Poverty

• Extreme poverty is a daily reality for over 1 billion people, or one out of every six people on Earth. The very poor earn less than $1 per day and often suffer malnutrition, ill-health, and social powerlessness. The vast majority of those living in poverty in both the developing and industrialized world are women and children. (NetAid)
• While 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day, another billion enjoys 80% of global wealth. The 500 richest people in the world have an income of more than $100 billion ─ more than the combined incomes of the poorest 416 million. (United Nations Development Programme)
• Even though enough food is produced worldwide to provide everyone with an adequate diet, 854 million people, or one in seven, go hungry. Many more suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by an inadequate diet. Poverty is the main cause of hunger because the poor lack the resources to grow or purchase the food they need. (International Food Policy Research Institute)
• 18% of young children in the United States (almost one in five) live in poverty. This means that the household income for a family of three falls below the federal poverty line of $16,079. Such poverty results in hunger, malnutrition, and stunted growth. Children who grow up in poverty are also more likely to struggle in school, have children sooner, and have larger families. They are also more likely to be impoverished themselves as adults. (U.S. Census Bureau)
• In the United States, income gaps between high- and low-income families have widened in 46 states since the late 1970s. In 2004, the average income of families in the top 20% of households was $155,200, or more than 10 times that of the poorest 20% of families, which earned an average income of $14,700. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Quick Actions

• Shop with your conscience
  Purchasing products from small and independently owned businesses ensures that money goes directly to individuals and not to large corporations. Try to purchase items online or in stores that support poor people around the world. Stores that provide such gifts include:
  Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store – An online store that sells crafts from around the world and promises that a fair share of the profit goes to the artisans who created the products.
  Ten Thousand Villages – A nonprofit alternative trading organization that provides fair income to artisans in developing countries by selling their crafts and telling their stories in North America.
• Stay informed
  Learn what you can do about poverty around the world. Remember that poverty exists in almost every country of the world. Find out about poverty in your own community by volunteering at a food bank or homeless shelter. As you learn, share the information with your friends and talk about what you can do to make a difference. Come back to this website, or check out NetAid, an initiative devoted to educating, inspiring, and empowering young people to end global poverty.
• Help others help themselves: provide a small business grant or micro-loan
  Many people who are living in poverty and want to start a business do not qualify for traditional bank loans. Providing small amounts of money as a loan or a grant can help lift such people out of poverty. For as little as $50, people have started small businesses that provide income for themselves and their families. When poor families have additional income, a common result is that nutrition improves and children can go to school. Here are a few of the many organizations working with microfinance:
  Finca International provides loans mostly to groups of women who start small cottage industries, learn business skills, and improve their standard of living.
  Grameen Bank lends small amounts of money to people in Bangladesh to begin small businesses. The Grameen Foundation partners with microfinance institutions around the world and leads technology initiatives such as the Village Phone project.
  Trickle Up helps people living on less than a dollar a day to take the first steps out of poverty, by providing them with resources to build microenterprises for a better quality of life. The organization partners with local agencies to provide business training, seed capital, and savings support.
• Join the Jubilee Network
  Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 80 religious denominations and faith communities, human rights, environmental, labor, and community groups working to cancel the debts of poor nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Their demand is that countries work to feed, house, and educate their poor, instead of spending resources paying off debts and interest owed to rich countries or international financial groups. Find out ways to get involved!
• Drop the debt! Write your representatives
  Jubilee organizations around the world are calling on the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and world governments to cancel the debt of poor countries. Add your voice to theirs by contacting your politicians directly. To get the email address and contact information for your elected official, click here. Tell them you support policy that helps end poverty in your community, your country, and abroad.

Want More Information?

• Trickle Up
  Trickle Up works in 40 countries providing grants and business training, enabling some of the world’s poorest people to gain economic security by starting small businesses and cottage industries. Visit Trickle Up’s website to read the stories of entrepreneurs and to find out how you can help someone start a business.
• Oxfam America
  Oxfam America works to create lasting solutions to poverty and social injustice through long-term partnerships with poor communities around the world. Oxfam America funds programs in developing nations, conducts educational campaigns in the U.S., and lobbies government officials to support foreign aid. Their website has extensive information on poverty and social justice issues, as well as many ways to get involved.