TEXT
1. The first piece of text that immediately caught my attention was the statistical information within the first few pages of the article. Like most people I knew the gap between rich and poor was extreme, but seeing it laid out on paper in front of me was eye-opening. "Today more than 1 billion people live on less that $1 a day...world's richest 20% consuming over 75% of the world's resources while the world's poorest 20% consume only 15%" (page 2)
2. Another section of the article that really grabbed my attention was the title "Women Improve Their Status by Acquiring Skills." I thought this story was truly aspiring because women's rights is an issue that is relevant in today's society. Sharda did not want to have to prove herself just because of her gender and wanted to empower other women through art and craft. The program has been so successful that men "make up 10% of the group."
RESPONSES
1. Out of 6 billion people in the world, 1 million live on less than $1 a day. No matter how many times I read that statistic I will never not be in shock. I started to think about how much money I spend on a daily basis and realized that my $8 salad for lunch is more than what 1 billion people have in a week. Could you imagine living on less than $7 per week? Because I certainly can't. Even if I tried I would not be able to do it. We get so comfortable in our everyday routines that we are too busy to stop and just ask ourselves a simple questions like "What we are doing?" "Am I a good person?" To make it worse, we are greedy. We are never satisfied with what we have because we always want more as a society. The fact that people who are poor are consuming 60% less resources than those who are rich is mind-blowing. I'm not saying that everyone who reads this statistic is going to care, but when I read this information it really did make me stop and think about how privileged I am to live the life I do and not take anything for granted, as cliche as that might sound.
2. I think it is remarkable that not only is Sahaj's mission to empower women, but it is also to train these women with vocational education and enable them to make a living. The cooperative called Sahaj is allowing women to make and sell crafts, but also to gain a sense of independence and respect. I think this is a good example of how women need to be independent and be able to make a living on their own without the help of others. Over the past few decades women have made a name for themselves and moved up in society, some even higher then men. However, it is still an issue that needs discussing. Sharda's story is inspiring because she is showing that women can make a difference by helping each other out.
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