by Shawn Bailey

Created on: June 30, 2008

The US Office of Management and Budget may define poverty as a certain monetary threshold, but a more qualitative measure is quality of life. There are many levels of poverty, from the blue-collar parents with four kids who can only eat out once a month, to a family in the slums of Rio de Janeiro who are at risk for dengue fever and wondering when the next meal will come. But regardless of ethnicity and locale, these diverse groups of people who live in poverty all have one thing in common. They desperately need a way out.

Poverty is the ultimate disease. It can infect anyone and everyone. It exists in every country in the world and has never been completely eradicated at any point in human history. Many are infected from birth and surrounded their entire lives by others who are infected. As a result of living with the disease from day one, some people just accept it and refuse searching for a cure. The disease can make you work like a horse for 18 hours a day while it gradually breaks your will, or subdue you immediately with a loss of hope. Some experts would argue that there is no cure, and some would even tout that this hierarchy is necessary. But educated opinions on economy and culture don't mean much to those in need. In a world where we can split atoms and decode the human genome, can technology be the panacea?

The answer is no. Cell phones, portable computers, hybrid cars, and digital cameras were all listed on CNN's list of top 25 non-medical innovations for the past 25 years. At first glance, none of these advances seem like a cure-all for the underprivileged, or for that fact, even available. However, as costs sink and competition abounds, you see more and more cell phones and computers in the hands of the poor. And although I am sure there are cases where people have become power sellers on Ebay using a rental store computer, is this technology really helping the masses emerge from poverty?

There are organizations that fervently believe so, such as One Laptop per Child (OLPC). Their goal is to put a laptop in the hands of close to two billion children in developing countries. They hope to plant a seed of hope in each child by allowing access to educational resources. There are no long term studies yet for this new program, but it is easy to see how a new laptop in any child's hand would increase morale and open a whole new world of knowledge to that young person. And it is knowledge itself that is a common factor of both poverty and the tech world.

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