Greetings to our hardworking Rivers people. Welcome to another episode of Rivethics on Radio, our character-building weekend show. Please remember that poverty is not natural. It is man-made. This episode of Rivethics is in commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which took place this week on October 17th.
The theme of this year’s observance is “Coming together with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity.” There is a fundamental connection between extreme poverty and human rights, which is that people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by many human rights violations.
People living in extreme poverty, especially those furthest behind, can be neglected or overlooked by politicians, policy-makers and service providers because of bias, social exclusion, discriminatory attitudes and their lack of political, financial and social influence.
When the persistence of extreme poverty in society is recognized as a violation of human rights:
It engenders a paradigm shift in how mainstream society understands and addresses poverty.
It directs attention to the prevailing social exclusion, discrimination and daily assaults on human dignity that accompany poverty.
It highlights the need to dismantle discriminatory systems that perpetuate cycles of poverty in different cultural contexts.
It forces us to look beyond providing an adequate income for people in poverty and to focus on the dignity, capabilities, choices, security and power every individual needs for the full enjoyment of their fundamental civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.
The above perspective on tackling poverty is the hallmark of good leadership around the world. Obviously, this is the approach adopted by His Excellency, our Governor as his administration strives to empower Rivers people by creating a safe, secure and conducive learning environment that will turn Rivers State into an ICT hub in the near future. Let us begin to see the poverty challenge from the perspective of what we can do to change the circumstances that create and perpetuate poverty in our families and communities. We should refrain from the temptation of seeing poverty from a victim standpoint.
Our guest speaker today is Mr. Tommy Udoh, a civil society professional from Dana & Orlando Foundation, an NGO focused on education, economic empowerment and community development. He will share his insight on the subject.
Our warm-hearted Rivers people, please remember to always let your manners speak for you.
God bless and keep you and your families and God bless Rivers State.
From Her Excellency,
Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike,
The Wife of His Excellency,
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON. GSSRS. POS (Africa).
You can also listen to and download the Pidgin English version of this Episode below