Poverty is harsh. It’s exhausting, desperation-inducing and unbearable. Poverty creates a world that no one should live in. A world where you don’t thrive… you survive. There are no guarantees. Not of your next meal, clothes to wear on your back, a bed to lay your head on, or shelter to keep you warm. Poverty is deprivation of many sorts. It can perpetuate a cycle of hopelessness and helplessness. It can feed mental turmoil that paints pictures of a bleak and impossible future for children and families living in its grip—thoughts of “what if?” consume young and old minds alike. What if there’s no food to eat tonight? What if I never go back to school? What if things never change?

The questions are endless. But many go unanswered.

For children living in poverty, life is often seen through the lens of barriers. Even if they dare to dream, their dreams are clouded by the harsh realities they must face daily. Families constantly live on the edge of hard decisions – choosing between hunger or sickness, medicine or food, education or survival. No one should have to live like this. Poverty makes life nearly impossible. It is much more than empty plates and bellies, sick bodies and near-death experiences; it is the deep-rooted cause of despair. Leaving children and families feeling unloved, unseen and disconnected.

Poverty shows no mercy. It invades every aspect of a person’s life—body and soul. It shapes physical health, influences thoughts, alters self-perception and impacts relationships with God and others. Nothing is left untouched, though some effects are more visible than others.

In this blog, we will gain a deeper understanding of life in poverty as parents and children in Compassion’s program vulnerably share the heartbreaking realities they face daily.

In this blog:

Fighting for basic needs

Living between hard choices

The silent struggles of isolation

Limited hopes and dreams

The cost of survival

Long hours, low wages

Poor housing and infrastructure

The challenge of explaining hardship

The emotional and physical toll

Disconnected faith

Hope—in Jesus’ name

1. Fighting for basic needs

For many families living in poverty, even the simplest things like food, shelter and education become luxuries they can’t afford. “When the pandemic hit, I decided to help out on a pig farm. We received chicken guts to feed the pigs. So, I collected the nicer intestines to bring them home to my children, to cook and eat. Thanks to the Lord, the church supported me at the right moment. When we didn’t have anything to eat, they came with a big chicken and we ate meat for the first time in a long time,” shares Yhovana, a mother in Bolivia.

Yhovana is standing outside with her sister and her friends. They are all holding baskets full of food. Behind them are trees and mountains.

With the support of her Compassion centre, Yhovana (furthest left) now has food to feed her children.

For others, meals are not guaranteed and families must find creative ways to survive. “Poverty means skipping meals or not eating, so your children can eat,” says Orlando, a father in El Salvador.

Even the prospect of education becomes a source of stress, as children fear being sent home for something as basic as unpaid school fees. “I used to fear being sent home because of school fees. When my father died, I thought that was going to happen to me. The embarrassment of hearing your name being called in front of your classmates as one of those who have failed to pay their school fees—I never wanted to experience that,” 12-year-old Esther says.

When the most basic rights are often out of reach, many are forced to make sacrifices to get by.

2. Living between hard choices

For families living in poverty, each day is a struggle filled with heartbreaking choices: survival or dignity.

“We don’t have easy access to water,” shares Olive, a mother in Uganda. “On the days I fetch water, I cannot work. Many of us cannot afford to pay for water, so we walk to the mountain and fetch it from a cave. We leave home at 6 a.m. and don’t reach the cave until noon. Descending is easier, so the walk back only takes three hours. The water lasts us for two days.”

For Devaki, a mother in Sri Lanka, the choice was between protecting her children’s health and caring for her husband. “When my husband had tuberculosis, he was told to sleep in another room so he wouldn’t pass it to the children. But we don’t have a separate area—our home is just one room. He had to sleep outside under a tree for two weeks.”

Pradeepkumar and Devaki are standing outside their home with three of their four children: Pivishan, Rekonshan, and Rebeaka

When Devaki’s (left) Compassion centre heard about her husband Pradeepkumar’s tuberculosis, they rushed in to provide temporary shelter for him and food for the family.

When the pandemic struck, 17-year-old Kidist was faced with a hard decision: pursue his education at the cost of his family’s basic needs or put his dreams aside in order to help them survive. “I asked my mother to buy us a radio so I could keep up with my school lessons during the pandemic,” he says. “I knew we were struggling with our daily food and I didn’t want to burden her, but the only gateway out of poverty is education. If that is compromised, then our dream vanishes too.”

These are the everyday realities of children and families living in poverty. But they are not isolated stories. They reflect a larger, universal truth: poverty is not just a lack of resources—it’s a daily struggle that forces families to make impossible decisions, which often come at the expense of dreams, opportunities and well-being.

3. The silent struggles of isolation

Poverty also significantly impacts relationships, leading to feelings of rejection and isolation. For many families, the inability to participate in social events becomes a painful reminder of their circumstances.

