are lacking consistent weather and sustainable land. Last but not least, Madagascar is the sixth on the list and has a “GDP per capita of $463.00”. (“Top 10 Poorest Countries in the World-2017 List” 2017) The ability to live on the island is basically nonexistent being as they lack many of the necessities needed to live. If the poorer people feel the support of the people around them they will start being able to help themselves.

It is important to know the nature of poverty in Ghana so as to better appreciate discourse on matters as far as alleviating poverty in Ghana is concerned.