Poverty In Africa

Poverty is a scary word for a lot of people. It resembles a disease which gets into every organ and kills it from inside. There is an easy cure to this illness-money, but in most cases it’s an unreachable dream. There are poor people in every country in the world; however the extent of their poverty varies greatly from country to country. Taking for instance Switzerland with its profits and per capita earning, even assuming that there is a needy class of people, it is obvious that they have enough food, decent living conditions and access to medical care when required. Other parts of the world cannot claim such high standards of social security.

One of the most chaotic political systems in the modern world is found on the African continent. Historically it so occurred that there were numerous tribes, which later became countries occupied by white men who imposed their rules and culture upon their own. Those revolutionary movements caused anarchy in its governments and from that point on only money could do business. People who had money had everything, and got even more when got to the top. All of that nowadays results in a huge difference in material sense between classes. Those who are on the top will hardly ever agree to go down and those in slump will never get as much sun as the rich ones.

It is clear that poor adults are not living in paradise on earth. What about their children though? How do they survive in those conditions? It is a very complicated issue for a researcher as it has numerous issues in it and cultural features, which may not be discovered in one day. This surviving business however is a thorny route to walk on. War and disease and AIDS in particular have nearly doubled the number of orphans on the continent, from 3.5 million in 1990 to nearly 6 million in 2001.Today this number is probably over 8 million, as African population is constantly growing despite the fatal illnesses and horrible conditions of life.

Certainly there are children in Africa who live with their parents, most of them are poor and a few have money. But I would like to concentrate on those who are outcasts, who ran away from homes or who simply lost their parents. Their world is very tough where everyone takes care only of oneself. It’s not even a rule, but a mentality there says a 12 year old Bidemi Ademibo who lives at Kuramo Beach in Nigeria. She lives with other girls most of whom are orphans and one managed to escape slavery, which a lot of people believe does not exist anymore. Those girls used to live in a little shack made up with cardboards until one night a gang of young men had poured gasoline over it and set it on fire. That is how they were fighting for the space on the beach and could care less if all of them have burnt to death. They were lucky though to survive to lead their gloomy existence. Unfortunately children like Bidemi are an unavoidable sight in Africa, from Senegal to Somalia, from Egypt to South Africa. The beach on which children like Bidemi live is not a place for living really even for very tough adults. This village full of tenants is not a community but rather a collection of people who encountered trouble elsewhere and came looking for fresh opportunity in Lagos. It has been an illegal settlement for generations, but authorities could not crack it down, partially out of fear that to do so would generate unrests.

There is no running water here, vendors have to haul it in from the mainland and sell it at high prices. It can only mean that the children do not get enough water, which causes multiple disease and early deaths in Africa. There is no proper sanitation; a bay that separates the strip of beach from Victoria Island is the people's toilet. And there is no electrical service, although some people have illegally tapped into the city grid, running wires into their homes. Clearly such complete unsanitary does add to the already “easy” life of growing teenagers, and especially girls as in case with Bidemi.

Some children and even adults on the beach survive by selling fish, which they catch in the nearby contaminated canal or the ocean. Others operate small businesses out of their pathetic shacks built with cardboards. As in most societies it is harder for women than for men to survive here and they have to sell their bodies earn pennies to buy food. Surprisingly, good life is unbelievably close, so close these people can see hotels and hear the music; they just could not enjoy this life. Across the bay some of the most expensive hotels in Africa are located, where a standard room can cost $320 a night, which is more than hat people in Kuramo make working whole year.

