I believe that if someone is fortunate enough to have many things they should give back to those in need even when it is hard to do so.
In America, 12.5 percent of the people live in poverty. This may not seem like much but to me it is too much to ignore. I believe that others that have more than them should give back to them to help this problem in America. By helping people in need, we can not only become better people but they in turn may help someone else that needs comfort or help. This will make them feel better about themselves and help ease their pain and suffering.
Every summer I attend a Mission Trip with my youth group. We always go to some area where people are in need and most people live in poverty. Sometimes we would help paint houses while other times we’d build ramps for people in wheelchairs to be able to get in and out of their homes. I have noticed that everyone we help is always grateful, even if we just talk to them. It is fun to talk to some people and hear what they have to say and cheer them up. Some people are surprised that a group of teenagers and a few adults would take time out of their summer to help them make their life easier. These people help me realize how lucky I am to have many things. One particular time, we helped a lady who ran a museum that used to be the home of a very important person who helped found their town. She was very grateful when we showed up and gave us a quick tour of the house and then we set off to work. We cleaned out the stream that ran through the property and trimmed trees. We also cleaned up the path that they made for people to see all the different types of plants growing in the wild. When we finished she was so happy, that she could not thank us enough because the museum could not afford the help. As we pulled away she waved and was on the verge of tears. That night as we sat together and reflected on the day’s work someone brought up what she did when we left. We all felt good about being able to help this woman and making her so happy with the work we had done.
In the world, over 1.2 billion people (one in every five people) live on just one dollar a day. That a very drastic number to think about. Many people are very happy in their home and are not concerned about the other people who go through every day hungry not being able to eat because they don’t have enough money. Getting rid of the hunger problem is vital to making poverty history. The top one percent of the world’s richest people earn as much as the poorest fifty-seven percent. This is a very scary fact. This also goes back to the 1.2 billion people who live one the one dollar a day. All they can make is one dollar because of the work conditions, and how unfair the employees are treated by the company. This is not right. One way we can help this problem is to demand that workers worldwide are paid fair wages. We can refuse to buy from companies that do not pay fair wages. This requires that we as the general public do our homework to make sure that fair wages are being paid. This may make it harder to buy some things or make us give up our favorite brands. Until the buying population stands up as a unified force companies may not address this issue. It may not be easy, but we must all work together for the good of all.