I won't lie, this assignment hasn't been easy. While I was able to contact 2 professionals living outside of the United States, keeping in contact with them has not been easy. I assume that they are probably living similarly busy lives, just like I am, and just like many of my fellow students are. It's not easy working a full time job, working on a masters degree, and just living life in general. So, while I didn't receive a response from either of my contacts this week, I did do some research on poverty levels in children in Israel, which is where one of my contacts lives.
According to the Israel National Council for the Child, over a third of the nation's children live in poverty (http://www.timesofisrael.com/one-third-of-israeli-children-live-in-poverty-study-finds/). Because of this high rate of poverty there is also increased incidents of child abuse and other violent acts towards children. One third translates in to about 885,000 children living in poverty in Israel.
In a previous conversation with my contact in Israel she noted that the center she works in serves children of more affluent families, and she knew that this wasn't the norm for most in Israel. We both felt fortunate that we were able to get our hands on resources that many children do not have access to. My last email to her posed a question "What can we do to help?" I'll let you know what her response is.
Reference
Times of Israel. (2013). One third of Israeli children live in poverty study finds. Retrieved from http://www.timesofisrael.com/one-third-of-israeli-children-live-in-poverty-study-finds/
Hi Machaela, I understand the challenges of maintaining contact with everyone having such busy lives. I made contact the first time quite quickly, but then it took almost two weeks to hear back regarding the issue of poverty, so even though our topic changed for this week, I updated my Blog with the information that I received.
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised to read the high percentage of children living in poverty in Israel. It is challenging enough to live in poverty, but to add more stress on the children by also having the increase of child abuse is hard to imagine.
You said that you were going to try and have the children in your program try and make connections with the children in Israel. Have you had the time to start or think about it?......Just one more thing to add to your list!!! :)
Thank you for sharing!
Take care,
Stephanie