Those of you who read my blog probably already picked up that I'm a student studying in Scotland at the moment. Since I'm studying social work, part of our course i social policy which involves studying different areas in society which need social policies such as immigration and asylum, and poverty (personal favorite topics!). When we studied poverty and really looked at it in depth, it really hit me - 1 in 3 children live in poverty in Scotland. That is tonnes! How ridiculous is that? To look at some statistics from 2011/2012:
Out of all individuals 14% lived in relative poverty before housing (after housing 17%), and 15% lived in absolute poverty before housing (after housing 18%).
Out of children 15% lived in relative poverty before housing (after housing 20%), and 16% lived in absolute poverty before housing (after housing 22%).
If you don't understand these terms, relative poverty refers to your standard of living; you don't have the income to support your material needs which leads you to be excluded from society as you cannot participate in it. Absolute poverty means you don't have the means to support your physical survival so food, shelter, clothing, etc. Think about it, Scotland (UK) is a developed country and considered one of the most developed countries, but still approx. one in three individuals live in poverty. And in all honesty, I wont sugar coat it - these people live in homes which are freezing and don't have hot water or heating. They live most of the time on one or no hot meals in a day. Its not pretty. The video posted at the bottom is about students speaking of poverty and is a powerful one as it shows what poverty really is through the eyes of people living it. I'll also link Lorde's song Royals as it speaks of these people who live in poverty.
I'm a student and obviously worry about my finances, but I try as much as possible to think of these children living with pretty much nothing, and then thank God that I have a blanket and a bed and a roof on top of my head. My room is around 10 degrees warm in the mornings when I wake up and it is freezing at night as well (heating doesn't help). I also try have meat on 3 or 4 days a week and rest of the time have like vegetables or something. Its super cheap to buy a big bag of carrots for 40p and they last me like 2 weeks. I am truly happy and think I have so much. I've found it in my heart to be thankful for what I have and feel dirty to even complain about my situation anymore. I think all of us should take some time to think about our priorities and reflect upon how rich we really are! I suggest taking 3minutes out to watch the video below. :)
Lorde - Royals "And we'll never be royals, it don't run in our blood, that kind of lux just ain't for us"
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Out of all individuals 14% lived in relative poverty before housing (after housing 17%), and 15% lived in absolute poverty before housing (after housing 18%). 
If you don't understand these terms, relative poverty refers to your standard of living; you don't have the income to support your material needs which leads you to be excluded from society as you cannot participate in it. Absolute poverty means you don't have the means to support your physical survival so food, shelter, clothing, etc. 
