Socio-Economic Patterns and Their Impact on the Future
In El Salvador overcrowding is a huge issue. There aren’t enough houses for all the citizens and most are living in awful conditions. Many are forced to live in awful conditions and with natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch and many of the 2001 earthquakes many homes were destroyed and never rebuilt. Families just cannot afford the tools or supplies. A single-room apartment with communal bathrooms is considered a good home for the poor. Another option of housing for the impoverished is a shack by a river or ravine. Usually in these types of homes the bed is the only type of furniture and the walls are typically made of mud bricks, concrete blocks or corrugated metal. The floors are usually just the earth under their feet and most in rural families share beds with kitchens built outside. Latrines are usually located outside for bathroom use but some homes don’t even have a latrine. In many single-room apartments, communal facilities are the only option. These poor living conditions are a product of over-crowding. Houses need to be built quickly and cheaply to be affordable and therefore the houses are awfully built, unhygienic and usually unstable. It seems as the future draws nearer that it will be very difficult to house all the citizens of El Salvador.
Unemployment rates are increasing fast. They are changing the traditional Salvadoran family by forcing men to leave the home in search of work as well as sometimes forcing the whole family to move seasonally to find work. Half of all Salvadorans live in poverty therefore there is a lot of pressure to find good work. One of the reasons that children are not attending school as they age is because they are usually urgently needed at home to either care for siblings while the adults are out at work or to work themselves in the informal sector. A lot of Salvadorans are forced to work in Maquillas, which are similar to a sweat shop, in order to earn money. They have a reputation of having union repression and poor labour standards. The economy in El Salvador is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. War and natural disasters are to blame and this makes making money even harder for Salvadorans. In some areas, 50% of people are unemployed. Despite the situation the economy is starting to gain strength due to increased trade and financial help from Salvadorans living in other countries.
Another problem in El Salvador is the lack of education. Because of the poorly kept school facilities, an abundance of Salvadoran children never finish pre-school. Almost one tenth of the population of children never begin. Most schools in El Salvador tend to be inadequate and in poor condition. This situation is even worse in rural areas. Children lack textbooks and basic supplies and most don’t have a school close enough to attend. Primary school is free but families still must pay for some supplies, uniforms and sometimes registration fees. These costs tend to be too high for a lot of families and therefore less and less children can attend school. With such lack in education Salvadoran citizens cannot receive the knowledge they need and this is a large issue for females. Young girls are not getting enough Sexual Education and are therefore unaware of certain dangers. More females are getting pregnant at young ages and this is resulting in an immensely growing population. This can pose even more overcrowding problems in the future.
Poor health care is a problem in many of the rural and poor areas of the country. Poverty, natural disasters and war have stunted any improvements that were planned for the healthcare system in El Salvador. The country’s infant mortality rate is high and people continually die of preventable illnesses such as the measles. Many also suffer from malnutrition as well as linked diseases to malnutrition. Most of the impoverished live in unsanitary conditions for in the cities open sewage remains a continual health threat. A lot of the waste from the sewers travels into the water systems and mal de mayo is a disease that is a direct result. Impure drinking water causes outbreaks of Cholera which is a deadly disease and mal de mayo is the leading cause of death in children that are under the age of five. The future seems brighter for a lot of non-governmental organizations are currently trying to help bring relief to those in need in El Salvador.
Unemployment rates are increasing fast. They are changing the traditional Salvadoran family by forcing men to leave the home in search of work as well as sometimes forcing the whole family to move seasonally to find work. Half of all Salvadorans live in poverty therefore there is a lot of pressure to find good work. One of the reasons that children are not attending school as they age is because they are usually urgently needed at home to either care for siblings while the adults are out at work or to work themselves in the informal sector. A lot of Salvadorans are forced to work in Maquillas, which are similar to a sweat shop, in order to earn money. They have a reputation of having union repression and poor labour standards. The economy in El Salvador is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. War and natural disasters are to blame and this makes making money even harder for Salvadorans. In some areas, 50% of people are unemployed. Despite the situation the economy is starting to gain strength due to increased trade and financial help from Salvadorans living in other countries.
Another problem in El Salvador is the lack of education. Because of the poorly kept school facilities, an abundance of Salvadoran children never finish pre-school. Almost one tenth of the population of children never begin. Most schools in El Salvador tend to be inadequate and in poor condition. This situation is even worse in rural areas. Children lack textbooks and basic supplies and most don’t have a school close enough to attend. Primary school is free but families still must pay for some supplies, uniforms and sometimes registration fees. These costs tend to be too high for a lot of families and therefore less and less children can attend school. With such lack in education Salvadoran citizens cannot receive the knowledge they need and this is a large issue for females. Young girls are not getting enough Sexual Education and are therefore unaware of certain dangers. More females are getting pregnant at young ages and this is resulting in an immensely growing population. This can pose even more overcrowding problems in the future.
Poor health care is a problem in many of the rural and poor areas of the country. Poverty, natural disasters and war have stunted any improvements that were planned for the healthcare system in El Salvador. The country’s infant mortality rate is high and people continually die of preventable illnesses such as the measles. Many also suffer from malnutrition as well as linked diseases to malnutrition. Most of the impoverished live in unsanitary conditions for in the cities open sewage remains a continual health threat. A lot of the waste from the sewers travels into the water systems and mal de mayo is a disease that is a direct result. Impure drinking water causes outbreaks of Cholera which is a deadly disease and mal de mayo is the leading cause of death in children that are under the age of five. The future seems brighter for a lot of non-governmental organizations are currently trying to help bring relief to those in need in El Salvador.
An organization that is bringing aid to children who wish to play sports but are unable to.
http://www.righttoplay.com/International/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.righttoplay.com/International/Pages/Home.aspx
Some charts on the unemployment rates in El Salvador
http://www.indexmundi.com/el_salvador/unemployment_rate.html
http://www.indexmundi.com/el_salvador/unemployment_rate.html
