Finance Service for the Poor - Adolescent, Homeless and Housing - Essay Example

Name Date Affiliation Persuasive texts: Finance service for the poor (Adolescent, Homeless and housing) Persuasive essay Background information Since time immemorial, society has been having poor people and also the rich at the same time. The rich and stable are advised to help the poor since it is acceptable not only in the eyes of man, but also in the eyes of God. More also, people all over the world have advocated for charity which aims to assist the destitute adolescents and the poor at large (Bill &Melinda, 2014.)The Christian teachings about helping the poor prompt them to assist the poor as a commitment and Command from God. Some authors philosophers and like Buddha and Dalai Lama, teachings on giving and helping the poor also alleviate the standards of the needy in the society (Bill &Melinda, 2014.) These teachings and humanistic aspect of human beings have enabled the people to formulate methodologies which can be applicable in helping the poor. Helping the poor involves providing food and housing to the destitute and this action has enabled many people to have their daily bread and at the same time living better lives due to initiatives. Globally, there are many organizations which have embarked on charity- housing and feeding the poor through provision of relevant finances (Bill &Melinda, 2014.).Through the initiative, the poor people have managed to alleviate their living standards through effective farming and business. According to Bolton & Rosenthal (2005), financing the poor is a paramount step in enhancing financial empowerment and ultimately transiting out of the poverty level. Through the financing, millions of poor people have successfully adopted new methods of farming and business which have helped them to fight poverty However, despite the march forward, in enterprise and housing, the same people are still dragged again into poverty by the health problems, financial setbacks and ultimately other related shocks (Bolton & Rosenthal,2005)If relevant financing can be done through health insurance and general credit, it would be possible to remove people from the shackles of poverty for once and for all. For instance, subsidized health insurance will help the poor to access health at a subsidized fee hence avoiding the drainage of all the finances in the medication program (Bolton & Rosenthal, 2005) through such enhancements many people will feel the financial assistance and ultimately coming out of the poverty. Globally, it’s estimated that approximately 2.5 billion people lack formal accounts in financial institutions and the research is as per the World Bank finding s on financial inclusion database. Consequently, most of the poor households usually operate in the cash economy and more particularly in the developing world (Chandy, 2009).This means that they use the cash for the physical assets such as livestock, jewelry and also apply the informal providers such as payment couriers and the money lenders. These transactions done in these particular stations are receiving the wages and also receiving money for buying the fertilizers. However, the informal mechanisms are usually insecure, complicated and expensive to use in the long run. Moreover, these services normally offer limited recourse in case a major problem arises in the family and more especially a case of illness (Mitnick, 2008). Through the Global financing in terms of grants, World Bank funding loans and other financial institutions, the poor people are growing day in day out due to the increased ability to access financial help. However, serving the people is at times very difficult since they conduct most of their business in cash. Transporting, storing and processing cash is at times very expensive for the banks, utility companies, insurance companies among other institutions and they usually pass these costs to the customers (Rangan, 2007). Through such initiative, it becomes very difficult for them to receive significant and relevant amount of money. In the developed countries, people usually conduct their financial transactions in digital form and the value of money is in virtual form. Being virtual form, it is transferred almost instantly hence turning out to be easy compared to the poor transaction activities. Research has postulated that the most significant and effective way to expand poor people access to the formal financial services is through the digital means (Rangan, 2007). The digital financial services have many benefits which make it suitable for money transfer and access. First, the digital money transfer connects poor people to the formal financial sector hence enabling them to become suppliers and customers within the wider economy. The financial flows can be tracked down accurately hence resulting in speedier, transparent and safer transactions. The providers of the financial services can use such history to develop better products will helps the customers in a more efficient way especially the poor people (Ryan, & Tina, 2012).Direct deposits to the banks enables the money users to “bypass” the home through helping the users to save their money rather than spending and that works towards empowering the women to have more financial an authority within the family. The different foundations which aim to provide financial empowerment to the poor have always worked to ensure that the poor have good houses, food and health .for instance, The Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation financial services for the poor program aims to play catalytic role in the broadening to reach digital payment system and more particularly to the rural poor people. (Ryan, & Tina, 2012). The infrastructure and the customer base which are well established might involve a combination of the mobile banking services that are readily accessible through cell phones and the brick-and-mortar stores where the subscribers can easily convert the earned cash into the digital cash (Ryan, & Tina, 2012).Through the digital cash, the poor can engage in the online borrowing and lending services and ultimately enable them to be financially empowered. Housing the poor is also another way in which the poor can be empowered. The Human Rights Council in its 15/8 resolution managed to request special report on adequate housing as a major component of the right to adequate standards of living , right to