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Colleen -
submitted 3/06/2009
POVERTY IS SO SAD!! =[
I know a friend who was once living in a broken down villiage when she was younger and she know what these people feel and what they are going through!!=[
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Yo -
submitted 30/05/2009
As has already been mentioned over and over, Global Poverty really is a global problem and should be addressed with the same feeling of urgency and importance as the Global Financial Crisis and Climate Change.
It seems that everyone wants to split these three world crisis' up and address each separately with a separate level of importance however as a global community now is the time to by solving all three of these problems in conjunction.
The combined world economic status obviously links directly with the distribution of wealth, and the way we use this wealth affects our environmental sustainability.
We need to invest in renewable energies globally, creating more jobs and more wealth across the globe and also to invest in our poorer nations, these are millions of people who are unable to contribute to our world because even their most basic needs cannot be met.
The solution as many have suggested, should come in two ways.
Education - we need to educate those in our own, developed nations about poverty and its impacts as well as giving those in the 3rd world better access to education
Investment - we need to put money (0.7% at the very least) into aid and helping to create a sustainable world both environmentally and economically.
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Husky -
submitted 27/05/2009
What is the cause of poverty? Greed. Or more accurately, self interests. Case in point, the current Global Financial Crisis - how is it that executives are making millions of dollar while losing millions of dollars for the companies that they are responsible for running? It is not a stretch of the imagination that the only way this is possible is that WE are robbing from the poor. WE ARE ALL CULPABLE. Our lifestyles (in developed countries) are unsustainable yet who amongst us are prepared to give up what we have? I, for one, am not. Everyday, we strive for more materialistic wealth. Where is this wealth coming from? From the poor in most cases, I suspects.
Solution? Human nature being what it is, there will always be wealth and poverty. But to tackle extreme poverty? How about we begin by tackling extreme wealth? It's criminal.
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Anonymous -
submitted 26/05/2009
The reason:-We have it is because the world is over populated.
-Most countries do not have the resources to sustain themselves let alone survive in a global market.
-What does the global market want from countries such as Ethiopia,Eritrea or Sudan?
-1st world nations give billions to 3rd world/ poverty stricken countries and then can not control where it goes in a corrupt government.
-At the end of the day our billions go to the rich and the poor get nothing thus contributing to the factor of Global Poverty.
problems with current Options:-Give money to groups such as Christian Childrens fund so that rather than a family having 10 kids and 2 surviving (mother natures population control) all 10 survive and then live in poverty cause there is no food for them.
-Give money to the country and then control where it goes but this by todays global standards is offensive, demeaning and sparking a civil war between rival parties/factions in the government.
-Start war with the factions/ parties in the country.War doesnt solve it.
Options:-Clear the international debts that these countries have to other countries so they are not continously in deficit.This way no one else is responsible for themselves apart from themselves.
-Leave them to their own means but by all means involve them where applicable in the global market.
-Survival of the fittest.Its brought us to where we are now and will be the end of us if it means to be.
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Anonymous -
submitted 19/05/2009
Poverty is impossible to tackle with WAR and other systems of discrimination be it natural or human. We must work on the co-operation of nations and other differences. Another factor to poverty is Nature, we must tackle climate change, that way we can at least try to reduce its impact
Why is everyone here focusing on Aid? From my opinion Aid as a PLAN to tackle poverty is useless, it will not solve any problems but just temporally try to relieve the immediate needs(shelter, food etc.).
There needs to be planning and co-operation by governments of the world through the United Nations.
We can tackle world poverty by electing our leaders properly, A leader that complies to the United Nations and a leader that cares about an equal Community, most of all the Global community.
Global Poverty Project must pressure education in: schools, the Media, pamphlets. Perhaps they could support governments and political parties.
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MC -
submitted 18/05/2009
What is the current status regarding the idea wehereby young volunteers in the community would receive some relief in their HECS debt if they committed a certain amount of hours to a charitable cause?
I know so many people struggling through uni while trying to maintain voluntary commitments for no reason other than their own passion and fulfilment. There is no incentive to do so. Surely these people should be awarded/recognised in some way?
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Neil -
submitted 16/05/2009
Hi, Although I haven't read many of the comments I can tell that they are youngies out there who would like to help bring different third world's up to some semblance of monetary equality.
What we need to be thinking about is forward investment. For example, in PNG they make a type of bag called a Billum, these Billum's take about a weeks wage to make. They are made out of wool, or some such, these materials cost a weeks wage to buy. What we can do is buy the wool (That way they have that weeks wage for there food), if we do this in Australia and send it over to them it is cheaper then for them to buy it. So anyway we buy the wool send it over to them, they make the billum and send it back, then we sell it for a price, make a profit. We then give the profit to the billum maker's entering more money into there coffer's, the rest of the money returns to the beginning of the cycle.
In this way we can forward invest, by putting the money towards a continual cycle that brings people out of poverty, but at a pace that they can manage.
So I put forward the idea to forward invest, it is a slower way to work. but it is far more financially viable then many other options
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jacqui, kelly -
submitted 8/05/2009
we think that schools, youth groups and other organisations involved with youth should do fundrasing for global poverty by ding things such as chocolate drives or free dress days on a regularbaisis eg monthly. any amount of money can help put an end to world poverty.
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Coxy -
submitted 24/04/2009
Zaineb, I think you touched on some important points, but your examples were generalisations which probably aren't up to date with current aid thought and policy.
NGO's have known for years now that local participation and knowledge must be utilised for community development, and I doubt any organisations nowadays operate in a way that differs from this.
The theory of dependency is valid in some cases, but as you would know, it is often a result of poor LENDING by the governments of the developed world. NGOs no longer operate in a way that results in dependency (as much as they can help it!). What most people have argued for here is the increase of aid quantity, but more importantly quantity.
I dont think we should abandon the concept of aid altogether, even if it does create dependency in some cases (its a better alternative than having people die afterall). Along with trade justice and debt relief, effective aid has just as an important role.
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Yaz -
submitted 22/04/2009
I agree with the idea that the government has much more financial power in helping the impoverished peoples and can make a much bigger difference then the population of Australia each donating a dollar a day.
They way that normal citizens, especially teenagers and school kids is by learning about the issue of poverty in our world and finding small ways that we can incrementally help them and put a message through to the government, the people have the initiative to do something, now you have to do something.
Ways that we can incrementally support countries and communities living in poverty is by not supporting companies or brands that push these people deeper into poverty. (Chocolate companies that have ethical and fair rights for workers.) And instead support firms that aid those in poverty. Schools and churches and clubs can do this to start a new awareness on world poverty and what really causes it.