Bidemi is only 12 but she has a rough life with new challenges every day. Being a runaway makes her an easy target for anyone who is a bit stronger that her. Especially it makes her a desirable object for men wanting sex; she says they often approach girls of different ages demanding sex and if kids are alone, men could easily get what they want. Those girls have no social security, they do not have even parents and their government could care less about such "trivial" problems as homeless unprotected and most of the time hungry children. A normal human understanding of this problem should cause people to reevaluate one’s own life and fortunes most of us are blessed with. Thinking about things through which these poor souls have to struggle makes me shiver, realizing that I have never felt real hunger or need in my life. Immediately I want to take better care of things I own and stop throwing out clothes, stop storing food in the refrigerator and then getting rid of the spoiled one. It is just such a waste of money which could be spent on something more useful. Not too many people are occupied with charity organization, even those who have time and means for it. It’s a pity that people who can save at least one life do not consider it important enough to be bothered. Those who are not in need should just be happy because of having food and roof over their heads. Compared with children such as Bidemi, most of us living in civilized world do have any serious problem as constant search for a piece of bread.

Bidemi and the rest of her gang walk to the break of the ocean in the end of an exhausting day, which was filled with helpless attempts to find a job. They splash in the cool waves of the dangerous ocean, for them though, it’s the friendliest and safest place because there no people around at the time. They are happy for a moment. Turning back to reality will be unpleasant but necessary for them fragile girls, as they are fighting for life.

Author: Jeff Stats

The Roots Of Poverty

Remedying only the superficial manifestations of the deeper underlying problems of extreme poverty will never end poverty itself. At best, this approach will temporarily relieve urgent problems; at worst, it will exacerbate them or create long-term trade-off problems. If we want to eliminate poverty, we must look at its roots and apply sustainable, pragmatic development solutions.

There are many popular misconceptions about underdeveloped countries that prevent both politicians and private citizens from seriously considering solutions. Some people think less developed countries (LDCs) are poor as the result of laziness, mismanagement, and corruption. While corruption and mismanagement do play a role in the inefficient and criminal diversion of aid funds, they definitely do not make it impossible to conduct successful development operations--unless, of course, we use corrupt regimes as a justification to not give aid at all.

So what are some of the common root causes of poverty? Each of the following roots of poverty can be eliminated through development projects when they bypass government involvement or develop mutual-accountability agreements with governments to ensure the best results for the program constituents:

Geographic Isolation:

Geographic isolation actually occurs on two levels: 1) within regions and continents; and 2) within countries. The first type of geographic isolation generally includes countries that are landlocked hundreds of miles away from the closest port. These countries end up paying excessive fees and costs for freight to export and import goods. The other type of isolation--that occurs within countries-- generally includes villages that are separated from the rest of the country because of a lack of infrastructure. These villages typically lack electricity, adequate food markets, and adequate sources of clean water.

Inadequate Access to Medical Clinics:

Most citizens of the Third World lack access to medical clinics and basic medical counseling. This is generally because governments in LDCs do not have enough resources to sponsor sufficient medical programs. Many LDCs also lack medical professionals as a result of underfunded educational systems. When people cannot visit clinics regularly, they do not get the counseling they need to prevent illness and often end up incapacitated by easily- curable illnesses and parasites, such as worms.

Underfunded Education:

Many citizens of the Third World also lack access to education. Since governments in LDCs do not have funds to provide an educational system for all students, they often create unreasonably hard standardized testing systems to prevent students from graduating; and even when they do pass the tests, they are often held back because there simply are not enough resources to support them. Without access to basic and vocational education, new generations in LDCs are being severely limited in both future choices and ability to contribute to the country’s development.

Inadequate Access to Nutritious Food:

Much of the Third World lacks the money and resources to eat or grow a nutritious diet--and instead must subsist on one meal each day of starchy local food staples and vegetables. This leads to severe undernutrition in both adults and children, the often-fatal malnutrition-infection cycle in infants and young children, and high-incidence of diabetes in adults. Many people--specifically in certain geographic areas--also lack the means to cook meals. This causes those affected to choose between hunger and food- borne illness.

Inadequate Access to Improved Water & Sanitation Facilities:

These two problems are actually intimately linked: in areas where people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, they often end up contaminating sources of groundwater with human waste, which often leads to the spread of worms and water-borne illness. Inadequate access to improved water sources, such as pumps and wells, forces people in geographically isolated areas to spend hours each day just retrieving water, often from dirty sources. This prevents most people from getting an adequate amount of clean drinking water, raising incidence of water-borne illness and general dehydration.

