Why We Should Prioritize Ensuring Food🌽

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My dad used to say that if he ever had gotten asked to fulfill the role of minister and had a choice of in which office to serve, he would have chosen the office of Education, because he beliefs that by educating the people, Suriname could work towards rebuilding the country and get most people out of poverty. While I agreed with that point of view - partly still do - I've begun to wonder what sectors have more priorities.


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Let me elaborate, according to the research paper - of Anjali Kisoensingh - mentioned in this article, analyses from the household budget survey in 2013/2014 shows that 22.6% (approximately 124,350 people) of Suriname's population experiences extreme poverty, based on the international extreme poverty line by the World bank of U$1.90 per day. It was also mentioned that 24.9% (circa 35,708 households) could be classified as extreme poor, based on the national poverty line of SRD 309,- per month. Now looking at these numbers and the hits on our economy and ensuing inflation, I'm worried this number will drastically go up, as even the so called "middle class" will get hit hard by going backwards in their quality of living.


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According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (yes there's a lot of criticism regarding this pyramid, but that's a discussion for another time) the physiological needs are the very first needs that have to be satisfied/reached - like food, air, sleep, reproduction, etc. - before other needs are met, which signifies the importance of first ensuring feeding the population. Which is why, if I had a say, I would recommend to focus and invest in (modernizing) the agricultural sector and in teaching the population how to be self sufficient and supply/provide them the necessary tools (seeds, plants, tutorials, etc.) to do so, instead of handing out food packages (not sustainable). Especially how suitable Suriname's soil and climate are to make this possible.


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Like always, I could go on and on 😅 and touch upon the importance of education and economy, but that's it for today. Let me know in the comments below your thoughts and if there's a topic that you would like me to give my two cents 🤓.


Chasse into the backstage! 💃


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I agree with your priorities. I have heard some criticism of Maslow's hierarchy of needs lately too, but I wholly agree with the premise of, if you're constantly worried about how you're going to feed yourself/your family/keep a roof over your head/etc., you're not going to have any energy for much else. I am not international standards poor but I am that "poor person in a rich country" kind of poor and am always stressing about food for me and the cats or paying the electric and things like that. So many times I have been doing better in other ways only to get derailed because all my energy and stress went to not having any food or being almost out and not knowing how I'd get more. It's like a weight on your mind and spirit, you can't really climb higher when you keep getting pulled down by your basic needs to live.

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I've been blessed to never have to have been stressing about food or paying bills whatsoever and am grateful for that, but I do see what an effect it could have on people. Now, with the failing economy I do worry about my parents and brothers, with the inflation and everything including food is beginning to become "luxury", instead of necessity. And because I know how blessed I am, I get "frustrated" that those in power don't make the soundest choices.

For example, I've read in the news of the last couple of days that food packages are being distributed and I'm all for that, but really not sustainable.

...I am that "poor person in a rich country" kind of poor...
And the above, I can't imagine, but I think I know how frustrating it can be. Having little, with bills piling up and maybe sometimes bills being half of your salary or what.

What makes me even more "mad" is knowing the amount of wealth, available land and food in the world and the amount of people, we as a species shouldn't know the concept of hunger or poverty. There should be enough for everyone.

Anyway, that's a whole other discussion 😅.

Thank you for sharing your story with us 😊 !ENGAGE 20

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Oh, bills are more than your salary here. LOL. If it was only half I'd feel rich.

They say that to be financially healthy, rent should be no more than 30% of your income. But these maps shows how much your hourly income needs to be in order to rent a two bedroom home in each state in the US, if you are working one full-time job, or how many hours you would need to work to rent a one bedroom if you earned the federal minimum wage. It's so out of balance, this is one reason why there are so many of us who are poor in a rich country. Your salary may sound like a lot in another place, but it doesn't even cover your rent here.

What makes me even more "mad" is knowing the amount of wealth, available land and food in the world and the amount of people, we as a species shouldn't know the concept of hunger or poverty. There should be enough for everyone.

