Poverty

There was a couple of articles in the Saturday spec that I thought warranted some comment from me in some fashion. Not because I have anything particularly intelligent to say, more that my ire gets fired up and I feel the need to "spout off". So here's one of the lastest.

The article I'm mentioning was the latest in the spec's "Poverty Project" where they mentioned some really good initiatives that some organizations are doing. For examlple, Sir John A. MacDonald secondary school raises somewhere near one hundred thousand dollars each year to do things like run a nutrition program, provide gently used clothing, and give bursaries for bus fares. For those who don't know, Sir John A. sits in downtown Hamilton and sees some of the poorest teens going.

While these programs and others like them are certainly to be congratulated and emulated, they are not groundbreaking. They were conceived and implemented by people who, and here is the kicker, people who care. People who do more than sit in a high level boardroom saying "we should really do something". These are people who say:"Here's the plan, let's make it work."

Obviously money doesn't grow on trees and one can only fund-raise in the community so much before tapping out that resource. So where can we get the money? I have an idea.

When Hamilton was throwing it's hat in the ring for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the City of Hamilton committed more than one hundred ten million dollars to the cause. Have a look at that number $110,000,000.00; one hundred ten MILLION DOLLARS. You know what they say, "A million here, a million there and pretty soon you're talking about some real money!".

So between here and 2014 (total of nine years at the time in 2005) that's what? A little more than 12 million dollars a year? They committed this money knowing they are running around a 30 million dollar deficit each year. My point is this, if the City in all it's splendor can commit that kind of cash to a sporting event, why won't they use it to feed some hungry kids? More importantly, why isn't this question being screamed at city councilors on a daily basis. For me, I sent a letter to the spec (didn't get published) and an e-mail to my city councilor (didn't get a reply) but I am only one man.

I am one man who sees on an almost day to day basis the poverty some people live in, the squalor they call home, and the garbage they call dinner. Yesterday coming out of the Freeway I encountered a woman who was dressed completely inappropriately for the weather who asked me for a light, and I couldn't give her that (I stopped smoking some time ago). She then asked if I knew where she could get a meal for a cheap price, I didn't have any money on me but I did have half a loaf of "Jesus' body" that we were using that night and I gave her that. I wish I could have done more.

Is it right to judge a society by how we treat our elderly, our children, and our down-trodden? If so how do we fare? I shudder to think.