Getting to Know Your Contacts

     While surfing the web to gain international contact with an organization or early childhood professional to gather information on childhood poverty, I remain unsuccessful in my efforts to connect to an early childhood professional overseas.  Turning to the Information on childhood poverty, I began exploring a website from the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre.   The website was designed for any one person or organization that has a concern for childhood poverty.  It contains knowledge for tackling Childhood Poverty. (CHIP)  While the website gives insight on many issues that relate to childhood poverty in several countries, I chose to turn my focus on China.

     China has made strides in tackling poverty; however the largest portion of its poverty is still in Western China. (CHIP)  ” Many of the children living in poverty are in groups such as children of migrants, street children, children affected by HIN/AIDS and children with disabilities.”  (CHIP)  China has the highest education and health levels than most countries with equivalent incomes. In addition, 85 per cent of the population over 15 is literate. (CHIP) This is interesting to me because in the US we have so many children struggling with reading even in high school. It makes me wonder what we are doing wrong.  China has faced economic hardship and they too have been faced with job lost. This hardship has caused many families to have problems paying for their children to attend school. (CHIP) The fact that they have to pay in order for their children to go to school is very interesting.  This means children that are living in poverty do not attend school and will grow up to become adults living in poverty.

Resource:

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP). (n.d.). Knowledge for tackling childhood poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/