Editorial: Spotlight on suffering in Hawke's Bay

Dr Russell Wills.

Hawke's Bay Today launches a campaign today aimed at focusing attention on poverty in our province.

It can be easy at times in a First World country like ours to lose sight of those less fortunate than ourselves. There can be an assumption that just because we have social welfare systems in place, poverty does not exist.

But it does. Dr Russell Wills, the Hawke's Bay-based Children's Commissioner, says more than half of kids born in Hawke's Bay are from families in the three bottom income deciles, effectively meaning they are disadvantaged before they draw their first breath.

As part of our campaign, Hawke's Bay Today has teamed up with the Salvation Army, an organisation I have long admired for the wonderful work it does, to highlight the problem.

We are calling on our readers to donate to the Salvation Army to help this organisation in its fight against poverty in our province.

We kick off the campaign with a look at the scale of the problem in our Insight section today. Next week we will examine costs that poor families struggle to meet, like schooling, energy and food.

There has been much debate recently about poverty in Hawke's Bay, with some saying it is not as bad as it has been made out to be.

While poverty here may not be at the level in other countries, it does not make it any less real.

There are people who simply cannot get a job and do not have enough money to feed themselves or their families. Some of them may have found themselves in that position because of bad choices, while others had no choice. Either way they are suffering and they need our help, especially the innocent children.

For some the stigma of being poor means they do not ask for help and as a result they, and their children, suffer.

It is these people who we want to help. As a community we can make a difference in the lives of people who are suffering.