The book, “The Bottom Billion” by Paul Collier explains the three categories of poverty – “the bottom billion”, “the poor”, and “the middle income”. The bottom billion are the ones who suffer from extreme poverty, making an income of less than $1 a day. The poor are the individuals who live a mere subsistence on $1-$2 a day. Survival is not a question as the basic needs of the poor are met, whereas the the bottom billion don’t have access to the basic resources. The middle income are the individuals who can easily afford comforts and have access to all basic services like the health, education etc. The movie many provides examples of individuals who easily fit into Collier’s 3 categories. All orphan and handicapped young children, living on streets with no access to basic resources, who also fight for food every night fit into the category of extreme poverty. These kids are trapped in poverty. Heneforth, survival is a big question for these kids. An old lady in the movie who is suffering from HIV is also an example of “the bottom billion.” She has no access to hospital and medications for treatment. She is extremely poor as she is living in a hut made up of dry leaves. In addition, majority of individuals …show more content…
According to Sachs, “Many of the world's poorest countries are severely hindered by high transport costs because they are landlocked; situated in high mountain ranges; or lack navigable rivers, long coastlines, or good natural harbors.” (55) In the movie, Mwanza in Tanzania can also be described as town with poor physical geography because it also has hilly terrain surrounded by unnavigable rivers with extremely inferior transportation, making the place less accessible to the other countries. Government plays an important role in providing basic facilities like primary health care, roads, power grids, ports, education etc. Lack of financial means to provides such facilities creates a fiscal trap which is another cause of economic stagnation. In the movie, Jonathan, a painter shows the life of the children through his paintings. He says that “children have no access to education and schools, as a result they end end being drug addicts, criminals, beggars etc. because they have nothing to do.” Moreover, he claims that “these children don’t have access to properly constructed houses.” In addition, a Mwanzian in the movie says that “the city has no proper healthcare system”. Mkono, head of Ito fishing camp said that “forty- fifty fisherman die in every six months because of HIV.” This statement of Mkono clearly indicates the fact there are no proper health facilities in the town making the place vulnerable to