Understanding Vulnerability --> Doing something about it

There is no doubt that all vulnerable populations are deserving of help. Any ideation to the contrary only reflects a misunderstanding of the interconnectedness of diminished opportunity (i.e. in the form of wealth, health, resources, education, trauma-free childhood, etc.) and vulnerability, such as that illustrated by poor health outcomes. Those of us with this understanding know that diminished opportunity and increased vulnerability will only perpetuate in a vicious cycle if no interventions are put in place to help vulnerable populations. We question how anyone could be content with relegating the vulnerable to their dire straits. I reiterate my argument that these people simply don’t understand.

To illustrate my point, I’d like to share a personal anecdote from my time in the Philippines. I was able to do some work with the country’s national program Doctors to the Barrios, which deploys physicians to rural, doctor-less municipalties. The doctors primarily worked out of clinics located in the town centers but also did visits to “far-flung barrios”, as they called them. One particular visit that I went on stands out in my mind. I accompanied the doctor and other health workers to a remote barrio in the mountains, where barrio residents were awaiting us. There were numerous women, toting multiple children each. The children were mostly naked, filthy, urinating where they were standing/sitting. It seemed like the mothers just could not care for all their children; it was a difficult sight to behold. But each woman that the doctor spoke to essentially disregarded any suggestion of contraception. As the day wore on, I started to think that these women were hopeless cases, with no desire to lift themselves or their children out of their dire straits—and yes, the thought crossed my mind, “So why bother to try to help them?” I threw all understanding of cultural competency and the cycle of diminished opportunity and vulnerability out the window. Now I was deeply ashamed of myself when I realized what was going through my mind (so don’t hold it against me!)—I claim momentary insanity.

My point is that when people don’t understand (or momentarily forget) the upstream causes of why certain populations are vulnerable, they’re less likely to see vulnerable people as deserving of help. A society must promote this understanding in order for the people of the society to see it and act on it. Such promotion can come through media, the curricula of the education system, etc. Now I concede that I’ve presupposed that people (or governments or countries) will give to those who deserve help—because helping others also means giving up a little something for yourself. But being the idealist that I am, I do hold on to the hope that the more privileged in the world will uphold, for all others, basic human rights and the right to live with dignity.