World+Poverty

According to the United Nations, just about 25,000 people die each day of starvation or hunger-related issues. This is one person every three and a half seconds and it is most often children who die. The world’s food supply is large enough to support the planet’s population. But people still starve to death because they are trapped in countries that have severe poverty. Without money they can not buy anything to survive including food. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. Eventually their ability to work becomes impossible, which in time makes them poorer and much hungrier. This downward spiral often goes on until they or their family dies. Poverty is often caused by failing economy and natural disasters. Poverty destroys lives and families, but there are always ways that one could help. user:camillio_5 user:wyatthanft In this world there is plenty of food, yet a large number of people are falling into poverty and are hunger stricken. With so much poverty occurring poeple are unable to afford food therefore they are going hungry. There are many different causes of poverty and with such a technological and wealthy world there should be more help to those in need. The division of land use and non productive land use is an extreme problem is this epidemic of poverty. Land that could be used for planting crops and feeding the poor and hungry are being used for non-useful necessitites such as tobacco plants. This has created depleted water sources and even child labor. Forests have been destroyed along with the land. Instead of using the land to save people in poverty and offer them food resources, the tobacco industries are doing the opposite by actually taking away lives. Dam projects are another factor against the poor. They are said to be displacing millions of people and not paying them the initial benefits they had promised. Along with this the dam production is degrading useful land. Industrial agriculture along with liberalized and export-oriented agriculture are leading to increased poverty which then leads to hunger. The poor hope to work where the food is grown for export to earn wages, but the wages are becoming less and less, targeting the poor. Wealthier nations are benefiting from these exports while the poorer nations are suffering because they are not being promoted. The poorer nations therefore cannot afford to pay there employees enough money to survive on. Many of the elite export markets have so much purchasing power that they have an ever increasing less intrests in the well being and the purchasing power of the poor at home. The poor are not a market for them but rather a way to keep wages and living standards low and horrible. In our world nearly half the people live on two dollars or less a day. That is three billion people suffering from poverty because of low wages. During natural disasters the poor are usually struck the hardest and most severe. This is because they have the least resources to rebuild after a catstrophic event and the poor as a group of people can not cope. When these poor countries with immense poverty face natural disasters the cost of rebuilding becomes a large issue. This is because they are already burdened with debt and when the aid comes it is not always from relief organizations. Some poor countries are still paying back millions from disasters in the form of debt repayment. The people that that live in these third world countries suffer from a loss of lives and their livelihoods. The lack of water also has a direct link to poverty and why it is occurring in these third world nations. There are dwindling water resources to the people who need it the most. About 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water and two in three people have no access to clean water to survive on. Becasue of this lack of clean water and lack thereof of water 1.8 million children die every year. user:kkstar10
 * Introduction**
 * Why Poverty Occurs**

AFRICA Poverty in Africa occurs mainly in rural areas. Infact, about 70 percent of the poor people in Africa live in rural areas. To survive, these African people depend on agriculture, but the agricultural feild is decreasing. In Africa, poverty is increasing more rapidly than the population. Poverty in Africa is caused mainly because of "poor production, low incomes and the rising vulnerability of poor people." Also a problem for small companies in Africa is the lack of access to markets. The poverty stricken population live in a very poor organized and isolated community. They live in sometimes dangerous places. Unfortunatly the government is not on their side. They tend to favor the urban areas. Another major cause of poverty in Africa is HIV/AIDS. These diseases cause multiple tragidies for these African people. Around two thirds of the world population (34 million) with HIV/AIDS live in Africa. About twelve to fourteen million children have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and about two million children have been tested positve themselves. MEXICO Half of the Mexican population in 2002 was living in poverty. Even worse, one fifth of the Mexican population was living in extreme poverty. Mexico city is a very poor city and is very short water supply and the streets are terribly dirty and unsanitary. Unfortunatly, this is normal for most cities in Mexico. "Half of the urban Mexico City is the main city and the city provides the citizens with very little electricity, water and sanitation. At the national level, in 2002 the rates for access to electricity, water and sanitation were 98, 90 and 80 percent, respectively, although, access to electricity increased from 63 to 90 percent in the population living in extreme poverty in rural areas, access to drinking water increased from 38 to 58 percent, and access to sanitation services increased only from 22 to 26 percent." Most of the Mexican population do not own their own homes. The percentage is about 70 who don't own thier home and 5 percent are paying for their houses, which is an indicator of the predominantly self-financed purchase and construction process. About one quarter of those living in extreme poverty in Mexico reside in urban areas in the states in the center of the country. The decreases in extreme poverty at the rural and national levels are statistically significant; the decrease in urban poverty is not statistically significant. "Only between 4 and 9 percent still live on less than one dollar a day, a level close to that found in some of the world's poorest countries."
 * Poverty In Other Nations**