Author: Isaiah Hull

Stock exchange - Now poverty removal

Stock exchange - Now poverty removal

Years ago, ticker tape is the known machine inside the stock exchange used mainly to trade stock movements by recording every transactions and relaying the results. Be as it may, ‘tick’ is a term used to describe the slight movement of stocks.

However, it is dangerous for a novice to venture into stock exchange without a bit of knowledge on how to translate ticker tape readings, because for one transaction, the tape would record several characters and symbols such as:

Symbol {1} - it’s an indicator that reveals the stocks that is being traded by the investors.

Symbol {2} - shows the number of shares traded. For instance, if the number of shares were in thousands, the reading could be something like 4k for 4000.

Symbol {3} - are numbers that designate the trade & the price of that particular stock. This is also known as the last bid price.

Symbol {4} - are either an up arrow to show that price of stock is headed up compared to yesterday’s closing price or it will be a down arrow showing that the stock price is headed lower.

Symbol {5} - are set of numbers showing range of change in the price of the stock for the better or the worse.

You could imagine the tears and rigorous stages investors have to pass through before investing or trading in stock exchange. Thanks to technology-such tears are now removed because the days of ticker tape being used are over, the modern day ticker tapes are now electronic. The only place you are likely to see a ticker tape machine is in a museum. Electronic trading now replaces ticker tape.

Gradually, instant stock buying and selling came into limelight. Yet with another problem in the financial settlement period which in most cases often takes much, much longer time. It is possible to buy a stock and delay the payment for another 10 business days. This is a common practice to try to sell the stock for more than its worth before you pay for it, in an attempt to make a profit

Today, stock exchange is not just a place where stock is being traded but, bonds, securities, commodities and countless other things are traded। The evolution of technology has change the module operand surrounding stock exchange business across the globe – one unintended result has been the rise of day trading.

Day Trading, makes you rich

This is an act of buying stock and selling it within one day’s time. This is only possible electronically. Therefore, it suggests that if day trading is done with the right foresight and financial advice, that person can make quite a lot of money each day. But day trading must be done with absolute care and among the factors often considered closely before investing includes the followings;

Trend trading –this is the simple idea that stocks that have been going up will continue to go up and stocks that have been going down will continue to go down. Investors here depend only on historical records/trend that clearly spelt out the positive or negative performances of the intended stocks to be traded within specific period of time.

Range trading – is the practice of buying and selling stocks once they reach their perspective heights and lows. Investors are alert to the movement of stocks and are able to identify the buying or selling time.

News trading – is the techniques that involve buying stocks that just released good news. Most investors listen to stock analysis on TV programs, news papers, and internet or consult specialist for proper guide as to the news that could lead to better trading output.

Day trading is increasing in popularity every year and it has become a steady source of income to the poor, though the potential for significant loss it’s very real, yet many investors still continue to walk the tight rope of day trading. Investors are more focused on making profit and perhaps planning for future retirements to alleviate poverty, as their investment is expected to yield returns. (www.povertysolutiontips.blogspot.com ).

Despite the simple made easy electronic stock trading system, millions of people all over the world are yet to take the full advantage of stock exchange as a means of removing/reducing poverty. I classify the militating factors as:

1. Education

In most underdeveloped world, where population is impregnated with illiterates, many who has the money to invest could not see the essence of keeping such capital with an unknown company in the name of making profit…….what if the company collapse? What happens to my hard earned money? These and many other questions swim endlessly in their mind, thus become passive to investment especially where they will not be opportune to participate fully.

2. Capital

Many have a lot of misconceptions about how much is actually needed to invest on stocks. Others says stock business are for the rich and not the poor, They are not out rightly wrong because some companies do not accept peanut, for instance you can not start trading in the NYSE unless you are a broker or en route your buy or sell order through a broker. And for you to be a broker on the NYSE, you will need to start with a million dollars.

Besides, there are growing companies or brokers that live on commissions through whom you can route your stock for buy or sell. I think stock investment is gradual and continuous depending on how much you intend to start with …the sky is your limit but the important thing is to begin. I started with just $25 trading some low priced stocks. You can do it too.

