Research Into Poverty

Research Into Poverty

Poverty in western countries is trivial compared to eastern countries, that is why people often ignore the poverty in western countries but this should not be ignored due to our affluence. No one should be homeless, under housed or go through intense hunger if we can help it.

I plan to make the public aware of the poverty in our country and show the huge contrast between the poor and the rich, and make people think ‘how can I let this happen?’.

However, it is a debatable topic as this is a country full of many possibilities that are handed to us from such a young age so how can society allow poverty, so a plausible reason is that it’s there decision to be homeless or be in any other unfortunate circumstance, so why should we help?

Conversely, there are many reasons why people are in these situations and I want the public to know. Poverty can be caused by factors such as mental illness; people who are mentally ill usually avoid social support. They are unable to work and unable to make good decisions which usually leads to them being homeless. Poverty and homelessness can be also caused by drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown amoungst other circumstances. 

However, the UK government is trying to decrease the poverty in the UK, in 2012 they published ‘Social justice: transforming lives’ It explains the government’s plans for giving individuals and families facing multiple disadvantages the support and tools they need to turn their lives around.

Their strategies include actions to:

·         help troubled families turn their lives around

·         Improve mental health

·         reduce child poverty and make sure that children are properly supported so that they complete their education

·         make work pay, and help people to find and stay in work

The government now oppose that poverty is the result of low family income, but rather it be other circumstances individual's face. They are now not just tackling the issue of low family income but also factors suggested  up top. 

There are also organisations, photographers and people who do try to decrease the rate of poverty as well as offer their support. An organisation that is trying to decrease the poverty in the UK is the charity Oxfam, Oxfam ‘has a vision of everyone in the UK having enough to live on, and of all men, women and children being treated with respect and dignity no matter how much money they have.’

The Photographers that have caught my eye who are trying to tackle poverty are Lucas Oleniuk and Benjamin Rondel. 

Lucas Oleniuk is a 31 year old Photographer who covered a wide range of environmental issues, one of his works focused on child poverty in Canada. He not only let the audience be aware of the issues faced in Canada but the public were given the names of his muses and their circumstances, this is brilliant as the audience can feel empathy for the muses and see that they are more than just muses.

Kaitlynn and her sister Ellen were two arresting faces in Oleniuk’s exhibit. They are part of a large rural family in Ontario. Two of six children in the family, their parents find it a challenge to put food on the table.

Benjamin Rondel is a free-lance photographer; he specializes in location and travel photography. He worked on the same project as Oleniuk, on child poverty in Canada.

Here the image displays two little brothers Ian and Duncan feeding a colossal woolly sheep (in comparison to them) in their field. Just like Oleniuk’s image it is in black and white, the black and white creates a sense of desolation which works well as the overall idea is to let the audience be aware of the poverty in Canada and struggles as well as evoke a sense of emotion for the audience. The vastness and empty background implies to the audience the children have been forsaken from society and government which creates a feeling of pity for the audience which will make them offer help.

The story behind the image: Ian and Duncan are learning about farming in tough times. Their father John built his home himself about 100 km from Saskatoon. He decided to live off the land and raise sheep. Now, John is considering switching from sheep to pigs and chickens - maybe even crops - he doesn't know yet. In the meantime, he does a bit of farming with his brother and hopes for rain and a better year next year. 

Their work can be found on: http://www.photosensitive.com/projects.php?id=8