“Sometimes I am not able to participate in social functions like weddings and burials because I have nothing to wear. I feel bad yet I cannot explain myself. When you feel you are stigmatized because of poverty, you tend to isolate yourself from other people,” Olive says.

For children like Angel, living in poverty also means feeling invisible and disconnected from the world around them. “It can feel like nobody cares about you and you are not important at all,” says 11-year-old Angel from Mexico. This kind of emotional toll can go unnoticed, but it deepens the cycle of poverty by making individuals feel unworthy and alone.

4. Limited hopes and dreams

Dreaming beyond the daily struggle for survival often feels out of reach. Each day is all about the urgent need for food, shelter and safety, leaving little time to think about what lies ahead or to dare dream about a better future.

“Everything is limited, including how big I dream about something. Everything looks narrow for me,” says Frangky, a father in Indonesia. “Sometimes, my situation has prevented me from dreaming big or expecting something good to happen to my family.”

Yosina, wearing a pink shirt and blue shorts, and her parents, Frangky, wearing a white shirt, and Deisy, wearing a black shirt, are sitting in the living room of their house. Yosina is holding a stuffed animal.

With Compassion supporting his daughter’s school tuition, Frangky (right) and his family are able to persevere in the face of poverty’s challenges.

Without access to opportunities or resources, seeing a better future becomes a luxury that seems unattainable. For 21-year-old Sara from Nicaragua, the harsh realities of her community further dampened her hopes: “In the community I live in, access to higher education is very limited due to the high rate of unemployment. Many youth start working at a very young age to help their families. I grew fearful and hopeless, thinking that perhaps I wouldn’t be able to make my dream come true.”

These barriers make it difficult for children and families to imagine a life beyond survival, often leaving them feeling stuck in a cycle of uncertainty.

5. The cost of survival

When survival depends on a daily income, staying home is not an option, even in the midst of a crisis. “I do not have the luxury of working from home during the pandemic. If I don’t physically appear at work, I am not paid. My biggest fear is being unable to provide for my children in this critical time. What if I contract the disease and then bring it back? But if I decide not to work, there is another calamity looming. It is a choice I must contend with every day,” says Anne, a mother in Uganda.

For Orlando, the risks of his job as a recycler are even more extreme. “Because of my job, I have been wounded by objects I found in the trash. The emotional impact is worse because you never know what you will find. There have been times when I have found human hands in the trash. I have also put my life in danger. I walk around the different neighbourhoods and many of them are ruled by the opposite gang that rules my neighbourhood. Once the gang members chased me out, shooting from a distance as a warning sign for me to not ever come back.”

Orlando, wearing a dark blue shirt, is looking for items he can recycle in the local landfills. He is holding up a bag full of items he has found to sell.

Although Orlando works a dangerous job as a scavenger, Compassion’s support gives Orlando’s sons the chance to dream of a brighter future.

Parents and caregivers face unimaginable dangers just to provide for their families—and often, these risks are unavoidable.

6. Long hours, low wages

The need to survive turns children into caregivers from a very young age. With hopes of earning just enough for a living, they get into the cycle of low-paying, exhausting jobs so they can afford food for themselves and their families.

“I have worked since I was a little girl. My neighbours paid me to carry water for them. When I was 13 years old, I was already working cleaning houses and when I turned 18, I started working in factories,” shares Consuelo, a mother in El Salvador.

Orlando Jr., wearing a gray shirt, and Abner, wearing a blue shirt and green shorts, are outside their home playing with their mother, Consuelo, and father, Orlando.

Despite the challenges of poverty Consuelo (left) and her family face daily, she has learned to rely on God: “I have learned to value what God gives you and to be very grateful when blessings come.”

Even when the pay is little, the work continues. Families continue to labour tirelessly because survival depends on it. The long hours provide a fragile sense of stability, but the income remains insufficient to lift them from poverty.

For Frangky, the effort is relentless: “I work multiple jobs, finding fish in the sea from 7pm to 11pm and starting at 8am to work in my garden until 4pm. But I only earn around US $3.48 per day.” Despite working nearly every hour of the day, the rewards remain far from enough and families are left to wonder how long they can keep up this exhausting routine.

7. Poor housing and infrastructure

Families living in poverty are often the most vulnerable when disaster strikes. Poor infrastructure and inadequate housing make it difficult for them to escape the devastating effects of floods, landslides and other natural calamities. “Our community has a lot of hills. When it rains heavily, the streets and houses at the bottom of the hill flood. We can’t go to school or to the Compassion centre. The waters rise to our knees. Since the streets don’t have proper sanitation, the rainwater floods the sewer and it can result in many diseases for us,” says Lucas, a 10-year-old boy from Brazil.

