Poverty in Africa

Today we are going to end poverty.
What is poverty?
Wikipedia defines it saying: “Poverty is the deprivation of those things that determine the quality of life, including food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water…”
In the survey I conducted in class I asked if you could have one or the other which would it be.
Clean drinking water OR new clothes?
The majority of the class chose clean drinking water.
The face of poverty often does not allow that question to have choice.
When I lived in Africa for three months back in the summer of 2001 I saw children wearing the same clothes for weeks at a time. These clothes were obviously donated a decade after they were first made and worn.
A small village I stayed in on the coast of Ghana collected rain water for the community. It was the water they used to drink, bathe, and wash their clothes with. Was this water safe?
Poverty in Africa is sounding alarms, crying for help, and reaching for change.
What does the face of poverty in Africa look like?
What can you do to help stop poverty?

Lets take a look at the face of poverty in Africa…
Today in Africa the statistics are shocking. These facts were found on cozay.com
"Every day 30,000 children die from a combination of disease- infested water and malnutrition,"
"Water-borne diseases are claiming one child every three seconds.
These diseases are the major killers of small children in Africa."
Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children.
More than 90 percent of these children are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency.
More than one billion people do not have access to clean water.
Like I said. These statistics are shocking.

Oprah.com shared a recent conversation between Oprah and Bono proclaiming many Africans suffer from lack of clean water and wells.
"You can't talk about water enough. It's the thing that we in this country take the most for granted," says Oprah. Bono added that making clean water available to Africans is a relatively simple action that will produce great change. "Women [in Africa] are walking sometimes 10 miles a day to bring water," he explained. "If everyone gets together, this idea of bringing water to Africa is not far-fetched. It's possible, and we can do it right now. I tell you, it will revolutionize that continent."

Last year I witnessed a group of local teens from a band called “Supersonia” make an effort to impact poverty. Five teenagers had a goal to raise $20000 to fund a well for a village in Africa. They held a concert, had bake sales, and volunteered their time for donations toward their goal. In less than a year they had met their goal. Because of these young men there is now a village in Africa with a well of clean drinking water.

A friend of mine has sponsored a child in Africa for the past 5 years giving monthly donations through an organization called World Vision. Last Christmas she and her husband decided to give an extra gift of $70 to her sponsor child. Shortly after her gift was received a letter and a photo was sent to her. In the photo her sponsor child wore his very first pair of shoes and a brand new suit for himself and also his brother wearing a new suit and his first pair of shoes. On the floor in the photo were large bags of beans and sugar and oil. The letter expressed tremendous thanks and brought tears to the eyes of anyone who read it.
BBC.com states that the average wage of most Africans is less than a dollar a day. Making the average annual income around 300 dollars.
No wonder the gift she sent that Christmas made such a difference in the life of that child and his family.

We know there is a need to end poverty. We know that we can impact this world like my friend and the boys in the band “Supersonia” did. We can make a difference in the lives of impoverished Africa.
I ask you to think of the need for clean water the next time you turn on your faucet.
I ask you to think of the millions of children that are still hungry when you go to sleep at night.
I ask you to think about the children without clean or new clothing the next time you look into your closet and proclaim you have nothing to wear.
An end to poverty may not be found today, however, we can make a dent one sponsor child at a time, one well at a time, one small act at a time.

As Nelson Mandela said:
"overcoming poverty is not a gesture
of charity. It is an act of justice. It is
the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."
(http://cozay.com/)