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African Grandmother - Mothers at Risk in Focus on Mission
 

Mother's Day: Mothers at Risk and in Need::  Mothers at Risk and in Need ::

 

 

“Several areas of U.S. economic life demand special attention… Among the unemployed are a disproportionate number of blacks, Hispanics, young people, or women who are the sole support of their families… Harsh poverty plagues our country despite its great wealth. More than 33 million Americans are poor; by any reasonable standard another 20-30 million are needy. Poverty is increasing in the United States, not decreasing…
Even more disturbing is the large increase in the number of women and children living in poverty.
Today children are the largest single group among the nation’s poor. This tragic fact seriously threatens the nation’s future. That so many people are poor in a nation as rich as ours is a social and moral scandal that we cannot ignore.”

U.S. Bishops, Economic Justice for All, 1986, #15, 16

 

Social Assistance

Compared to Europe, social assistance levels for mothers who are head of households in North America are very meager. In the Netherlands, a mother receiving social support receives about 75 percent of the net average production worker’s wage; in Sweden, 109 per cent.
In the U.S., TANF (“Temporary Assistance to Needy People”) is the main social-aid program for needy families. In 2000, it provided payments of $50 - $150 per month for a family of three.

Many governments in Europe also pay low-income mothers to care for their children at home and provide them with government benefits to assist in childcare.

The percentage of mothers who are head of households and poor in the U.S. is much greater than in many other industrialized countries, and many attribute this to lack of government assistance and the likelihood of women to earn poverty level wages. In Sweden, the Netherlands, and the U.K., working full-time is more likely to pull women (including mothers) above the poverty line.

In the U.S. more than 40 percent of single mothers working full-time earn wages too low to rise above the poverty line.

Country Percentage of Single Mothers Who are Poor : *

U.S. 45%  |  France 13%  |  Sweden 5%  |  Finland 5%

* In this comparison, a mother is considered “poor” when her income is below 50 percent of her country’s median income. Source: “Family Friendly Europe,” by Karen Christopher, in” The American Prospect “ magazine.

The U.S. also lags behind other developed nations in providing paid leave after the birth of children. The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act requires companies with more than 50 employees to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave, in contrast to the norm of 20 weeks in other developed nations. Some countries, like Finland and Sweden, even allow up to almost 1 year of paid leave at 80 percent of one’s former wage rate.

Child Care

Help Families stay together
“Many single-parent families overcome huge economic and social obstacles, but others are overwhelmed by these forces. Government efforts need to help families stay together and overcome the many pressures that pull families apart. We owe special help to those parents—mothers or fathers—who face family life alone, knowing how discrimination and other forces make a difficult job even tougher. This is especially true when single parenthood is combined with poverty, as it often is.”
US Bishops, “Putting Children and Families First: A Challenge for Our Church, Nation, and World” Nov. 1991

Childcare for just one child can easily cost from $4,000 to $10,000 per year—more than tuition at a public university. Yet more than one-quarter of U.S. families with young children earn less than $25,000 per year.

Two-thirds of poor working families headed by mothers alone spent at least 40 percent of their income on childcare. Women leaving welfare often enter low-wage jobs where they earn so little that they cannot possibly cover the cost of childcare.

  Head of household mothers who receive childcare assistance are 40 percent more likely to remain employed after two years than those who do not receive help in paying for childcare.

Only one in seven children eligible for federal childcare assistance now receives help.

Many mothers, working harder than ever to support their families, cannot expect any relief from state governments in the near future. In recent years, because of limited funds, states have reduced the number of families eligible for child care assistance; raised parent fees; cut back rates for already low-paid child care providers; and slashed investments focused on improving the quality of care. Almost half the states now have long waiting lists for childcare help and some must deny assistance to any family not on welfare.

Studies and interviews with parents find that families without assistance face difficult choices between paying for childcare and paying the rent, going into debt, or settling for what they know is inadequate care because no other options exist. Ultimately many women in low wage jobs that offer little flexibility are forced to choose between maintaining employment or taking care of their children.

Street Children: Facts


How many street children exist?

The numbers are hard to estimate because street children are not included in surveys and censuses. Also, circumstances such as war, deteriorating economies and natural disasters can increase their numbers quickly. For example, before the 1991 Gulf War, there were no reported street children in Iraq; but with the ongoing conflict, UNICEF is alarmed by the growing numbers of orphans on the streets. For all these reasons, estimates vary widely, placing the number of street children anywhere from 30 to 170 million.

Do they have contact with their families?

Only a minority has no contact with their family. In Brazil about 90% have occasional contact with their family.

Some children left their homes to look for work in the cities because of poverty and they attempt to send money home. In Kingston, Jamaica, over 90% of street children came from families without fathers that have limited family income.

Other children left because of family dysfunction and do not have contact with their families. In the United States, poverty is not the main factor - a majority of the estimated 750,000 to 1 million street children have fled physical or sexual abuse.


Are street children both male and female?

There are far fewer girls than boys, but girl street children do exist. Girls are more vulnerable to violence (including sexual attacks) on the street, although this is a problem for boys, too. Many get lured into brothels. Sexual exploitation of girls is reported highest in India, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Brazil and the Philippines. Post-communist Eastern Europe has also seen an explosion in child sexual exploitation.


What is the relationship between living on the streets and violence?

Law and order officials and self-styled vigilantes both attempt to “clean the street” of these children in many parts of the world. In Latin America the problem is particularly acute, with the worst offenders being Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras. An average of three street children are killed every day in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In Cairo, street children are routinely rounded up and beaten by the police, their heads are shaven and then they are transferred to crowded detention centers.

Higher rates of drug use and involvement in petty crime make street children vulnerable to violence from others on the street. The main reason for gang membership is protection.


Are street children more vulnerable to disease?

Street children are much more prone to diseases associated with risky sexual activity and/or drug use. In Toronto 50% of street children surveyed had a sexually transmitted disease. In Guatemala 53% had sexually transmitted diseases. In Cambodia, 40% of all new HIV infections are in street working children.

The Guatemalan study also found that 92% of the children had lice and 88% had contracted upper respiratory infections due to exposure. Skin infections were also common.

  

Litany of Remembering

 

 

In Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe... 
We give thanks for mothers everywhere. 

When times are hard, in situations of suffering... 
We give thanks for the sacrifices they make each day for their children. 

For their examples of love, caring, and hope...
We give thanks for their generosity, their compassion and their hope for the future. 

In the Congo, Iraq, Uganda, Palestine, Colombia... 
We remember mothers in our global community who care for their children as guns of war are heard.

In Zimbabwe, India, Guyana, Belize, Botswana... 
We remember mothers as sicknesses such as AIDS and malaria ravage their lands.

In Haiti, Burundi, Eritrea, Cambodia, Guatemala... 
We remember mothers whose access to food and water is scarce.

In Sudan, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Afghanistan... 
We remember mothers who bundled up their children, fled their homes, and became refugees.

 

 

 

Prayer for Mothers

 

Mary, Mother of Sorrows,
Embrace mothers at risk who struggle
to raise their children.
Bless them with support
from their communities.
Touch our hearts and our souls so that we
can support policies and programs
that respect the dignity
and the needs of
all mothers.
Amen.

Published - May 2005