Poverty features in many conversations today. Talking is good, but only if it is the precursor to compassionate action.
If we turn to the world around us we see:
- Of 6 billion people, 2 billion living on $2 a day, one billion living on $1 a day - in what is described as extreme poverty.
- There are currently 34 conflicts taking place in our world, 8 of which are considered to be major wars. 75 per cent of those killed or wounded in wars are non-combatants.
- Almost 26 million Africans are currently living with the HIV/AIDs virus, with 3 million infections last year alone;
- In world rankings, the infant mortality rate averages 128 per thousand live births in the 10 worst cases, all but two of which are on the African continent, compared to 3.68 per cent among the top ten. (2006 stats)
David Bussau elaborates:
Alleviating poverty is largely about giving people choice. The poor want education and good food for their children, job security, and access to the financial products we expect in our society. I am excited each time I meet a mother in a dusty slum area who, bursting with pride, tells me about a daughter who is now a professor at a university or a son who is an engineer. She may have spent countless hours on a small fruit stall to get them there, but she did it herself, and her educated children will break free of the oppression of poverty. They can make choices with their lives.
In thirty years of working in the developing world, I have seen poverty and suffering in just about every form. I have seen people buried under the rubble of an earthquake, people whose homes have disappeared in a mudslide, people whose living conditions are worse than those of some animals in this country. But I have also seen joy and celebration of life. People living in poverty are resourceful, motivated and appreciate living in dignity like anyone else. A poor entrepreneur who has struggled on $2 a day knows how to turn a 100 per cent profit on a bag of oranges, and knows how to turn a $100 loan into a business that will feed and educate a whole family.
Creative small business people are the powerhouse of all communities, and more so in developing countries. The challenge is to release the incredible potential in human beings, to enable them to express their creativity and drive.
Jeffrey Sachs, a development economist and advisor to the United Nations, said recently:“Our generation’s challenge is to help the poorest of the poor to escape the misery of extreme poverty.To learn more go to TearFund. David Bussau Speaking for Australia Day
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