Abject

[Slava]

This one would be a nice addition to the poverty discussion at: http://www.alphadictionary.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4177

Not only is it a good solid word in and of itself, but it is commonly used in conjunction with the word "poverty."

A few of its uses, courtesy of dictionary.com:

1. utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched: abject poverty.
2. contemptible; despicable; base-spirited: an abject coward.
3. shamelessly servile; slavish.

[LukeJavan8]

Fits well into the discussion of grinding poverty.
Humiliating is an interesting concept with it. A person is
so low, they think of themselves as less a person, even
so much that begging is a disparaging concept for them.