In Britain, the gap between rich and poor is widening. The country’s poor children are the most vulnerable victims of this division. The documentary Poor Kids charts the daily life and observations of a handful of these children and reveals that the escalating poverty epidemic is affecting 3.5 million others like them.
The families featured in the film barely have enough money to eat most of the time, let alone invest in the entertainment that every child craves and cares about. Instead of jungle gyms and swimming pools, these kids are forced to invent their own games, often in abandoned buildings and other unsafe places. They live in some of the country’s more than 1 million homes deemed uninhabitable. These mold-infested living spaces make them vulnerable to skin infections, respiratory ailments, and various chronic diseases.
The country is in the midst of a severe economic crisis and job opportunities are becoming increasingly scarce. Placed in some of the hardest-hit communities, the filmmakers focus on the children most affected by this tragic reality.
These children observe their families’ struggles every day and absorb the insecurities that come with living in poverty. Do they still have an apartment the next day? Where will your next meal come from? What happens when they can’t fit in their shoes or need new clothes? Having experienced the joys and luxuries that working parents offer their children, they yearn for a safe haven where they too can experience the freedom to live out their imaginations. But they are aware of the sparseness of their surroundings, and many of them suspect that a better life awaits them.
Poor Kids is critical because it provides an open platform for the often silent victims of poverty. Often moving and insightful, her insights should create a sense of urgency for those empowered to implement meaningful economic reform.
Directed by: Jezza Neumann
