End of Poverty

Sophia Nguyen
Fremont CA
William Hopkins Junior High School

Every year, over a million ton of food is wasted. Every day, the number of homeless people increases. Every second, a person starves from hunger or malnutrition. People who have homes to live in and enough food to put on the table are lucky and they should appreciate what they have. Many Americans’ homes have been foreclosed since they cannot afford to pay. Many people have lost their jobs. Our economy is failing. However, compared with other undeveloped country, such as Vietnam, our country is still in a better position. Indeed, our country not only needs to change in its economic, but also our ways of living by trying to save and reuse as much as we can from food, goods, and energy. To me, I try my best every day, to be able to contribute my abilities to help orphans and “street children”. I hope there will be a day when we can end all of the poverty on the world.

A busy, crowded market is where I was at Vietnam last summer. What I noticed was a large group of children around my age or younger selling various items such as peanuts, gum, and lottery tickets at a nearby gas station. These kids were called “street children” and they were draped with dirty, over used clothes as they walked with their bare foot in very hot and humid weather. Some children carried two baskets filled with items to sell on a wooden stick across their back. It seemed as if the children carrying the baskets would collapse because the baskets looked ten times bigger than the children’s size and weight. My mother explained that they needed to work to earn money to support their younger siblings or parents who might not be able to work. In Vietnam, life is tough for many people. Some people might work for a whole day, but barely puts a full meal on the table. I saw many children who were waiting in the front of small restaurants and some vendors that sold food on the streets. They were waiting to see if anyone who didn’t finish their meals and might leave a little bit of food in the bows or the plates. They would be jump over and fight with each other to see who could get the food left over first. They all got yelling and hitting from the owner’s restaurants. However, the children were still waiting around those places without leaving. To them, that was the only places where they could fill up their stomach with the unwanted food from other people. I couldn’t control the tears were rolling on my face.

“A one thousand Li journey begins with a single step,” and so does change. Being Asian American make me think and care deeply about those “street children”. I could not forget the hunger for food and basic needs in their innocent eyes. After I came back from my trip, I decided to make a website where people could donate things for orphans and “street children”. Donations could be used clothes, and school supplies because these items are needed. Even if the school supplied, or back-packs or shoes were used, they would still cherish them because it might be the first time that they had back-packs instead of carrying their books in ripping plastic bags, or it could be the first pair of shoes they ever got. To Vietnamese children, they think the United State is a heavenly place where children can get enough food, a house to live in and good education. We do not live like “street children”, so we don’t know the value of what we have and sometimes we don’t even appreciated it.

Every day and every second, many people on the world live in the poverty. However, some people in America are still throwing away uneaten food and goods frivolously and did not realize that they could use those wasted goods to help other people. Our economy is in a recession and of course, we need to change. If change doesn’t happen with one small step then change will never start at all. Only if we are determined to fix our economy we will be able to rise up again. Then we will be able to help other people to end the poverty. I hope with the money if I could win from this contest, I will be able to buy more school supplies, caps and shoes for the orphans and “street children”. I know I could not end the poverty right away, but at least, I could bring some smiles and some change in the lives of these unfortunate children in Vietnam today.