More
than 50% of people in the rural communities in Nigeria and Africa,
are exposed to economic conditions in which they lack sufficient
income to obtain certain minimal levels of health services,
food, housing, clothing, and education, generally recognized
as necessary to ensure an adequate standard of living. These
Individuals happen to have a lower-than-average ability to earn
income for many reasons and are therefore
poor. Historically, this group has included the elderly, people
with disabilities, single mothers, and members of some minorities.
In
Africa today, a significantly large group in the poverty-stricken
population consists of single mothers and their children;
these families account for about one-third of all poor people.
Not only do women who work outside the home generally earn
less than men, but a single mother often has a difficult time
caring for children, running a household, and earning an adequate
income.
Did you know that according to news reports: 1 in every 8
girls and 1 in every 10 boys in Nigeria and some parts of
Africa are forced into street hawking and other forms of child
labor due to the poverty of their parents and also as a result
of exploitation by child labor mafias who engage in selling
children or hiring them out as cheap labor in exchange for
money and other material benefits thus constituting a modern
form of child slavery?
Added to this disturbing trend, international research findings
reveal that over sixty percent of the total population in
Nigeria and other west African countries live on less than
one U.S dollar a day. Coupled to all these problems, is the
widespread devastation and destruction of crops by pest, drought,
flood, erosion and other natural disasters. These factors
among the widespread transmission of HIV is a development
challenge intermingling issues of inequality, culture, sexuality
and poverty experienced in Africa.
TWDO from reshaping information, education and communication
programmes within the grassroot, to financing of small scale
businesses, are taking steps to counter these negative trends
by:
Embarking
on pragmatic reports of issues that will bring about improvements
on the prevention and spread of HIV.
Leveraging on international research findings on genetically
modified crops to boost food production in poor rural communities,
thereby making food widely available and at cheaper rates.
Providing women, youth and infact parents with skills and
helping them get finance that will enable them to become job
providers and not job seekers. By doing this we believe we
can be able to at least take them above the poverty level
and also keep the hawking children off the streets.
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