Elizabeth's Stressor & Poverty & Children in Sicily, Italy
Elizabeth's Stressor
Growing up in Los Angeles, California as a child my friend, Elizbeth, experienced the stressor of poverty. Growing up it was her, her brother, and her mother. Unfortunately, her father was never around. Therefore, the financial obligations were solely her mother’s responsibility. However, this was difficult for her mother for several reasons. Her mother had heart disease and was an immigrant. Although, her mother was a legal citizen of the United States she was a very prideful. Her mother never wanted to contribute to the stereotype of being an immigrant that wanted a handout from the government. Her mother had a hard time covering all the bills. The did not receive resources or assistance from anyone or organization. Her mother encouraged in her to never depend on handouts and to not depend on the help of others. To compensate with the stressor of poverty Elizabeth began helping her mother stock and organize toys at the swap meet her mother worked at by the age of 6. In addition, she would assist her mother with household duties. Assisting her mother made her feel valued and important. It made her feel good to provide for her family.
Poverty & Children in
Sicily, Italy
In less than two months I
will be moving to Sigonella, Italy which is in Sicily. I am curious to know
more about the children of this area of the world. A stressor that impacts the
development of children in this region of Italy is poverty. Poverty in southern
Italy is more severe than northern Italy. Poverty has
many effects on children. For example, it affects their nutrition, mental, physical
and emotional health. Poverty can be incredibly stressful for the entire family
not just the children. Due to the poverty level in Sicily, there is an inequality
in health care and health care treatments. According to, What Can We Do to
Improve Child Health in Southern Italy?, “Regional inequalities in the provision of social and educational
services can have a profound effect on the welfare of Italian children. There
is evidence to suggest that the south of Italy has inadequate public services
for its needs” (Bonati & Campi, 2005)
To minimize the harm of poverty the Social Card was created. According
to, Top 10 facts about ending hunger in Italy, “the Social Card is a debit card charged on a
bimonthly basis – financed by public resources and private donations – and is
used to purchase groceries and pay basic utilities.” (Sarabia,
2016). However, there are issues associated
with this card such as there are a limited amount of people eligible for the
card. In addition, the Costa Crociere Foundation was formed. The Costa Crociere
Foundation provides food assistance and provides shelter for families that are
without a home.
Know that I know poverty is an issue in Sicily. I am sure that during my
stay there I seek ways to assist the community within Sigonella with issues
that are affected by poverty. I am determined to create donation drives to
provide supplies to those affected by poverty.
Reference
Bonati, M & Campi, R. (2005). What Can We Do to Improve Child Health in Southern Italy?. PLoS Medicine, 2 (9), 1-14. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188255/#
Sarabia, D. (2016). Top 10 facts about ending hunger in Italy. Retrieved from: https://borgenproject.org/top-10-facts-ending-hunger-in-italy/
It sounds like your friends mom was a very strong hard working women! She clearly loved and cared for her children as much as possible, and raised a daughter who even at a young age admired her mom and her strength!! I cannot imagine growing up like that, but it certainly makes me appreciate all that I have and am able to give to my babies even more.
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DeletePoverty is a hard thing to overcome. I have heard of children growing up and helping their parents provide for the family. I am sorry your friend Elisabeth went through this.
ReplyDeleteI love that you looked up Sicily because you are moving there. And the fact that you are already thinking about ways to help the community and families dealing with poverty is inspirational to me.
As Kathleen mentioned "Poverty is a hard thing to overcome." Its said that Hunger and Poverty in Sicily is scarier than the pandemic (D'ignoti, 2020). It's good to know that you plan on assisting those in the community during your stay in Sicily, because if poverty and hungry is scarier than this pandemic, its real. Great post this week, and I absolutely love the look of your page.
ReplyDeleteReferences
D'ignoti, S. (2020). Mafia, Poverty, and the Pandemic. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/04/coronavirus-pandemic-southers-italy-mafia-poverty
Hello Channette,
ReplyDeletePoverty is one thing that a lot of children go through especially during this pandemic. At the age of 6, children should be enjoying life but instead children who's family is poor have to go grow up faster than they should. However, that can be a good thing because it teaches children responsibility and a sense of belonging, but it can also be a negative thing because when they grow up they can resent their parents because they feel like they were robbed of their childhood. I never knew Sicily had a high poverty rate. They use a card similar to what we have her called the EBT card which families can use to purchase food and if they have cash can be used to purchase things. That's good that when you move to Sicily you will help out in your community.