A Fairer World :: Youth

Poverty

Make A Difference - Links - Did You Know?
Teacher Resources

“About 29,000 children under the age of five – 21 each minute – die every day, mainly from preventable causes.”

United Nations Children's Fund

“173,045,325 citizens gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries, demanding that their governments eradicate extreme poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now!", has been certified by Guinness World Records as a new world record and remains the largest mobilisation of human beings in recorded history. ”

Stand Up

Multimedia Links

Recommended sites

Clarence High School: students have had some thoughts on child rights and poverty.

Global Poverty Project: “Sewers, bridges and power lines are often taken for granted in countries like Australia and New Zealand. But many developing countries around the world lack even the most basic infrastructure.”

Poverty.com: “...there is plenty of food in the world for everyone.”

End Water Poverty: “1.1 billion people live without safe water and 2.6 billion people live without access to sanitation. In these circumstances around 5000 children die every day from water-related diseases – the equivalent of 20 airliners filled with children lost on a daily basis to an entirely preventable public health crisis.”

One International: “Climate change is not a crisis of developing countries' making, yet the impacts of global warming will disproportionately hit the world's poorest people.”

Oxfam Australia: “You're powerful as a consumer – what you choose to buy shapes the world we live in and can literally change someone's life for the better.”

UN Cyber School Bus: “Each person lives at a different standard of living. These standards are different for different parts of the world. For example, being poor in England is very different from being poor in Guatemala and is even different from being poor in Sub-Saharan Africa. Each person’s experience of poverty is different.”

Global Gang: “If we're clever enough to send rockets into space, why can't we stop people dying because they don't have enough to eat? ... In 2000, the leaders of 189 countries got together to make a massive promise. They wanted to do something BIG to tackle poverty by 2015. To make this happen, they set some targets called the millennium development goals.”

UNICEF Voices of Youth: “The MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] outline a plan to end extreme poverty and hunger, ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school, promote gender equality, improve the health of children and mothers, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and protect the environment. The ultimate objective of this agreement is to make the world a better place for all by the year 2015.”Students Making Poverty History

Millennium Campaign: “Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals sets out by the year 2015:

  • Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
  • Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.”

TakingITGlobal: “Out of the 1 billion people who live on less than $1 a day, approximately 238 million are young people. Sadly, it is young people who suffer the most from a life of poverty. The effects of poverty for youth are felt most in the areas of health, education, housing, safety, and access to employment opportunities.”

UNICEF Voices of Youth: “Whether they live in rich or poor countries, children from poorer families are more likely to be working and missing out on an education that could help them find better opportunities and escape from poverty in the future.”

Global Education: “Microcredit and other financial services for poor people are important instruments for poverty reduction and for empowerment, especially for women.”

Australian Council of Social Services: “has been working to achieve equitable solutions to the effects of climate change, so that low-income households are shielded from price hikes for essential goods and services and can benefit from new opportunities, such as gaining employment in clean-energy jobs.”

These sites have ideas on how to make a difference.

Micah Challenge: “wants to see a 'Survive Past Five' 5th Birthday Party held in every electorate before the 2010 Federal Election. This will show our leaders that communities around Australia want our Government to meet our commitment to the MDGs, to halve global poverty by 2015.”

Stand Against Poverty: “We will continue to take a stand today and every day until promises to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals are delivered.”

Make Poverty History: “Make Poverty History needs your voice. Join the millions of people in Australia and around the world who are taking action to Make Poverty History.”

Stir (World Vision): “We spend so much time and energy on the ‘war on terrorism’ and ignoring our generation's greatest risk to human life and security: POVERTY! Please help us fight in the War on Poverty!”

Global Youth Action Network: “GYAN helps its members share information and resources - building collaborations that leverage experience. Any youth-related organization which does not promote hatred or violence is welcome to apply.”

UN Cyber School Bus: “We are the first generation that can eradicate poverty. Don't miss this historic opportunity. Get involved! ... In 2003, Nguyen Van Dung, a 23-year-old Vietnamese, spent a month bicycling through Viet Nam on a 2,100-km journey, meeting with young people to raise awareness of MDGs.”

UNICEF Voices of Youth: “My suggestion is to become a doer instead of just a hearer. And things can be done. A doer hears and accepts the need for action, working towards the common goal of the people and their concerns...”

Oaktree Foundation: “MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Roadtrip 2010...In May 2010 over 1000 young people from across the nation are road tripping to Canberra to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY. These specially selected Ambassadors will build a movement of everyday Australians in over 100 cities and towns across the country. These Ambassadors will do whatever it takes to raise awareness and understanding of global poverty.”

World Hunger: “You Can!... Learn More About Hunger”

Did You Know?

  • One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day – are due to poverty–related causes. www
  • In Kenya, women can burn up to 85 percent of their daily calorie intake just fetching water. www
  • The three richest people in the world are richer than all 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries. www
  • Nearly three billion people go without the basic necessities of food, clean water, shelter, healthcare and education. This means that half of the world's population is struggling to survive. www
  • Asia and the Pacific region is home to over half the world’s population and nearly two thirds of the world’s hungry people. www
  • Bangladesh ... will likely reduce poverty levels from 58.8 percent to 29.4 percent in 22 years. www
  • ...for the 31% of Tasmanians living on government pensions and allowances – their incomes do not enable them to make ends meet. www
  • Polling reveals 77% of Australians think the gap between rich and poor is widening. www

Teacher resources

  • Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning has posters, games, unit plans, books, DVDs and bookmarks on global issues such as poverty. Members are encouraged to contact the Centre for a complete list of resources on this topic which are available free or on loan.