When one is poor, she has no say in public, she
feels inferior. She has no food, so there is famine
in her house; no clothing, and no progress in her
family.
—A poor woman from Uganda
For a poor person, everything is terrible—illness,
humiliation, shame. We are cripples; we are
afraid of everything; we depend on everyone. No
one needs us. We are like garbage that everyone
wants to get rid of.
—A blind woman from Tiraspol, Moldova
Life in the area is so precarious that the youth
and every able person have to migrate to the
towns or join the army at the war front in order to
escape the hazards of hunger escalating over here.
—Participant in a discussion
group in rural Ethiopia
When food was in abundance, relatives used to
share it. These days of hunger, however, not even
relatives would help you by giving you some food.
—Young man in Nichimishi, Zambia
We have to line up for hours before it is our turn
to draw water.
—Participant in a discussion group from
Mbwadzulu Village (Mangochi), Malawi
[Poverty is] . . . low salaries and lack of jobs. And
it’s also not having medicine, food, and clothes.
—Participant in a discussion group in Brazil
Don’t ask me what poverty is because you have
met it outside my house. Look at the house and
count the number of holes. Look at the utensils
and the clothes I am wearing. Look at everything
and write what you see. What you see is poverty.
—Poor man in Kenya