Every year the United States gives away millions of dollars to countries in need. Although I believe this is a very generous thing we are doing, I feel that there are areas in our own country in dire need of our financial assistance. Instead of allocating all of our money to foreign countries, maybe we should consider helping those in our own country first. Watching television reports and reading the newspapers about the conditions people in our country are living in has made me aware of the dire need these people are in. These stories have greatly upset me. Virginia is one example of a state in poverty. In rural areas, when the most critical poverty rates are all isolated into a specific area like they are in southern Virginia, this can cause a negative stigma to begin being associated with this area. This leads to low amount of available jobs, low quality of education, and low quality of health care, which all make the problem of poverty even worse in this region. Americans may not be fully aware of the poverty that thousands of families are dealing with everyday. I am not sure why we do not focus on these people, but we definitely need to start paying more attention to their despair.

In the United States, people work many hours everyday to try and support their families. They work long, tiring hours trying to earn decent pay in menial jobs. Most do not have a formal education, so good jobs are hard to come by. Many people live with their extended family. They
their money together and share expenses. These people are not able to survive on their own. Their homes tend to be small, overcrowded and dirty. They generally do not have any modern conveniences such as washing machines, dishwashers and automobiles. They have no insurance and cannot afford to go to the dentist or doctor. However, there are very generous professionals who donate their time and services to help these people in desperate need.

The feeling of desperation that these people have can lead them to drink and take drugs. This has become another huge battle they have to struggle with. Since many of the adults become alcoholics and drug addicts, they are unable to care for the children. Therefore, the children are left to survive on their own. Some are fortunate enough to overcome their situation, while others are simply forgotten. We need to “step in” as a country and start to concentrate on our future. We need to become more aware of what is occurring right here in front of us and start focusing on our problems before we venture out to other countries. Hopefully, we will be able to do enough in the United States and still have enough money and manpower to aid those in need overseas.

Even though this is will be a long struggle, we can make a difference. Every person in the world does not need to be wealthy; they just need to be able to have food on their table and a place to lie down at night. I realize we are a very generous country. In the past, we have given over two billion dollars a year to Africa alone. We are a strong, prosperous country and if we want to remain this way, we need to “take care” of our own, so they can become an asset as opposed to a detriment. Putting our country first is what we NEED to do, so let’s start now.