Exactly that. I like the Gandhi quote: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

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Thanks for the information. The system's are indeed rigged if you look at the map and this goes to show why the US has so many homeless people on the street. I saw a documentary of a woman with a degree in mathematics or something and she lost her home in a fire and had to live in the streets. She used to work for a statistics company and lost her job, etc. It's like the system that's supposedly "for" the people works against them.

Interesting to see parallels despite the differences between the US and Suriname. For instance, bills were subsidized and very low, but income is so low that people don't have much left to save at the end of the month.

And I didn't know that quote from Gandhi, but unfortunately still rings true today.

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Oh for sure. The stereotype that rich people have is that homeless people are all drug addicts and/or insane. But only a small minority have addiction problems, and frankly, more rich people have addiction problems but they still have homes because they can afford it. There are so many homeless people like you mentioned, who did everything right and went to school and worked their jobs and so on, but due to a string of misfortune - a fire like that lady, or illness, or an accident at work, or layoffs, etc. - they ended up homeless. And it's nearly impossible to climb out of that hole once you're in it. The system is definitely against people.

There are so many things that people take for granted and don't think about, like, you have to have ID to get a job. But police are always sweeping up people's tents and all their belongings, even their blankets in winter, and throwing them away - including their papers, so they can't get a job. They can't get a bank account without an address so if they are able to get a paper paycheck they have to pay fees at a scam check cashing place. They can't get a job if they can't take a shower and have clean clothes to go to work in. And so on. And renting apartments are not only super expensive, but they want huge deposits and you have to pass a background check - so if they were evicted from their last place, no one will rent to them even if they have the money. There are just ten million hurdles, it's so horrible.

!LUV

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And it's nearly impossible to climb out of that hole once you're in it. The system is definitely against people.

Yes, because of her degree or whatever, she wasn't eligible for some sorts of support and got wait listed.

They can't get a bank account without an address so if they are able to get a paper paycheck they have to pay fees at a scam check cashing place.

I've heard about this, that a lot of people receive paychecks, instead of the salary being transferred to a bank account.

I also saw a video of a college student living in a van and taking showers in public showers. This goes to show that no system's perfect.

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There is great potential here if more people would choose to work from home and ply their craft in the neighborhood, especially vegetable and fruit growers. It will take a cultural shift just like in the USA, but right now people are all too happy to hop in a car and drive far away from home to work a job for a steady paycheck instead.

This place still mystifies me, but what I enjoy most is listening to Pov try to explain to friends and family in Cambodia how the food system works here.


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(Edited)

Hahahaa and I would like to hear/see their reactions when she's trying to explain it to them 🙈. I'm not even sure if they would understand if they experienced it themselves though.

It will take a cultural shift just like in the USA, but right now people are all too happy to hop in a car and drive far away from home to work a job for a steady paycheck instead.

Not sure if the above is in our near future though. At my former job (polytechnic college) there are some colleges focused on modern agricultural and food techniques, but most students rather choose the "safer" options for desk or government jobs, which is a shame.

!ENGAGE 20

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You know I have a Jamaican friend here who started a little farm and I must say it’s the smartest thing I’ve seen one do recently. A lot of us too focused on money and what most people gonna do with the money ? Buy food 😂.

I totally agreed, eduction within the system may not be the key because many people don’t wanna pull that lock 🔒. But if the government were to subsidize farming ( which they probably have already done) and motivate the youths to farm and be self sufficient, people would have a better life. But farming not trendy to most..... but the way the world heading, it will be.

Hmmm talk about home ownership and properties , how is that going in Suriname?

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True, the midshaft in Suriname still has to come and those who are already in the sector should also start looking into modernizing, to eliminate those recurring weather threats for example. But that's also a shift sighh...

Funny enough, the former political party who had the power for ten years talked about making Suriname the voedselschuur (lireally: food shed), which means "food supplier" of the region, but haven't seen anything sustainable happening towards making it a reality.

Hmmmm... For my generation owning a piece of land/property has become harder the last couple of years though... A lot of our friends, some with masters degrees and well paying jobs, cannot afford to buy a property for themselves yet. One key problem is the devaluation of our own currency and the market prices being in US dollars or Euros. There are laws in place, that pricing in foreign currencies aren't allowed, but we don't see the government doing anything to protect the population against this.

!ENGAGE 20

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