The article on Kyrgyzstan saddens me. I was unaware of the poverty this country faces. I thought child labor was diminished, but reading this article it still continues. Children in Kyrgyzstan are working to benefit the needs of their family, instead of the parents working and the child attending school. The situation for these children will only get worse. After reading this article I’m afraid the risks of poverty will develop for the children to pass that poverty on to their children. “Until 1991, Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union. At independence, Kyrgyzstan was one of the poorest ex-Soviet republics with an estimated 32.9 per cent of the population living below the Soviet 'poverty line'. In the early 1990s, as Kyrgyzstan suffered a series of economic shocks, the proportion of people living in poverty rose to over 60 per cent. By 2001, 47 per cent of the population lived below the government poverty line, while 13 per cent were living in extreme poverty.” Unlike other countries, Kyrgyzstan has much higher levels of health and education than many higher-income countries. Though health and education levels are still much higher than in countries with a similar income, there are some signs of a decline in school enrolment. “In 1999, UNICEF estimated that while 2-3 per cent of children have dropped out of school completely. In 2001 an estimated 7 per cent of children were malnourished, and approximately 14 per cent of the population had no access to health services.” A disease called of tuberculosis has re-emerged and taken a toll on teenagers in Kyrgyzstan.“These declining levels of child welfare are related to both to pressures on families who may not be able to afford the costs of education or health care, and due to a massive decline in the resources available for these key services. Poverty has also led the to children work a range of jobs, from working on family farms, to agricultural labor for others, domestic service, selling or working as porters at markets. Recent research estimate that approximately 24 per cent of children work either full or part time, similarly since transition there are now homeless or 'street' children in Kyrgyzstan's cities, and some reports of child prostitution and trafficking.”
What I learned so far from the website is that these children living in poverty are the ones who lack the resources they needed to survive as well as enjoying their rights as child so that he or she can live and achieve their full potential by becoming equal members of their society. These children deserve a proper education, and we need to provide and honor that.
My new insight about the issues of poverty is that poverty is not only based on family income but the parent’s education. Poverty affects a family’s ability to provide for their children in many areas. For example, if the parent’s cannot afford proper healthcare a child could become ill or malnutrition if the parents cannot afford the basic needs for food. The challenges the children face is inevitable.
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