GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 138
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Even though developing countries receive financial help from rich countries, poverty is still an issue. Some people say that they should be receiving other kinds of help to eliminate poverty.
Do you think only financial help is not good enough? What other forms of help can be offered to those countries?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Despite receiving financial aid from developed nations, many developing countries are still in a grinding poverty trap. For this, many economists suggest that they ought to be receiving other types of assistance so as to eradicate abject poverty. However, I put forward the view that only financial aid proves insufficient and inadequate. Beyond financial aid, therefore, rich countries should help poor nations in other ways.
To commence with, it is somewhat a grandiose idea to simply donate money to poor or developing countries. Recipient countries, many a time, do not have the institutions and knowledge to tackle the root cause of poverty. Moreover, bloated state bureaucracy and vested interest groups pour money into their pockets. Not only does this make their citizens continue to live on the brink of destitution, but it also makes the nation becomes unstable due to political upheavals instigate by underprivileged people. Which is why it seems crucially important for rich countries to devise effective ways to invest in poor countries, instead of giving generous donations.
Affluent nations can adopt other feasible measures to alleviate the dire situation. First and foremost, they should arrange education for all and technical education for young adults. They can also award scholarships to brilliant students from developing countries and make sure these students return to their homeland in the future to help build the nation. Education and technical skills can pave the way to jobs, resources and the skillsets that people need to survive and thrive. A very good instance is Vietnamese students who are offered advanced training without any fees by the Soviet Union. In turn, these students contribute significantly to Vietnam’s economic growth and thereby reducing poverty dramatically. Another effective approach is that developed nations should give easy access to their lucrative markets. For instance, India has benefited tremendously from the trade preference offered by rich nations.
In conclusion, hundreds of thousands of people around the world are going through the vicious cycle of poverty. Providing financial aid to developing nations does not ameliorate destitution hence other forms of aid should be taken into consideration instead of giving money.