MIDDLE EAST About 5.6 percent or 11 million people in the Middle Eastern population were defined as poor in 1994. This is an increase of about 735,000 since the year 1985. If the poverty line was at US $50 per month, 40 million people or 20 percent would be classified as poor. One of the reasons for poverty in the Middle East is the lack of education. Most of the Middle Eastern population have less than a high school degree. Because of the lack of education in this region of the world, most of the population is unemployed. Even though the death rate of children under the age of five is decreasing, the average number of child deaths in the year 2000 was about 50,000. Most of the women in the Middle Eastern population are suffering from malnutrition, causing some of the children they give birth to to be stunted at birth.

user:golfergirl10 There are many organizations that help with poverty worldwide. These organizations consist of programs that raise money, spread the word, or even go into the actual location that needs help. One of these organizations is Medecins Sans Frontieres. Medecins Sans Frontieres has been around since 1968. Even though this program is not very old it is highly respected. Medecins Sans Frontieres is also known as MSF. Or if you are in the United States they are known as "Doctors Without Borders". They are the world’s largest independent medical   humanitarian organization. A humanitarian organization is an organization that is concerned for and helps to improve the welfare and happiness of people. Part of being humanitarians means that they will remain neutral in order to gain access to victims on all sides. This helps them to help as many victims as they possibly can. MSF is a pretty popular organization. There are about 3000 volunteers to some 80 different countries. The Doctors Without Borders help the people in need in many ways. They go to conflict zones, refugee camps, countries with famine, they transport seriously ill patients to a good treatment facility, they help medically, and they sterilize sanitation issues. Most often the issue is water. MSF is a relief agency not a development agency. A great example of what this is, is; a relief agency would give a man a fish to eat so he wouldn't go hungry for a day, while development agencies teach the man to fish so he would never go hungry again. The citizens of these countries consider these doctors quite heroic. The doctors and the volunteers are considered heroic because of all the good deeds they do. Aside from all the usual help any ordinary organization would give they have helped with rights. At one point the Red Cross told MSF'ers to keep quiet about secrets such as genocides or other horrific events happening in the country there were in. They argued with the Red Cross that the rights of victims in a conflict were more important then respecting sovereignty. They felt they needed others to know instead of keeping it sealed, so they started talking and have been dong so for many years. Other organizations that agree with Medecins Sans Frontieres are Service d'Aide Medicale Urgente (SAMU) and Group d'Intervention Medico-Chirurgical d'Urgence (GIMCU). MSF do not often work with or along side any organizations, but these two are the closest they get. It sounds glamorous to any ordinary person to go into another country, be a hero, and help the ones in need. However, the situation is quite the opposite. Many of the members of these organizations that are helping are killed. The people originally starting the genocides of any particular country get upset when helpers come in from different places all over the world to try to undo what the killers have done. Many die due to hidden land mines, stray bullets, or blades. The Medecins Sans Frontieres are truly heroic. They risk their lives for people they do not even know every time they leave the safety of their homes or their country. user:camillio_5 ** Why The United States Cares ** The world is in need of help to conquer an epidemic: poverty. Most third world countries recieve a dollar or less a day. That is something that needs to change and that the United States should help. The first tool we need to make a difference against poverty is the rich and poor countries working together. Poor countries should be responsible for developing plans to restore and improve the government. Wealthy countries need to give aid and trade policies to support the efforts of the poor countries. What would need to happen to put poverty out of existance? The UN Millenium Development Goals are the international community's targets for reducing poverty by 2015. According to this project, the amount of overseas development aid would have to double to 135 billion dollars in 2006 and rise to 195 billion dollars in 2015. These investments would cover the gap between investments that poor countries need to make and the resources they have available. These aid flows would then be steered towards fair trade and generous debt releif policies. The United States is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, we should be the the leader of ending world poverty. One of the biggest United States' beliefs is to improving oppurtunities for others and relieving human suffering. Therefore, we should be the leader of ending the world's poverty. We would benefit from this also because the newly established countries would strengthen our economy through trade. The United States has not taken up this leadership role. We give the most money internationally, but we give the least amount of aid per person. We give around .15% of GNP while twelve other wealthy countries give .7% annually. The amount we give is equal to about thirteen cents a day per person in the government aid. American aid also doesn't go to the poorest country. Less than half of the U.S. aid goes to the countries where people earn less than two dollars today. The United States spends a total of less than 1% of the budget on aid. The United States should care for several reasons. One reason was already stated. One of our biggest beliefs is to improve the life of every person. This is a perfect oppurtunity. There are millions of people suffering from the effects of poverty: starvation, poor living conditions, lack of water and terrible security. They need help. Another reason is that it will benefit us in the future. If we set up these countries and get them operational, we have a whole new trading oppurtunity to improve our economy. We also have another country to support us if we are ever under attack. There are a lot of things we, as citizens, could do to help por country help the poverty-stricken people. We could encourage our congressman to support many acts that still need to be passed. The Education For All Act encourages schools to be built all over the world, so everyone can have an education. The GROWTH Act is an act that takes realistic steps so that poor women can get secure jobs, access credit and start new businesses. Another act is the Jubilee Act. It wipes out the debt that any country ( that qualifies) may have, so that they can start fresh, with a new economy. ( [|http://www.netaid.org/global_poverty/united-states/ ) ** CARE ** CARE is a world wide organization that deals with the underling problems that contribute to poverty. CARE works with families and farmers to produce more food to increase income while also teaching poor communities to manage income and natural resources there by improving the environment and income. CARE emphasisizes working with women to make permanent social change. CARE's programs for economic development help poor communities by supporting moneymaking activities. There is also techical training provided to assist people begin or expand small businesses which increases family income. CARE works with many poor communities, governments and other organizations to address all aspects of education. The approaches that they include are; teachers training and training of other school workers to enhance the quality of education, they educate in health, nutrition and livelihoods to better address reasons why children miss school, they help communities overcoming the barriers they have with learning, and they have bored campaigns to promote the right to educate all people no matter where the live. P rojects help the survivors of natural disasters and other conflict through, immediate relief and longer term community rehabilitation. this includes food, shelter, clean water, sanitation services, medical care, family planning, reproductive health services, seeds and tools. CARE's health projects focus on mothers and children. They are usually the most helpless against disease and malnutrition. CARE places an enphisis on interventions that rang from education and nutrition to birth spacing and clinical services. The reproductive health projects encompass family planning, prenatal care, labor and delivery services, the prevention, detection and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS.  Care nutrition teach techniques and practices that assist prevent malnutrition. These include the demonstration of proper breast feeding, the education of families and communities on how to grow and cook health food, they provide food to assist during natural disasters. CARE also cleanses water lessening the outbreak of desiese during a natural disaster. With clean water familys do not need to to walk to near streams or or rivers to gather water. Food for work prgrams are made to assist people improve the inner development of there communities. CARE helps people create and maintain clean water systems and restrooms. CARE gives training and construction, but the communities are the ones who make the most differace in the funds. Poeple provide cash, labor, and pay the cost of work and the cost it takes to maintain stability in a community. There are many ways to help people around the world who suffer from poverty. Care accepts donations from anyone who wants to help. If you would like to help you can donate; online at [|www.care.org], by phone 1-800-521-CARE or if you are calling from outside the U.S. call 404-681-2552, or by mail CARE Gift Center PO Box 1871 Merrifield VA 22116-9753user:wyatthanft Many people die every day from hunger and other poverty delated problems. There is no reason for these people to die because the world has plenty of supplies for everyone to live without poverty. Poor econemies create problems for those who do not have the power to prevent them. National projects also displace many people every year. They distroy useful farming land and without the farming land there is no source of income and it just makes poor people even poorer. Although there are many things that create poverty there are many ways to help as well. There are organizations that work with the poor to improve there lives as well as income. These organizations such as CARE and Doctors Without Borders go out of there way to help those in need. user:wyatthanft
 * How Others Help **
 * Conclusion **

