As the world slowly fights against the COVID – 19, we sit in our homes with dreams in our mind and hope in our heart; but the same can hardly be said for the poor and the deprived, who know that once this war gets over, another one will come along — the war for food, water and basic shelter. So let us bring to people’s notice that as we sit safely in our homes, there are people out there fighting a battle on a daily basis.

It is funny, how today technology has developed so much, that we have sent orbiters to the Mars, invented artificial hearts – yes, you read it right, we humans have also invented artificial hearts and yet, not a cure for poverty. But, what is even more heartbreaking is that there is a fruit in a rich man’s shampoo and not in a poor person’s plate. If this is so, how can we say that the world has developed? Spending so much money on hair gels and lipsticks and so many other cosmetic products to make ourselves look better doesn’t bother us, but giving 100 Rs. to a roadside beggar or buying them a meal and making their day better is something that we just refuse to do.

About 10% of the world’s population is living in extreme poverty, living on less than $2 a day. That is about over 700 million people living on ₹151 a day. There are 2.2 billion children living in the world and 1 billion of them live in poverty. So… you still want an iPhone? In fact, according to an Oxfam report, if the world’s 100 richest people pooled their collective earnings in 2012, they could’ve ended extreme world poverty 4 time over!!!

So, what is the use of fancy cars and posh houses, when you can’t give a child clean, drinking water?

We have read so many articles and heard the news of children dying of poverty because of drinking water that was contaminated and of hunger. We see so many WattsApp forwards about the poverty in India and what do we do? We, think, “Oh, that’s so sad.” And we forward it to all our friends and family and after 2 hours, we forget it.

Sometimes, I want to ask God why she allows poverty, famine and injustice when she could do something about it, but I’m afraid she might just ask me back the same thing. And not wrongly so. Why do we sit idly and laugh at memes and videos when there are lives dying? Is this what humanity has been reduced to? There are so many NGOs and other organizations which work for the welfare and betterment of the poor communities, and with all the technological developments it just takes a few clicks to donate an amount, and still, we don’t. We have left the poor so malnourished, so deprived, that even if they do speak up, the Voice of the Poor goes unheard and uncared.

The post The Voice of the Poor- Essay By Nithiya Sree appeared first on exploreabc.com.

It was first initiated on the year 2010 by the Department of Public Information, instituting language days for each of the Organization’s six official languages, that is Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish.

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright who is most popularly known as the “World’s Greatest Dramatist of All Time” and the greatest writer in the English language. He is also referred to as England’s National Poet. His prolific works includes around 39 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems etc. Shakespeare’s birth date (April 23^rd, 1564) and death date (April 23^rd, 1616) have speculated many historians as it shares the same date, April 23^rd. Most of his popular works were produced during 1589-1613. He has written notable plays in variable genres like:

1. Tragicomedies (romance) among them is The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice.
2. Tragedies which include Hamlet, Othello
3. Comedy like As You Like It, The Winters Tale
4. Histories such as Henry V, Richard II

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend.”

 Isn’t the above lines beautifully written? It is written by none other than the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare in his popular play, Hamlet.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the road less travelled by”

What about this one? The above lines were written by Robert Frost in the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’ which is an enormously popular but yet misunderstood poem.

English is such a striking language, isn’t it? With famous plays like ‘Romeo and Juliet’, to poems like ‘Lord Ullin’s Daughter’, to stories and many more. English language is beautifully scripted and includes words from various languages which make it more appealing. Like for example, we all love cookies as it’s a delicious snack. The word COOKIE itself is derived from the Dutch. And the moving animation pictures we watch, that is CARTOON is derived from Italian.

English is often referred to as a “world language”, or the lingua franca of the modern era. Why is this so? It is because English is the most widely spoken language in the world and is the official language of many countries around the globe. There are millions of English speakers across the globe. But what makes English an important language, not just a widespread one? English is an important language for all kinds of professional and personal goals. Whether you’re just starting in English, or you need some motivation to keep going, understanding the importance of the language will help you reach fluency and change your life in various aspects.

If you include people who speak it as a second language, an estimated 1 billion people worldwide speak English! On top of this, 67 countries have English as their official language and 27 countries have English as their second official language. Why is this? Throughout the centuries, the British Empire expanded and ruled over many different countries, including India, the United States etc. In many cases, the British forced the people they ruled over to speak English and some of these countries still speak English, even if it is not their main language.

Other than the English Language day, UN around the world also celebrates 5 more separate days, each dedicated to one of the Organization’s 5 official languages besides English.

The days are as follows:

Arabic (18 December)

Chinese (20 April)

French (20 March)

Russian (6 June)

Spanish (23 April)

The purpose of the UN’s language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.

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Poverty is a word that has regrettably become familiar to almost all of us. So, anyway, what is poverty? Poverty is not only the lack of income and basic resources but also includes malnutrition, hunger, lack of education and social discrimination. It is a fact that more than 700 million people which is about Ten percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty, without access to proper education, sanitation, health services, food and more.

There are basically two types of poverty: relative poverty and absolute poverty. People living under relative poverty are not in total poverty but don’t enjoy the same types of comforts and standard of life as others in the country. It is changeable depending upon the economic growth of the country.On the other hand, people living under absolute poverty don’t have access to a decent lifestyle. They don’t get enough food, water, sanitation, health services and education.

