The Status of Impoverished

Populations in the United States

vs. Nepal
An Inside Look at Poverty in Nepal
The following paper examines the conditions of impoverished communities within both the
United States and Nepal, with an in-depth
Raquel
analysis
Ardoin
of Nepals poverty and why such persists.
Possible methods of relief will be offered as an attempt to address some of the concerns posed
in this paper.

Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy
weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the
square. People moved slowly then. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There
was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing
to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some
of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself
(Lee, 1960, p.6). Scout speaks on a common thread within impoverished communities. Though
one of the most powerful and wealthiest countries in the world, many United States citizens are
familiar with the horrors of poverty. An estimated 15.1% of the population was estimated to live
below the poverty line in 2010 (Bureau of the Census). Many of the root causes of poverty in the
United States are due to the poor allocation of wealth and resources to the lower working class of
the nation. Gilbert writes, Contemporary sociology has followed Webers lead and found that
the influence of social class on our lives are shaped by class position (Gilbert). This is an
evident truth within American societies.
The country of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal or Nepal is one of the worlds
most ruined countries in terms of their current economic, social and political standings. Weber
defines the term poverty line or threshold as the income below which a household of a
given size is classified as poor (Weber). With approximately a fourth of its population in 2011
reported to have lived under the poverty line, approximately 25.2%, todays estimated population
of 27.8 million are living in conditions whose foundation is built on the latter. With 125 different
caste or ethnic groups reported in 2011, poverty is a widespread condition to most living in
Nepal. With an average family size of 4.7, Nepal is known to generally have large families. Time
has not benefited the 46% of Nepalese men and women or their families who were reported to be

unemployed in 2008. This comes as an alarming fact considering that the average age of 22.9
years of age is considered a prime working age within most communities. In Nepal, 81.3% of its
citizen practice Hindu, which goes to partially explain the nations position on gender roles (Rao,
Jasmine). While 71.1% of Nepalese men of the age 15 and older can read and write, only 46.7%
of women can perform the same (The World Factbook). Though some young men possess the
opportunity to continue school past the tenth grade, most young women are forced to tend to
home, whether while still living with their parents or as head of their own families. The
2,467,549 children (34% of the entire child population in Nepal between the age of 5 and 14)
that served in the workforce in 2008 serves as an example of one of the many issues that
contributes to a lack of education amongst the Nepali people. If children are working, this means
that consequently they are not in the classrooms receiving a proper education or an adequate
chance to one day rise above these conditions (CARE Nepal).
Though the 147,181 sq km of land is mainly used for warehousing its citizens and for
growing crops such as, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, milk, buffalo meat as well as a few other
key items. Agriculture serves more as an economic culture of survival rather than for capitalist
gain. Of the population engaging in some type of land tending or farming, 60% are women.
Again, it can be seen that much of the issues that lies within the individual sectors of Nepals
society are intertwined within one another. With agriculture failing to produce efficient funds to
provide for everyday necessities within rural societies, a major trend amongst young men and
women is the migration to other countries as a means to earn a wage elsewhere that can help
support their families back home. An approximate 22% to 25% of Nepals entire GDP is
provided through remittances. With nearly two million Nepali natives reporting to have migrated
elsewhere in 2013, their major destinations are the United States (88,109), Malaysia (69,541),

United Arab Emirates (200,000), Qatar (341,000), Saudi Arabia (500,000), and India leading
with 553,050 migrants. About 80% of remittances received are used for daily consumption, only
3% is used to form some type of savings and the final 7% is used as payment for loans (The
World Bank). It is apparent that the Nepali people, especially those who are living in rural areas,
are unable to provide stable financial homes for their families.
While the lack of education is one contributing factor to the severe poverty in Nepal,
government instability and corruption serves as a stumbling block for the few with an interest to
help and as a wall of separation for most that choose to ignore the needs of its citizens. In 1996,
the Nepalese government began funding defense against Maoist insurgents who were determined
to infiltrate the government and anchor its communist republic agenda against that of the
constitutional monarchy (BBC Timeline). What started as simple resistance against a small
power of 9 parliamentary seats out of 205, resulted in a decade long civil war that not only
drained Nepal of its sense of safety, but also its finances. As a result of the nations ten month
long state of emergency which stared in November of 2001, those in the rural populations began
to suffer tremendously. Maoist insurgents began to confiscate and control much of the rural land
in Nepal, claiming to have possessed nearly 80%. Though such claims may have been
embellished some, it was not too far off, making the collective aid of $17 million from both India
and the United States for defense weaponry and the growth of the royal army from 45,000 men
and women to 90,000, a major necessity. With various shifts between ceasefire and state of
emergencies, peace has become nothing more but a fantasy, a notion for the privileged, to the
citizens of Nepal. While a new government has formed which has called for the unification of
both Maoist and parliament involvement, tensions between the two still resides today along with