3. Fear of being defrauded

In fact, many stockbrokers are criminals and that underlines why investors select company is that are tested and trusted before investing their hard earn money. Not just getting a stockbroker but also working with a reliable and honest stockbroker calls for concern.

FEAR NOT

In conclusion, the idea of RISK should not becloud your thought, thus, depriving you from the gains and excitement of investment as a means to sustaining your wealth and lifestyle for better tomorrow. The successful men and women of our day are the radicals and aggressive investors because life itself is all about risk. BE FREE TO INVEST AND STOP WORKING FOR MONEY BUT LET YOUR MONEY WORK FOR YOU… BECAUSE STOCK EXCHANGE IS NOW WITHOUT TEARS.

ADELUSI80

3rd of 7 Tips From Gandhi on How To Free Yourself

3rd of 7 Tips From Gandhi on How To Free Yourself

American antiques figure Henry David Thoreau created a plan to Mathama Gandhi a century later on how to free the peoples of India from British rule in his essay On Civil Disobedience. In this Thoreau discusses his time in jail in protest of a new tax to support a war against Mexico during which American soldiers occupied Mexico City.

To Thoreau this was not what his idealized Athens on a hill should be doing to the neighbors, who surely had their rights to their own gardens. And in stating his protest openly and be able to survive jail yet continue to speak his mind was such an inspiration to Gandhi. America had a voice in the world and this voice for freedom and justice for all independent and free was a firm base to occupy.

The lawyer in Gandhi would be aware that across several seas another American, Franklin Roosevelt was prodding his new chum Wnston Churchill on fighting this good war so that all might be free was a worrysome aspect of friendship with the Americans. To Churchill, it seemed near impossible to convince these fine Americans of how things were in that regard.

Americans including that chap Thoreau seemed to have no appreciation of all the good that comes down from benevolent English rule over the lesser classes. He tried to little avail to assure the Americans that the British Empire was surely was all in the good order of things in the world as Churchill had lived his life.

To wear it even when fashion changed quickly after the war was to become a badge of honor. To make and wear your own became its reverse status symbol and a badge of honor: you were quietly standing up to the British. So whether he was on his way with his flock to the salt mines or jail, Gandhi wore his same salt encrusted robes to all. And even when beaten and bleeding he would gather himself and his followers into peaceful prayer groups and stay with their traditions and inner respect,which the British rarely had time to allow.

Britain, like ancient India of the Raj, ruled by the color of your skin: lighter on top, darkest at the bottom. Only an untouchable to carry your latrine, as would his son after him, and his father before. The seasons would change quickly and the modern world would intrude. The fashions of the French and the bikini and a loosening of moral strict behaviors were to wash over the shores of India without a ripple.

The ways to set yourself free was to understand this, and to incorporate a respect for grace and harmony as it flowed from your society to you need not change at the whim of fashion. And always when or where there are more primary needs then the issue at hand must be dealt with clearly and with no discrimination other than to discern the truth and speak it.

Gandhi would show that to apply ourselves to our task would mirror in our garb by the resonence and permanence of what was trying to be achieved. And how you evade the elusive butterfly of fashion will be determined by each item you wear. And how best to appear to be with the great fashion tide flow of life and not in resistance to that.

But in at a deeper closer and more personal way you can show who you are in such subtle ways as you know or dare. The small pin from a loved one or a momento of something no longer in fashion but still expressing something intangible inside you. Wear it. Time for the lady in purple in you to have her say. For, as Napoleon said of China, this is a sleeping giant, let her sleep. For when she awakens, her roar shall surely shake the earth.

Time, gentleman, please, to hear the dragons roar, feel the earth move. They love our fashions. They wear our fashions. They make our fashions. They send, we buy. Time to stand up to the tyranny of the mall. Respect for human dignity and reverence for the dream of the American antiques hero says go for it. Wear it and be proud.

