Poverty
FRIEND TO THE POOR
Count with me. 1… 2… 3… 4… That’s one. 1… 2… 3… 4… That’s another. Every 3.5 seconds, a child dies. The largest portion of these deaths is from preventable disease, poverty and hunger. That’s as if the Haitian earthquake of 2010 were to happen just over once a week.
Countries that have a large part of their population battling hunger are the same countries that are home to those that lack the basic safeties and necessities that we take for granted daily. Resources like soup kitchens, job training, food stamps and other programs don’t exist. Families—more often than not—are left to provide for themselves, yet cannot grow enough food or make enough money to buy food, and there is nowhere for them to help themselves.
Today, our world is home to 6.7 billion people, and almost half of them (3 billion) live on less that $2.50 a day. As a result, just under a billion people (947 people) are malnourished. 140 million children ages 5 and under are underweight for their age, and the overall calorie deficiencies and poor nutrition cause nearly 1 in 3 people to die or develop disabilities from hunger, two thirds of whom reside in Asia and the Pacific.
“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.” -SAINT AUGUSTINE
Take a moment and think of everything that God has blessed you with. The richest 20% of the world controls 80% of the wealth. In 1960, that same 20% had 30 times the income of the poorest 20%and in 1997, that ratio increased 74 times. Now think about the fact that today, across the world, there are 1.3 billion people without access to clean water, 3 billion without sanitation, and 2 billion without electricity.
These numbers are not to make you feel guilty or shameful for what you’ve been provided. Rather, these figures are simply a tool to show you and motivate you to take steps toward abetter world. When we offer people the basic needs of life and literally lift them out of their destitution they feel and understand the love of God. Love is best expressed through action.
“To the world, you may be just one person. But to one person, you may be the world.” -ANONYMOUS
GIVE BACK:
Make a donation to an organization that deals with poverty. Regularly go through your belongings and donate clothing and other goods to a non-profit thrift store or homeless shelter.
GET EDUCATED:
Learn how poverty affects real people. Get in the habit of thinking about these people as individuals, not as a mass of people “over there” or “off in that part of the world” that you cannot help. Ask others to help, make sure to vote for people in leadership positions and politicians who make poverty an issue, and vote for budget plans that prioritize aid to the impoverished.
GET INVOLVED:
Get to know homeless people and volunteer in your community with a homeless shelter or street ministry. Help build homes with organizations both stateside and abroad.
OUR GOAL:
To serve the homeless of Phoenix, build 3-6 homes each year for Mexican orphans and displaced families, and to mend the broken, and feed the hungry whenever, wherever we can.