It's ironic that my first post on YN should be about poverty. Poverty is something my grandparents and parents had faced to some extent. I, on the other hand have been fortunate to have been spared the 'burn' of poverty. I use the word 'burn' because from what I gather, poverty is something that doesn't just affect you physically but sears the soul in a way that only another person sharing the same fate can truly understand. I come from a middle-class Indian family and live a fairly comfortable but not extravagant life. Thankfully, I have never been short of necessities. But from a young age, my parents have exposed me to the plight of the poor around the world, so as to remind me of my favourable disposition and to be thankful to the good Lord. Whenever I wasted food as a child, my they would remind me of the millions of children starving in Africa and other poverty stricken nations. Even to this day, I am careful not to overspend and to budget my daily spending.

One day, when I was about five, my parents took me to Kelantan (a rural state) for a dental conference. I experienced a state of culture shock. Actual beggars littered the streets a few miles from the airport! I never knew that poverty existed in my very own Malaysia! My five year old mind thought that poverty was confined to the countries that could only be viewed by television but never reached from here. Later in the trip, I had the opportunity to visit a rural estate. This was part of the community service section of the conference during which, my parents and other dentists were to give free treatment to the less fortunate. What I saw there shocked me to an extent to which it forever seared itself on my brain. An Indian family of 5 lived in a house that seemed no bigger than my parents' master bedroom. The floors were constructed of bare mud and the walls were simply cheap plywood pieced together by rusty nails. They wore torn and tattered clothes that were barely distinguishable from the rags we use in the kitchen back home. The most heart- wrenching sight was during their meal time. They would pour semi-cooked rice into a large pail and mix it up with canned sardine. The entire family ate by hand as they had no cutlery to speak of. When I returned home from the conference, I brought up the issue with my parents. They talked to me about the history of poverty in Malaysia and its prevalence up to this day. Since that day, battling poverty in my own country has been a cause dear to my heart. I try to do my bid via the local Rotary Club and other charitable organisations.

Dear fellow YN members, I feel that before we can strive to change the world as a whole, we should look into the affairs of our own country and start there. Then and only then will we have the resources and the understanding to take on more global issues.

P.S. To all Malaysians out there, I hope you will respond to this call as your nation is in dire need of your help.

Poverty in Malaysia is a reality. Its just the politicians are closing an eye. Evn the assistanacee give to those is meagre. It will be there until politicians become humanatarians.

hi.. i am from malaysia too and i think this is a good article for us youths to read. Most of us have a fairly comfortable life and tend to forget that there are people among us who are very much less fortunate than us. it is about time that we youths get together and do something about this. Charity begins at home..