On December 21, my group and I completed our third fieldwork as we embarked on our social justice project (child poverty). We decided to give our fellow classmates the inside scoop on what child poverty really is and how many children it can effect by showing them a very moving documentary. This emotional film was called “Poor Kids” (aired on PBS Frontline, November 20th). There were so many interesting and devastating facts in this film that not only we learned, but our peers did too. Did you know that 1 out of every 4 children in the U.S. live in poverty! This particular film focuses in on 3 impoverished families living in the U.S. Each of the families is going through tough and very different situations. One ten year-old girl named Kaylie and her family, had to give up her best friend (her dog) because they couldn’t effort to take care of her. This moment in the movie made many of our peers and our teachers very emotional. Another girl named Brittany, who is nine years-old, has a mom who could die from these spasm attacks/fits if she stresses out again. Her family can only afford to eat cheap, frozen pizza everyday and sometimes the kids at Brittany’s school make fun of her and call her fat. The third family has a fourteen year-old named Jonny who lives in a Salvation Army apartment. His father was making a good $5,000 per job until the stock market collapsed and they were running out of money. When Jonny really wanted $30 Air Jordan’s, his mother refused and only offered him $5 flip flops from Walmart. I think we learn that when we beg for the newest video game or fashion we aren’t really thinking about the people who can’t even afford to live in a house, find a job or put food on the table. This documentary increased are awareness about kids just like us who are impoverished.