If it is that out of fashion, it may even have been made in America. And you must feel comfort from that. By Derek Dashwood

Effective Strategies For Developing Your Will Power For Success In Life

Effective Strategies For Developing Your Will Power For Success In Life

There are a number of effective strategies for developing your will power for success in life. Many fail to realize it, but in order to achieve the success that you want to in life; a couple of things must be in place.

The first thing, of course, is the motivation to carry you through on your journey to success. The second element is the ability to develop and sustain will power. Here, I will expound on the very important element of developing a will power that will allow you the strength, and courage to press hard

- even in the most challenging of all situations

- until you have accomplished your goals in life.

Do you want to be successful? You must first have a strong will. At a very young age, each of us are taught that, in order to be successful, we must do well in our educational careers. The concept and ideal that education and success go hand in hand is a nice one, there is no underestimating that.

The fact is, however, that success has been achieved by a large number of individuals who had little to no education. There are a number of reasons why they were uneducated

- maybe they had to stay home to help their family bring in money, or maybe they were educated at home by parents that had little to no education

- there are many reasons for this.

However, the rationalization that education is a core essential for success is an incorrect rationalization. It is will power that drives a man to success. Education may make it easier - that's a given - the individual with "will" ALWAYS finds a "way"!If you want to succeed in life, you must have will power. I mean, that is the fact - plain and simple. Now that you know this, it is time to take action. So, where to start? Let's start with your goals. What is it that you want to achieve in life?

Where window.google_render_ad(); do you want to see yourself in one year? Why is it that you want to achieve what you do? Many people make the choice to set goals based on what they think their family, their friends, and their coworkers want them to do. They want to look "good".

Let me tell you right now, you will never "look good" by following the lead of another when it comes to YOUR life - that's right, YOUR LIFE - not theirs. What you have to do is politely excuse that person that is trying to lead you and take front and center. Once you take front and center, you are taking the first step towards properly developing your will power. Now, as you stand front and center, you know what is behind you.

You just came from the back, right? So, leave everything behind you - including negative thoughts, negative self talk, and, well, just anything negative. We are not looking back here, we have to move forward if we want to achieve success. If you have to, turn around and wave goodbye to everything behind you

- past perceptions, a low self image, a decrease in confidence, and whatever stands behind you - so that you can press on. Will power means taking what you know to be truth, creating an action plan to turn it into something productive and getting your feet moving! Now, that you are all excited and ready to go

- it is time to move out!!! Will power may try to test you on the journey down the road to success, but do not give in.

If you trip over a limb and fall, pick yourself up, think about the positive learning experience and move on. You will likely stumble

- if you can't catch yourself, pride yourself in falling gracefully, then pick up and move out. You may come face to face with some troubling mountains and hills

- that's ok.

All you do is push those obstructions out of your way! Stop at absolutely nothing in order to achieve your goals. When you are able to do this, it is then that you have truly achieved success!
By Kevin Sinclair

Small Businesses Doing Little to Save Themselves From "Fuel Poverty"

Small Businesses Doing Little to Save Themselves From "Fuel Poverty"

An independent survey commissioned by Electricity4Business, an electricity supplier targeting small and medium-sized enterprises, has found that despite fuel prices doubling in the past year, businesses are doing little to cut their energy bills.

With energy prices on the rise month on month for the past 22 months and wholesale costs now double what they were last year, households and businesses are paying more than ever for gas and electricity. As a result, a growing number of people are living in what the media and government have termed "fuel poverty", a new buzzword to describe those spending more than 10% of their income on fuel bills.

But while the focus has largely been on pensioners and families, small and mid-sized businesses are also feeling the pinch.To find out how hard businesses are being hit and what they are doing to cut their fuel bills, Electricity4Business recently commissioned an independent, nationwide survey of SMEs' energy usage.

The findings are worrying: many small businesses are actually in a worse state than consumers. Almost one in five small companies polled now suffer from fuel poverty with energy bills making up their second biggest cost.

