Lack of Education Leads to Impoverishment and Disempowerment

Lack of Education Leads to Impoverishment and Disempowerment

Bandung, June 7 2010

This little girl was drenched from head to toe in the rain. She walks between cars stuck in the traffic jam trying to sell sets of lesung batu (mortar and pestle) slung across her tiny shoulders. Mortar and pestle sets are not exactly what one buys off the street so its not surprising that she's not had much sales. You can see the desperation in her eyes. Makes me wonder where her next meal is coming from, whether her parents would beat her when she returns home empty-handed. Poverty is so terrible ~ drives people to desperation. Education is the solution, it is empowering.

It is the duty of the State to provide free education as education is the only way out of the poverty trap. Some countries provide free education for primary schoolchildren; others make it a criminal offence for parents not to send their children to secondary school. Enlightened countries like France, Germany and Finland provide free education up to PhD level. Some countries with burgeoning populations cannot even afford to build enough primary schools to provide every child with a place in school. Makes one wonder if they are setting themselves up for a future criminal/social time bomb...

The little boys (one of them was bare-footed) fare no better. They earn a pittance (1,000 rupiahs = 30 sen) to hail a taxi from the street for you and to escort you to the taxi under the shade of their umbrellas ~ rain or shine...

Without education, their future is bleak for you can also see adults plying a similar trade ~ selling newspapers, cigarettes, toys, lottery tickets and etc. ~ at traffic jams and street corners.

The Poverty Trap

Without education, this is the future those little children can look forward to. In fact, they have been so deprived of hope that this is the future many of them aspire to. That is why the good work of enlightened people like Razak Ahmad and others who help provide an education for these children should be applauded and whole-heartedly supported.

When a government imports one million of these adult street "traders" to get enough votes to bring down an opposition State government, as they did in Sabah's infamous 'Project M,' doesn't it make you wonder: "What were they thinking?"

Universities are powerful builders of human capital. Yet in the headlong race for a more globally-competitive generation, are we sacrificing serendipity? Higher education has never been only about Grade Point Averages and networking, its also been about being young and open-minded. Its been about experiencing life and making memories. As Emerson said, memory “holds together past and present and gives continuity and dignity to human life.”

To view the photos, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/1759664068/posts/10206468806876510?s=1759664068&sfns=mo

Copyright 2003-2019 Azlan Adnan This blog post is sponsored by The Green Party of Malaysia