Bonjour et merci de votre intérêt!

Un sujet qui me tient surtout à cœur est la pauvreté.  Je viens récemment de joindre l’équipe de la Société d’inclusion économique et sociale (SIES) du Nouveau-Brunswick en tant que coordonnatrice des réseaux communautaire. Se blog me permettra d’échanger avec vous sur les questions qui touchent notamment le domaine de la pauvreté.

Je partagerai avec vous des informations, mes expériences personnelles et professionnelles ainsi que les efforts des groupes et citoyens du Nouveau-Brunswick dans notre démarche pour réduire la pauvreté. Je vais parler surtout du travail qui se fait dans les régions par l’entremise des Réseaux d’inclusion communautaire.

Au plaisir d’échanger avec vous! :)

What is poverty?

Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter.  It is more, much more than just not having enough money.

The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way:

“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.

Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways.  Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”

In addition to a lack of money, poverty is about not being able to participate in recreational activities, not being able to send children on a day trip or to a birthday party, not being able to pay for medications, etc.  These are all costs of being poor. When people are excluded within a community, when they are not well educated and when they have a higher incidence of illness, there are negative impacting our communities. We all pay the price for poverty.  The increased cost on the health system and the justice system that provide supports to those living in poverty has an impact on our economy.

There is no one cause of poverty, and the results of it are different in every case. Poverty varies considerably depending on the situation. Feeling poor in New Brunswick, Canada is different from living in poverty in Zimbabwe or Russia.  The differences between rich and poor within the borders of a country or province can also be great.

Despite the many definitions, one thing is certain - poverty is a complex societal issue. No matter how poverty is defined, it can be agreed that it is an issue that requires everyone’s attention.  It is important that all members of our communities work together to provide the opportunities for all citizens to reach their full potential. It helps all of us to help one another.

How to overcome poverty through the Community Inclusion Networks is a topic I'd like to address in my next post...stay tuned!

Assemblons les pièces ensemble / Putting all the pieces together

« Seul on peut faire si peu; ensemble, on peut tant faire. » Helen Keller