hunger essays

hunger essays "Approximately one-fifth of the worlds population, over one billion people, earns less than one dollar a day" . Living in today's society, as unpalatable as it may be, it is succinct that homelessness, hunger, lack of work, and illiteracy are direct effects of destituity among people today. As a result, this causes people to struggle throughout their lives. Nectar in a Sieve, a compelling story about a destitute family by Kamala Markandaya, illustrates powerful examples of results from the limited options in India. After reading this novel, and examining how poverty effects the world, I am now cognizant about how great of an effect poverty has on millions of people today. Homelessness, a ubiquitous problem in the world, is a murky road to ultimate despair. There are many different reasons for homelessness, but there are a few well-traveled paths to destitution; Mental illness, lack of affordable housing family breakdown, and alcoholism are all factors. A chilling fact, from any poin t of view, is that small children have become the fastest-growing sector of homelessness. "The average homeless family includes a parent with two or three children. The average child is six years old, the average parent twenty-seven". This may seem unreal, but in Massachusetts alone, three fourths of all homeless people are now children and their parents. Today, the chronically and severely mentally ill are not proficient at coping with the stresses of this world. They are vulnerable to eviction from their living arrangements, mostly because of the stress of dealing with various problems such as landlord situations. Many tend to drift away from their families and will loose all goals in their life. "Once the mentally ill are out on their own, they will more than likely stop taking their medications and after a while will lose touch with the Social Security Administration and will no longer be able to receive their Supplemental Security Income checks". Bec...