the battle wounds of a nation with 13,000 losses due to the governments inability to create order
and peace within its structure (Pradhan, Gyan).
Another major effect government instability has had on Nepal is the lack of both
domestic and international investment in Nepali economics and societies (United Nations
Development Programme). As a consequence of time, focus, energy and resources being
allocated mainly towards the political unrest of the nation, Nepals government has failed to
addresses major issues that lie for the 80% of its citizens that lives in rural areas that have been
forced to depend on subsistence farming as a means of survival. Considering Nepals various
kinds of lands, including mountainous regions and hefty hills along with the unpredictable draw
of any of the countrys five climatic climates, rural Nepal calls for infrastructure and paved roads
tailored to the lands properties. Unfortunately, most of the rural areas in Nepal not only goes
without such needed structures, but also lack of proper forms of communication that would allow
for communities to be connected in some form . The lack of advancement in technology has
enforced a culture of poverty for Nepali citizens which deny them the opportunity to organize
their grievances and represent themselves before their government. Also, the political unrest in
the nation has discouraged any foreign investment from other countries. For those who are aware
of the Nepalese peoples struggles, many are not willing to gamble their nations security and
stability by getting involved with the Maoist insurgency that still persists today. Major corruption
of areas such as the police department, taxes, the education and health system, land
administration and Nepalese customs, has deterred any formal government agencies from
intervening and denied the people any chance from ever defeating such a burdensome system.
Ones life chances as discussed by Dennis under such circumstances are predicted to be very
poor considering ones position in the social strata (Dennis). This phenomenon also contributes

to the persistently high unemployment in the nation. Because there are not much of any corporate
investments seeking establishment in Nepal, there is little opportunity for the people to find
employment outside of agriculture which is dependent on land possession, which most rural
citizens do not have access to. For the select few who do own land in Nepal, land degradation is
increasingly becoming an issue.
Due to the limited employment options, many have found means of financial support
through unconventional and harmful methods. Drug manufacturing as well as drug and sex
trafficking is becoming a rising epidemic within Nepals rural communities. Not only does the
country serve as a bridge connecting the opiate trade between Southeast and West Asia, but
Nepal also manufactures hashish and cannabis for both the domestic and international drug
market. This however, does not serve profitable for those impoverished, but rather such markets
are exploited by those of wealth and power. For young women without many alternatives, many
are selling themselves into sex trafficking as a means to provide funds for their family. It is
apparent that a lack of hope or optimism for anything better is embedded within the Nepalese
culture, ideals that have robbed them of the basic freedoms and cares of life. Contributing
realities to this entrapment in such mindsets are the lack of physical resources such as clean
water, basic sanitation or healthcare. It is difficult to convince a people they are worth more and
deserve better when most of its population, an estimated 85% do not have access to much needed
healthcare. Nearly 7,900 children alone die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by dirty
water and poor sanitation. It is reported that only 27% of the Nepalese population has access to
a toilet and it can be presumed that many of these functioning latrines and toilets resides in the
urban areas of Nepal. Disease such as bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever as

well as Japanese encephalitis, malaria, and dengue fever are major taints of the rural population
that goes untreated due to ones lack of medical access (The World Factbook).
As stated before, the corruptive nature of Nepals government has hindered any act of
growth or progression which would allow for adequate involvement in enforcing policies that
would alleviate its citizens of their major issues. Not only are current policies not being created
or implemented, but even past legislation has failed to be enforced by any level of government.
The distraction of the Maoist insurgency has truly stalled any chance of Nepal receiving any
reform or assistance. It has been by the generous and brave acts of private investors that the
outcries for help from the people of Nepal are starting to be heard and addressed. Organizations
such as Maiti Nepal and WaterAid Nepal have taken it upon themselves to take an active stance
against various issues within the Nepalese community. Maiti Nepal is an institution that exists to
abolish the practice of sex trafficking and sexual abuse amongst women in Nepal. They are
determined to bring power and options to women as well as justice to those who have been
exploited by the traditionalism of Nepalese society (Maiti Nepal). WaterAid Nepal has taken on
the challenge of informing and training rural citizens on proper health and sanitation techniques.
They have introduced modern means of drawing water that is specific to the regions land. They
have also provided a way for many in desolate areas to use composting latrines as a way to
fertilize the ground (WaterAid Nepal). This is exactly what Nepal needs in order to overcome the
poverty in which they exist in. With the government continuing to fail its people, it has become
the duty of private corporations and private citizens both domestic and foreign, to intervene in
the aid of this nation. A responsibility to serve the fellow man during his time of need is one that
all people share, not as an attempt to bandage the symptoms of poverty, but rather cure the

disease of poverty all together. In order to encourage their belief in a tomorrow, one must give a
reason to live for today.

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