There are many reasons for poverty. One of the main reasons is inequality in society. When a community is not able to participate in decision-making, their interests are often ignored. So, their problems are left unsolved. Then, there is the case of conflicts and wars. When a country is attacked or at a state of war, the people are the ones who suffer. Bombings and air strikes often destroy entire homes and kill thousands. The survivors are forced to flee without food, water or any resources at all. This is the case in countries like Sudan and Yemen. Some countries have a poor infrastructure and thus cannot provide all the necessities for their citizens, like proper roads, food, water, sanitation, health services and employment.

Ending poverty is the first of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. The idea was to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals ’s by 2030. But unfortunately, as of now, the world is not on track to eradicate poverty by 2030.

The ‘no poverty’ Sustainable Development Goals  could be set back even more because of the current Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis has caused several companies to shut down for the time being and as a result, hundreds of people have lost their jobs. In the US alone, more than 26.4 million unemployment claims have been reported.

But, having a job doesn’t guarantee a decent living. In fact, 8 per cent of employed workers and their families worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2018.

Poverty is an issue that has to be taken seriously by each and every one of us. There are several reasons for this but the thing is that as human beings, all of our well-being is linked to each other. Millions of people living in poverty can drastically affect our countries as well as the world’s economic growth.  But, above all of these reasons, it is because all of us are humans and each and every one of us deserves the same opportunities and comforts.

So, what can we do? The world’s governments are the ones in charge of making sure that proper sanitation, health services, education and work is available to all. But we can make ourselves aware and express our views and opinions about poverty on social media and other platforms. There are also several charities in the world that collect money for families that live below the international poverty line. We can do something for them by donating the slightest amount. After all, every act counts.

There are millions of children, women and men around the world who live in poverty. Some kids are so starved that they can barely stand and their ribs are clearly defined. They don’t have even a morsel of food to eat and clean water is scarce. The houses are just simple mud huts with straw roofs.

Compared to them, we are the luckiest people on earth. We have a proper home, go to an amazing school and have all the things we would ever want. Only when we actually compare their situation with ours, do we realize how blessed we are.

In short, poverty is a problem that has plagued the world for a long time. We will be only able to eradicate poverty if we come together and work as one. After all, our fellow humans are in need, and we need to help them. No matter what we are all human in the end.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”-Mahatma Gandhi

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The melody is heard all over.

With their sweet voice, they bring happiness to all.

Some big, some small,

Some colourful and some are such beauties!

Save them! Save them from being shot!

They are such beautiful creations of God.

Don’t lock them up in cages,

The sky is their home since ages.

Who are we to hurt them?

We have no right, my dear, we have no right.

Let us set them free and see their glee.

Let us save them……come on let us save them.

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We really enjoyed our stay. We plucked mangoes, visited temples, and sometimes I took my grandmothers tab to watch my favourite football team matches on YouTube. We used to peep into our old albums and at times, some of those old pictures looked funny. After one week, my father returned to Goa and my mother took us to our maternal grandparent’s house. By this time my grandmother was discharged from hospital and was advised to take rest at home.

After two days, on 24th March, Government of India took a decision to lock down the country to fight against the COVID 19 Virus. So we decided to stay till the situation returns to normal.

My parents advised me and my little brother to wash our hands with soap at regular intervals. Whenever I want to cough or sneeze I cover my mouth with a towel or tissue. All our family members followed this routine without excuse. Nowadays we are not going out for shopping, movies, etc. I am waiting for this Corona to vanish so that my cousin brothers and sisters can join us for our summer holidays.

I am trying to learn new things during these unexpected holidays. Almost every day, My self and my brother accompany our grandfather to our agricultural farm. There we help him to sow seeds, water our nutmeg trees, coconut trees, cashew trees etc. My little brother enjoys this very much as he likes playing with water. My grandmother and mother cook healthy meals from organic vegetables from our own land.

Evenings are more playful for us, we play badminton and football. Some times our grandfather also joins and then it’s really fun. We have a beautiful garden and we water our plants and orchids in our garden. It’s beautiful to see the happiness of plants when we water them. It looks like they dance in happiness when water is sprinkled on them. When this lockdown gets over, it will be a sad moment to leave my grandparents and this place but at the same time, I will be happy to rejoin my father and friends and to continue my schooling.

I hope everyone will follow the rules of our Government to throw this coronavirus out of our Mother Earth so that our Mother Earth will regain her beauty and well being of all.

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There are many ways in which water gets polluted. Volcanic eruptions and the growth of algae on lakes and ponds are some of the ways in which water gets polluted naturally. By dumping garbage wastes into the water bodies, we are not just polluting the water but we are actually disturbing the whole food chain. Ship wreckage, spilling tones of oil into the sea, kills lots of aquatic organisms. Certain species of turtles are becoming extinct.

Even though 70% of the earth is filled with water only 3% is available as drinking water. The extensive release of toxic chemical wastes of industries into the water bodies is worsening the situation. Because of such things, many villages are suffering from various diseases. Kidney failure, skin infections, vision problems and even cancer is caused by using such polluted water.

 Disposing of agricultural wastes and household drainage water into rivers and streams are also adding to water pollution. Many states are now setting up wastewater treatment plants to purify water. This system is found to be very effective. It’s not only used for industrial purposes but is found to be as clean as drinking water. Our government is taking various steps to make India clean. Holy rivers like Ganga and Yamuna are now being cleaned. Our ancestors worshipped nature as God, but we are polluting, protecting nature and preventing pollution will be the true way of worshipping God.

If the present scenario, if pollution continues, I feel two generations next to me will have to see water in the museum. We kids have our rights over the natural resources. Conservation of water by reducing water pollution is the immediate need of the hour. Let us take a firm stand that we will  fight to prevent water pollution and will do whatever we can so that our next generation can survive.

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