My sister sponsored a family from Ukraine to come to Canada (Winnipeg).

They were absolutely astonished that every year we have a "Rummage Day" here in Winnipeg where people can put out any rummage that's in good condition but unneeded and unwanted by the owner. They had my sister and brother-in-law driving around all day and evening collecting old computers, CRT style TV sets, lawn furniture, etc. etc. etc. To them, no one in their right mind would throw such stuff away if it still works.

In Ukraine, these people lived on the outskirts of a small city where their entire front and back yards were used to grow vegetables. They had no running water and an outhouse at the edge of their property. Three generations lived in the same two bedroom house. Their 19 year old son remembers that the most joyful day of his life was when his grandmother (who was working for my other sister as a "nanny") sent enough money back to Ukraine for his parents to buy him a bicycle. But, by their standards, they were a middle class family.

There is truly "poor" and there is "western style poor". Poor people in the west (Europe and North America) go to food banks so that they have more money to spend on alcohol, drugs and gambling. The poor people in the west go to government agencies demanding that agency do something about the roaches in the modern high rise government apartments they live in free of charge. The poor people in the west take taxis to go shopping for groceries because they know they will be reimbursed that expense by the government. The poor in the west are required by their welfare workers to look for a job, but will scuttle their chances of getting hired by showing up at job interviews drunk or high. This is a kind of "poor" that really doesn't fit the definition.