Poverty affects people in U.S. cities and in villages on the other side of the world.
Poverty is a social problem, which, according to the Poverty Education website, affects around a sixth of the world's population. At an extreme level, poverty threatens an individual's ability to find food and shelter, and ultimately to survive from day to day. As an individual, you may not have the ability to pass laws or create change on a sweeping scale, but you can take action today that will make a difference in people's lives.
Volunteering
Many organizations have set up development projects, covering areas such as health and sanitation, in countries all around the world, but these organizations rarely have the manpower needed to sustain this useful work. This is where volunteers come in. Individuals can give up their time and travel to communities blighted by poverty. You might volunteer to head abroad, aiding a local development project, or perhaps work locally, teaching out-of-work individuals skills to help them into employment.
Raise Money for Charity
Charities are working hard to end poverty, but they need a constant supply of funding to complete or sustain the projects they begin. You can help to raise more money for charities working toward these goals by holding a fundraiser in your area. Ask your friends to sponsor you as you run a marathon, climb a mountain, try to break a world record or attempt to go days without talking. You might instead organize a community event, such as a fair or a non-uniform day at school, where you can ask every attendee to pay a small fee.
Donate to Charity
If you'd rather just give a donation to a charity, you'll have no difficulty finding a range of organizations that work to improve community infrastructure or provide clean water supplies, for example, with a quick Internet search. You can either make a one-time donation or set up a regular bank transfer with your chosen charity.
Support Charity Schemes
Some charities run schemes that focus on a particular way of helping out those in poverty, which you can support either by promoting such an activity or buying into it. For example, Oxfam, which works to end poverty, produces a whole catalogue of gifts individuals can buy for those in need, such as a water tank to distribute clean water.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade is the name of a plan designed to ensure that the producers of items such as coffee and clothing are treated fairly and not ripped off when it comes to payment for their work. Because the communities who benefit most from the Fair Trade movement are often those hugely affected by poverty, by supporting Fair Trade you can make a difference to the lives of these people. Show your support by buying goods marked as Fair Trade, and by encouraging businesses you know to stock Fair Trade products.
Tags: Fair Trade, clean water, make difference
