Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Poverty is certainly on the rise in the world.  Working in the school system, I see so many children living in poverty.  I am drawn to one child in particular and her struggle for survival.  This little girl lived with her mom only.  Mom had many issues that she was dealing with, drugs, legal problems, drinking just to name a few. The little girl was 3 years old at this time.  She bascially had to raise herself.  She had no bed to sleep on, went days with no food and had horrible living conditions.    Eventually the mother was put in jail. At this point, dad received custody of the child.  She moved in with dad who lived with his parents, siblings and their children.  In all their were 10 people living in this house.  The child had never used a utensil before, so at the age of 4 she was learning to eat with a spoon and fork.  When she would get hungry, she would rummage through the garbage looking for food.  This was just a norm for her from living with her mom.  She didn't know to look in the fridge or cupboard for food. I have her in my class now, and she still picks food up off the floor and eats it.  She steals food from the other kids.  I try to give her more so she doesn't have to do this.  In short, this child has had a very difficlut life.  She is now almost 6 years old, and she has so many trust issues and behavior issues to deal with.  She is a very angry child.  I feel so bad for her, I know she has a long ways to go.  I fear she is scarred for life and wonder if she will be able to have a happy normal life.

POVERTY IN BRAZIL

I chose to look at the poverty situation in Brazil.  What I found is that 2.6% of the population lives in poverty. 42% of the children live in poverty and 150,000 children under the age of 5years die due to hunger.  Many children lack education, health care and nutrition.  Many families cannot afford to raise their children and therefore many are abandoned and live on the streets.  These children often turn to drugs, crime and prostitution in order to survive.  The Ministry of Social Asstistance is a program setup by the government  to help fight poverty and starvation.  In order to survive, children are pushed into the workforce instead of education.  There are no child labor laws in Brazil, so this leads to a breeding ground for malnutrition, viloence and sexual exploitation.   

To read more on the poverty situation in Brazil click on the following link:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Poverty-in-Brazil