**Editorial** In our world today there are too many people suffering from poverty. This project has shown us all how hoirrible this growing epidemic is. Not only is poverty itself terrible but it leads to other significant problems such as disease and starvation. There are 3,000,000,000 people in the world right now and half of the population lives on less than a mere $2.00 a day. Every day 30,000 children die because of poverty. Even though this is an alarming number you will most likely never hear about thier deaths because they die quietly in the poorest villages in the world, far away from the bustling cities and the rich expensive sought after communities. This means that approximately 210,000 children die each week, and 11,000,000 die each year. Too many people's lives are being cut short. Children should not being dieing in such large numbers every day. The world needs to come together and reach out to help those suffering from poverty in any way they can. There are a lot of great organizations out there to help. UNICEF, CARE, and MSF are all working hard assisting those in poverty in various ways. Everyone should try to help in their own way. This could be donating a dollar to an organization, bringing food to you local manna house, or even sponsoring a child. No matter how small or how large the donation or help it will be significant in this lenghty battle against poverty. user:kkstar10

**Action** Our team will be donating money to the CARE organization. In order to increase funds we will accept donations from the community. We will be outside of Vons talking to people about poverty and how they can help. We are making shirts advertsing the CARE organization. We will be out there for a number of hours trying to get people excited about donating. We will have prizes, maybe facing painting, or baked goods, but definitly something fun to attract people's attention. We will be handing out flyers with the information about giving to the CARE organization in case they,do not have the money, or do not want to donate right then and there. At the end of the day we will seal the money up and send it in, completeing our action in order to help decrease poverty. We will also be making posters and putting them up around the school to let people know about CARE and the action we are taking. user:camillio_5

Bortolotti, Dan. __Hope in Hell Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders__. New York: Firefly Books, 2004 Clinton, Allen. "Victory Over Poverty - Organization CARE's Efforts on Behalf of Poverty Eradication." 21 Feb. 2002. May 2008 < [|http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KYL/is_2002_Feb_21/ai_83590619>. "Global Food Crisis." May 2008 < [|http://www.care.org/>. "Causes of Poverty." .
 * Work Cited**

"Picture of Causes of Poverty." .

"Facts About Poverty." <[in Africa." ."Poverty in Mexico." <[[http://web.worldbank.org.html>./|http://web.worldbank.org.html>.]

"Poverty in the Middle East." .