Poverty: At Home and In Rwanda

Poverty: At Home and In Rwanda

As a child living in a rural farm community, I didn’t realize how “low-income” most of us were. There were several families who were noticeably poorer than the average family I knew. One in particular comes to mind when thinking about poverty and its effect on development of young children. This was a family of twelve children, living in a small house with a kitchen, a living room, one bathroom and three bedrooms. The father did have a job at a lumber mill and the mother stayed at home. The atmosphere there was not conducive to learning and development. Children were left in the care of their older siblings often (the mother just didn’t have the skills to keep an eye on all of them at the same time). They did rely on government assistance for help with buying food. At least half of the children dropped out of school when they got to high school and eight of the twelve became parents in their teens, some of them continuing to live at the same house with their children. This atmosphere was not conducive to building a good sense of self, and I am sure that the socio-emotional development of these children suffered greatly.

I am interested in poverty-stricken Rwanda. I am learning about what is being done there to help the people who are poor and suffering from malnutrition and AIDS. Surely the children of poverty there lack education, and are not given the opportunities necessary for optimal cognitive, physical, or socio-emotional development. There is some good news, though. As a result of programs like the World Bank Poverty Reduction Support Grant, which continues to give money ($115.6 million in 2010 and $104.4 million in 2011) in support of Rwanda, over one million people there have risen from poverty in the last five years(MENA report, 2011). This money is used to focus on development of agriculture productivity, improvement of rural roadways, jobs, exports and governance. Also, one project in the United States, Goats for Life, has been supporting these people with funds for purchasing goats for villages, schools, orphanages and families. Goats, at about $30-45 each, are a source of milk for families, can be bred easily, are inexpensive to feed, and can eventually be used for meat (Rodgers, 2011).   

Anonymous, (2011 March 17). Rwanda: Poverty rate reduced by 11.8 pc in Rwanda. MENA Report.

Rodgers, A. (2011, December 24). Stocking lives with livestock former Pittsburgh pair fighting poverty in Rwanda with goats. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. A1.

Breastfeeding Perspectives

I looked briefly at breastfeeding in the United States and in Africa in general. In Africa, the most evident issue is the danger of passing the HIV virus from mother to breastfed infant as opposed to increasing the likelihood of survival of the child in general. There was a multitude of information available on this topic. Some people believe that the risk of passing on the HIV virus is too high, so HIV infected mothers should not breastfeed at all. Some believe they should breastfeed for a short time, and others believe that with the use of antiretroviral drugs, the risk of HIV is reduced enough to allow for breastfeeding. The research seems to be continuing, and the debate will continue as well. The information about breastfeeding in the United States varied. There is research about the length of time mothers breastfeed and the health benefits of breastfeeding. The most prevalent information about American mothers seems to be about how willing they are to breastfeed in public, based on others' perceptions of that, and how difficult it is to comfortably breastfeed while remaining in the workforce (whether you make arrangements to feed your baby throughout the day, or pump breast milk for later use). The one common thread between the two is that breast milk has health benefits for the child, and we should recognize and address the needs of both the mother and child in this regard. 

Birth Experiences

The birthing experience I will share with you is that of my giving birth to my first child, my daughter. The pregnancy was full term, with no complications at all-I didn't even experience morning sickness! My husband and I had attended childbirth instruction (Lamaze) classes beforehand, and thought we were as well-prepared as we were going to be. We went to the hosptal just after midnight and fell into the flow of breathing through contractions, etc., just as we had practiced. This went on all night! Apparently, I was "failing to progress" (past 4 cm of dilation). SO, I was given an oxygen mask and some medication to speed the process, to which I didn't respond well at all. SO,eventually, out of concern for the baby's well-being (oxygen intake level), it was determined that a C-section should occur. Because of the need for speed, I was given general anasthesia, so I was not involved from that point on. My husband was allowed to observe the procedure in the operating room, and twelve minutes later we had a healthy, 6 lb. 10 oz. baby girl, Sarah! He stayed with her through the APGAR scoring,etc., and was the first to bond with her , since I was "out of it" for quite a while. I often think that without the assistance of all those medical professionals and that hospital equipment, either I or my daughter may not have survived to tell the story.Twenty-two years later, I am still grateful for those people. We were truly blessed.

I read an article about giving birth in 6 different communities studied in Africa. There, it is not necessarily the norm to have prenatal medical care, or to give birth in a medical facility. There are many factors determining why women in that area choose no medical services. A prominent factor is that their behavior is impacted by the perception of others in the community. To give birth unassisted is considered admirable by community members. In West Africa childbirth is said to be a "woman's battle". For women who do choose medical guidance for childbirth, the biggest determining factor is their level of education. More highly educated women have more decision-making power in the family, and more awareness of and access to health related services. There is a much higher mortality rate for women in childbirth in Africa  than in the U.S.While I can try to respect the choices made by these women as a result of their culture, I am certain that I am grateful to live where I live, and to have the luxury of the medical care that is available to me.