non-discrimination. This context identifies the best practices, obstacles and challenges which enables the full realization of the rights to adequate housing and also paying special attention to the needs of the persons who are in vulnerable situations as well as those who belong to the marginalized groups (Bill &Melinda, 2014.)In the first report to the human rights council, the special report addressed the implications of various economic and financial housing policies in the context of recent housing and the financial crises. The above mentioned report addressed the inter alia impact of the market-based housing finance policies to the realization and adequate housing. During the 67th session, The United Nation General Assembly managed to discuss the special report and it continued its previous work through examining the national policies and promoting the access to the homeownership and affordable housing to the poorest segments of the society and other marginalized groups. The report focused on the programs and policies which aim at promoting access to the adequate housing for the poor through providing credit to the individuals and the families in private and public financial institutions. These institutions include the private banks and micro-finance services among other banks which are relevant in the world today. Government loans and corporations, credit unions and savings groups are also channeled towards good standards of living trough provision of quality houses (Bill &Melinda, 2014.)The efforts by the governments and the non-governmental organizations aim at ensuring that poor people have access to adequate housing and standardized way of living. Through the initiatives of financial empowerment, many poor people have ultimately benefitted from the programs and their lives have been raised to a significant level. In conclusion, helping the poor people in the society has become part and parcel of living. Religious teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ have motivated many Christian foundations to help the poor and ultimately empowering them to become better individuals with standard way of life. Moreover, teachings of Dalai Lama and other religious beliefs have emphasized the same HENCE proving it to be noble act. Affordable housing for the poor has also been a part of financial assistance and adolescent children have benefited through provision of sanitary pad for the girls. Therefore financing the poor is a noble act that should be encourage among all nations. Persuasive brochure As the saying goes, “Poverty is a state of mind” and no one is destined to be poor forever. The circumstances which surround an individual are the main contributors of poverty and therefore alleviating such factors means helping that particular person. For instance, in the developing countries, the states of live and methods of production are the main contributors of poverty (Weber & Wright 1988). The methods of farming and type of seeds in most developing countries are poor and therefore, the yields produced are also low hence leading to reduced productivity and poverty in the long run. For example a farmer might have planted large tracts of land with poor seeds and methods and therefore the farmer will ultimately experience loses bearing in mind the input is not correlative with output. Through that, the farmer may be discouraged to carry out farming again and this will not only lead to hunger but also reduced financial capability (Weber & Wright 1988). Moreover, most young people and especially adolescent girls are likely to have challenges associated with hygiene since in some poor areas it’s quite difficult to access the sanitary pads. In such cases, the adolescents may even avoid going to school on those days so that they can overcome the situation. Research also proves that such adolescents may even use some crude methods to cover up for sanitary pads which are a health hazard to them. Housing is another challenge that the individuals in the poor areas have been going through (Bolton & Rosenthal, 2005). In attempt to alleviate the situation of these individuals, is paramount for all the stakeholders in the globe to take an initiative aimed at eradicating poverty hence empowering the people. This can be done through strengthening the financial base of the people through providing finances which can be used to buy better seeds for farming and also educating the farmers on the modern methods of farming (Bill &Melinda, 2014.) Through provision of such finances, it’s possible for the people to be empowered and ultimately living a standard life. In terms of housing, the governments and non governmental bodies such Human Rights Council which is under the United Nations should also embark on providing financial assistance to the people in attempt to enhance appropriate housing. The Human Rights Council asserts that each and every individual should have standard living and that means having a good and standard living. The poor people should get adequate housing through Sacco and micro-finances which will ensure that the people are empowered and ultimately achieving dignified and standard living. Moreover, the adolescents should be provided with sanitary pads for girls for them also to live a standardized living. References Bill &Melinda (2014.). Financial Services for the Poor. Bill & Melinda Gates foundation Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Financial-Services-for-the-Poor. Bolton, P., & Rosenthal, H. (2005). Credit markets for the poor. New York: Russell Sage. Chandy, L. (2009). Getting to scale: how to bring development solutions to millions of poor people. Ottawa, Ont.: New Age International. MacDonald, G. J. (2010). Financial products that aid the poor and beat the market;Bonus: It's also socially responsible (Money). The Christian Science Monitor, 2, 16. Mitnick, J. (2008). Financial crisis threatens aid for world's poorest.(WORLD). The Christian Science Monitor, 2, 13. Preker, A. S. (2004). Health financing for poor people: resource mobilization and risk sharing. Washington, DC: World Bank;. Rangan, V. K. (2007). Business solutions for the global poor: creating social and economic value. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ryan, K. & Tina, K. (2012). Almost Home: Helping kids move from homelessness to hope. John Wiley & Sons. Weber & Wright . 1988. Homelessness,Health and Human needs. National academies. Read More