Theary Seng runs the Center for Social Development in Cambodia, a non-governmental organization that monitors 7 courts, advocates good governance and accountability, and conducts grassroots dialogue with villagers all over Cambodia on Justice & Reconciliation. At one point during a recent speech to a crowd of 80,000, he made the following statements:
I stand united with you today to resoundingly proclaim: Poverty is not fate. Poverty is not destiny. Poverty is man-made; it results from the greed and arrogance of power, poor governance and ill-conceived policies. Today, we join voices against the scourge of poverty and to urge the G-8 leaders to be more mindful of Cambodians and the less fortunate of this world.
He went on to point out some of the causes of poverty, including lack of education, war, corruption, environmental destruction, and landlessness.
I agree with Theary Seng’s statements. I believe providing quality education to everyone can help fight poverty more than anything.
Additionally, I think that we need to recognize that the world has more than enough natural resources to provide food, clothes, shelter, education, and healthcare for everyone. For example, the world has more than enough food to feed everyone. In another example, the number of abandoned houses outnumbers the number of homeless people. Poverty results from the unfair distribution of natural resources. On one hand the poor do not even have an inch of land; on the other hand oil barons control the world by usurping control of natural resources and then selling them.