Family Institution as a Factor in Poverty Alleviation for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The family is the very institution upon which we owe our humanity. Human beings are brought up in the family. Families exist everywhere on the planet and in different forms. Family experience is necessary to turn a newborn into a full human being with values and standards and the ability to live harmoniously with other people and contribute to poverty alleviation for sustainable development. Family is a social unit characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children born or adopted. The family is, in fact, a universal institution. The family performs and carries out fundamental societal functions and activities necessary for poverty alleviation and thus contributes to sustainable development. The family is regarded as the microcosm of society. The extent to which the family succeeds in controlling the behaviours of its members and carrying out its functions depicts the level of orderliness and contribution to poverty alleviation and, thus, sustainable development in a given society.