Some Poor Do Not Know How to Improve Themselves; Rely on Doleouts or Blame the Government

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Pardon me for feeling like this; it does not mean I degrade the poor, but I want to clear things, to help. One can not be totally poor if he will try his best to improve his life.

One way is finding a way to earn something; one can start from scratch. By scratch I mean, offering your greatest asset, your human power to do things you are capable of like cleaning the house, doing the laundry, or using whatever knowledge or expertise you have.

Another is doing some small business, even without a capital. Some people succeed by just starting a business on a consignment basis. They will get the products they will sell from a supplier, then on the agreed date, they will remit whatever goods they had sold. There is an agreement set by the supplier on the amount to be remitted. Of course, the reseller of the goods can set his own price, but it should be a reasonable one so he can have many buyers or loyal clients.

From this strategy, if you have a good business sense, you can earn something for your family’s needs, and can have some extra savings which in the future will become your own capital for another business.

For women or stay-at-home moms, selling cosmetics is one of the easiest form of a small business. There are cosmetic companies who offer many benefits for their resellers. Moms can use their social circle, mothers who are like them too, and they can even recruit them as resellers. They can use the social media like Facebook in creating a page to advertise their products.

Instead of wasting away the time the whole day chatting online and offline, they can turn the hours into productive endeavors. They can plant ornamental plants or vegetables if they have available space in their yards. They can sell them later on, and have their own supply of vegetables which is often raised organically. It is healthy and economical too. They do not have to go to the grocery or market to buy vegetables for the family.

Examples of vegetables that grow so easily depending on the climate are moringa and sweet potato. Their leaves are nutritious and are easy to cook. Just steam and put some soy sauce or lemon or calamansi as dip, and the family can have a nutritious meal.

I wonder why some poor families complain that they have nothing to eat. They can go to the market and offer to help the vendors there; and later, they can go home with some fish or vegetables for the family. One only needs to be creative or imaginative in cooking a healthy but cheap meals, like a combination of green leafy vegetables like moringa or water parsley (kangkong) and a small amount of anchovies. Just add a tomato, a pinch of salt and garlic, and it’s done! No one can go hungry or malnourished if they will think of ways to earn a little and cook cheap nutritious food.

Do Not Depend on Doleouts

Do not wait for the government to give you food. A poor person can have self confidence and regard himself highly if he is capable of uplifting his life in whatever capacity he can think of.

Some people blame the government for being poor. But if they strived hard to attain education, they will not be poor forever. They can work in a company and spend for all his needs. The government is there to assist people who like to help themselves.

It is just a give and take process. And the government should do its part in spending people’s money (taxes) to provide social services for the poor. One of such projects is providing them interest-free capital for starting a small business. It is not doleout because it is a loan which should be returned at a given time, so it can be allotted for other people who also need it.

So being poor and remaining poor depends on a person’s determination and ability to uplift his life.