"Traditionally, fuel bills have not always been at the top of the agenda for SMEs and owners with little time on their hands have been happy to assume that prices are comparable across the board," says Graham Paul, Sales and Marketing Director of Electricity4Business, an independent supplier of cheap electricity competing with the UK's six major energy suppliers. "Increasingly, however, small businesses are being forced to reassess their attitude to fuel costs.

A sandwich bar with several window.google_render_ad(); refrigerators used to paying an annual £1,800 for electricity will have to sell a lot more sandwiches to meet this year's electricity bill of £3,600."So while increased fuel costs are eating into profits, what are businesses doing to cut their bills?

The answer, according to the survey, is very little. Some 18% polled say they simply "pay the bills" and almost a third do not understand the breakdown of their electricity bill.More worryingly still, the survey showed that over half of businesses owners have never read the small print of their electricity contracts.

According to Paul, this makes them vulnerable to exploitation, giving the "big six" energy suppliers free rein to hike prices and lock customers into expensive long-term contracts.

Jonathan Elliott of B2B comparison website MakeItCheaper.com agrees: "By understanding their contracts and benefiting from the support available from alternative suppliers and industry bodies, businesses can reduce the financial impact of high energy bills.

"As one of these alternative suppliers, Electricity4Business positions itself as the champion of the small business - not only by offering fair and transparent pricing, but also by providing advice to customers on energy efficiency. "Sadly, our survey shows, we still have a long way to go to convince businesses that there is a cheaper way.

But with wholesale prices soaring, the case for switching to a supplier like E4B is stronger than ever," he adds.A summary of the survey can be downloaded in pdf format from www.electricity4business.co.uk.

The document concludes by outlining five ways in which businesses can cut their fuel bills, from shopping around and reading the small print of contracts to switching suppliers and improving energy efficiency in the workplace.

By Emma Churchill

Just Working Hard is Not the Way to Get Rich!

I learned an important lesson very early in life: Working hard will not make you rich. Now, I'm not suggesting that sitting around on your sofa all day is going to make you a millionaire; but I am suggesting that just working hard is not the way to get rich, and in some ways, it is even counterproductive to attracting wealth.

Here's a good example: the small Georgia town where I was born is full of some of the hardest working men and women I've ever known. But are they rich? Nope. In fact most of them are living from paycheck to paycheck, just struggling to get by. Many of these people get up before sunrise and work double shifts, six days a week. But no matter how hard they work, they never seem to get ahead.

Most are just trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. So what gives? Could it be that becoming wealthy requires something other than hard work? And if so, what does it take?Here's the deal: most people are poor NOT because they don't work hard; they are poor because they lack imagination.

Now I know that might sound harsh; but it's the plain truth. Generally, people don't live in poverty because they are lazy: they live in poverty because they have not adequately developed their imaginations. Creative and imaginative thinking are absolutely essential if you plan on living a rich, fulfilling life.

But without these things, you can work as hard as you want, and you will probably still wind up just barely getting by.I am aware that many well-intentioned people will tell you that the way to get rich is to work harder, longer and faster than other people; but frankly, this is BS.

Hard work is all well and good, but obviously something more is required in order to become rich. And that "something" is imagination, plain and simple.You have to exercise and develop your creativity, and learn to "see" opportunities and options, even when they are not obvious to others. But how do you develop this skill? Simple; you practice.Contrary to popular opinion, imagination can be learned.

And in the same way that you can improve your memory by practicing, you can also improve your creativity by using it regularly. You can exercise and strengthen your imagination, just like you would exercise and strengthen your muscles. Like any other skill, you get better with practice.Art, music and other creative pursuits are perfect in this regard.

They require creative thinking and imagination. Even crossword puzzles and sudoku are beneficial; they help us look for creative solutions and think "outside the box."It's interesting that many people work-out three or four times a week (or more) to keep their body in good shape, but very few of us actually "work out" our creativity and imagination.

Maybe that's why there are a lot more poor people in the world than rich people? It's something to think about...If the way to get rich was just working hard, I can assure you there would be a lot more wealthy people in the world than there are now.

It is only through developing our imagination that we can attract success and wealth, and live a life of abundance. By Jon Mercer