Poverty is brutal

I was talking with a friend the other day. He was mentioning how the cost of public transport has gone up again (it is four times what it was in December). The amount he pays to get to and from work is far more than his monthly salary. He was mentioning that he has to borrow money from neighbours to pay for transport. He also has 4 kids, and he was telling me that despite his whole budget going to transport, he feels that he needs to keep on feeding them (I agreed). He told me that the other day one of his daughters came home from school telling her dad that she needs a new pen because her other one has run out. He said he almost had a breakdown because he wondered how he would ever find the money to buy a pen. That's depressing. I can't imagine the agony of truly wondering if you are going to be able to feed your kids and buy them basics like pens. And this is a man who works a 40 hour week. Please pray.