Lucas, wearing a gray and brown patterned shirt with a protective face mask. He is sitting at a red desk inside the centre and is doing homework.

Lucas’ local Compassion centre stepped during the global COVID-19 pandemic to provide children with literacy and tutoring classes.

For some, the fear of disaster is constant. “Whenever it would rain, I would be afraid. I always thought that if the house collapsed, we would all die,” shares Olive.

In communities where families are already struggling, the additional threat of natural disasters only deepens their vulnerability, making survival even more precarious.

8. The challenge of explaining hardship

For families living in poverty, some of the hardest moments come when they must explain to their children why they cannot meet even their most basic needs. These conversations are often filled with sorrow, as parents struggle to help their children understand the gap between their children’s expectations and the harsh realities of their situation. “When you’re living in poverty, it is hard to explain to your young children why they cannot have their basic needs. Children think you have what they need but are denying them these things. They cannot understand why other children have things and they don’t,” shares Olive.

For Devaki, a mother in Sri Lanka, the pain of denying her children even the smallest comfort is overwhelming. “Every time one of our children asks us to buy them their favorite toy or something they like, we have to say no because we can’t afford it. As parents, this makes us very sad. I cannot even cook their favourite food for them. We can’t give them nutritious food, so all four of them are underweight.”

Rekonshan is wearing a brown shirt with tan sleeves and red shorts. He is laying down on the floor in his home and is playing with toys.

Despite not having very much, Rekonshan, Devaki’s youngest son, enjoys the toys that he does have.

These heartbreaking conversations take an emotional toll on parents, who are left feeling helpless as they struggle to provide their children with basic needs.

9. The emotional and physical toll

Jovanna, a 10-year-old girl from Nicaragua, recalls the harsh effects of malnutrition on her when she was little: “When I was younger, we suffered from malnutrition. That made us very sad and very tired all the time. We wouldn’t talk much because we didn’t have the energy to hold a conversation.”

Lack of food and proper nourishment leaves children too exhausted to interact with those around them or to fully engage in school, hindering their ability to form connections and reach their full potential.

A group of children are sitting outside the Compassion centre and are reading their Bibles.

Compassion’s holistic development program cares for every aspect of a child’s development, including their emotional and physical needs.

For adults, the toll is just as devastating. Orlando shares the strain of constantly seeking help just to survive: “It means seeking help in desperate moments. Trust me, I was very embarrassed to ask because I didn’t like doing so, but I had no choice.”

The shame and fear of asking for help add a heavy emotional burden, each request reminding them of their vulnerability. The cycle of struggling to survive physically and emotionally wears families down, leaving them desperate for a way out.

10. Disconnected faith

For many living in poverty, the challenges they face can either deepen their faith or create doubts about God’s love.

“At church, I was thinking they have prayed for me, but I have nothing to eat. How will I experience the love of God when I am in this situation?” shares Olive. “Maybe people who are okay can experience the love of God. I thought that I was not among the people God loves until people helped me to grow spiritually.

Closeup of Janna, in a brown shirt and blue denim skirt, sitting in a classroom at the center holding hands with Hazel, her child development worker. Hazel, in blue jeans, is a Compassion alumna. Hazel has a Bible open in front of her.

Compassion’s frontline church partners work hard to bring the hope and love of Jesus to their communities.

For others, poverty drives them to depend more deeply on God’s provision. “It makes you be closer to God,” says Orlando. “So many times, I have brought everyone together and said, we will give thanks to God because we have eaten. But I have also gathered them to say we will give thanks to God even though we have not eaten. It is hard to do. But we know we depend absolutely on Him and must give thanks to Him always.”

In these moments of scarcity, faith becomes a vital lifeline, reminding families that even in their struggles, God is with them.

Hope—in Jesus’ name

Poverty may try to define a child’s future, but it will never have the final say. There is hope—an unshakable force that empowers children and families to rise above their struggles.

With access to education, nourishing meals and the love of Jesus, children are not just surviving—they are thriving. Families like Olive’s and Orlando’s no longer carry the weight of despair, while children like Angel are discovering that their worth is not determined by their circumstances, but by the love of God.

Poverty shouldn’t write any child’s story. Hope should. Every child deserves the chance to dream, to grow and to become all they were created to be. Join us in rewriting more stories. Stories filled with hope, opportunity and the chance to flourish.

Will you move with compassion today to release more children from poverty?

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Rayo Adegoke

Rayo Adegoke

Rayo Adegoke is a Content Specialist at Compassion Canada. She is deeply passionate about telling stories that testify of God's goodness. Between read alouds, sing alouds, cutting crusts off sandwiches and playing hide and seek with her daughter, she loves to bake with her husband.