Ending child malnutrition in Mexico is the main goal for the “Va por mi cuenta” (“It’s on me”) movement. They serve more than 20,000 meals per month to children living under vulnerable conditions.
As of today, the “Va por mi cuenta” movement has four “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms located in the state of Mexico: in Metepec, Chalco and Ecatepec. The fourth dining room is located in Mexico city.
The movement plans to collect a minimum amount of 100 million pesos during a period of 5 years in order to construct ten “Nuestro Comedor” child dining rooms. According to the movement’s website, these dining rooms will provide 2,530,000 meals and feed 2,300 children daily.
“Va por mi cuenta” has the support of different companies, brands, and restaurant chains that, through different mechanics of collection, provide help advance the movement’s prospects.
Some of the brands that collaborate with “Va por mi cuenta” are Alsea, Starbucks, Burger King, Domino’s, PayPal, Flock, X Design, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, and Pei Wei, among others.
Alsea is the responsible for addressing and responding to the concerns and requirements that participants may have. Alsea is also responsible for coordinating the movement’s partnerships.
This foundation canalizes the funds raised by the movement into the construction and operation of “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and it monitors and reports results.
The fast food restaurant chain, Burger King, has also partnered with the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. All Burger King locations in Mexico support the movement by making a donation for every single ice cream cone the restaurant sells.
In 2013, Burger King donated 1 peso for every single ice cream cone that the restaurants sold, and 2 pesos for every double ice cream cone.
Domino’s, the pizza restaurant chain, also contributes to the movement. Domino’s Mexico locations allocate a percentage from the sale of two of their products to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement.
The sale of the restaurant’s “Canelazo Bites” and “Pakecompartas”—a package deal that includes a pizza, chicken strips, and french fries—funds Domino’s donations to “Va por mi cuenta”.
Domino’s also contributes to the movement by encouraging Mexican artists to contribute their own designs for pizza and “Canelazo Bites” boxes. Notable Mexican artists that have contributed to this project and the “Va por mi cuenta” movement are Kari Mayo, Jorge Tellaeche, and amoATO Studio.
The Starbucks coffee chain’s Mexican locations have begun to sell bracelets with the Starbucks and “Va por mi cuenta” insignia written on them in order to contribute to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. The purpose of the bracelet is to invite children that are most in need to a meal.
By visiting the restaurants that have signed on to help the “Va por mi cuenta” movement, consumers are also becoming a part of the effort by contributing their purchases.
Individuals could also independently contribute to the cause by making donations through Banco Santander, or by contributing an “invite” to meals via PayPal.
The “Va por mi cuenta” movement is fighting to eradicate child malnutrition in Mexico. By constructing “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and with the help of different brands, restaurant chains and corporations, the movement is little by little making a greater impact on Mexican children who suffer from malnutrition.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Alsea, Eclecticmex, Dominos, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 1, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 2, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 3
Photo: Movimiento va por mi cuenta
5 Anti-Poverty Organizations with Opportunities for Students
Some say college is the best four years of your life; these anti-poverty organizations are helping to make them some of the most meaningful as well. While some groups only offer internships at their headquarters, here are some anti-poverty organizations with either on-campus opportunities, remote or summer training or volunteer opportunities. These opportunities offer advocacy and leadership experience for college students hoping to raise awareness of global poverty on their own campus.
1. ONE
According to its website, “ONE is an international campaigning and advocacy organization of nearly 7 million taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.” There are campus clubs for ONE on campuses across the country. Online, ONE offers resources, ideas and challenges for their student-run campus clubs. For more information, visit its website.
2. Oxfam
Oxfam’s mission is “to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice.” For college students, Oxfam offers the opportunity to create and sustain an Oxfam club on campus, as well as a training program one must be selected to attend. Oxfam currently has clubs on more than 100 college campuses. To start a club on campus, you can download a “toolkit” from the website and register your university’s club with the organization. Oxfam’s leadership training program, CHANGE, trains 50 students each summer on nonprofit organizations, advocacy and more.
3. RESULTS
RESULTS is a grassroots advocacy group. It is written on its website that “with every hour of their time, volunteers multiply their impact through the enormous power of advocacy—whether it’s helping change policty to support millions of families putting food on the table or helping raise billions of dollars for the world’s most vulnerable children.” RESULTS offers a variety of ways for individuals across the country to get involved. You can listen in on a call where the staff discusses the work of the organization, tips for your own advocacy and how to get involved. Online you can learn about the different RESULTS groups in your area and connect with other people interested in ending poverty. These groups allow people to make an impact in their area by joining together, reaching out to state legislators and planning advocacy events. For more information about how you can get involved visit its website.
4. The Hunger Project
The mission of The Hunger Project is “to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption throughout the world.” Individuals interested can volunteer bi-annually in The Hunger Project’s global office in New York. Online, volunteer opportunities are posted as available, and those interested in being volunteer activists must follow the steps listed in the “get involved tab” under the “volunteer” section of The Hunger Project’s website.
5. The Borgen Project
The Borgen Project aims to raise awareness of global poverty and the issues that it creates. Through advocacy and campaigning, The Borgen Project forces the nation’s leaders to take notice of this global issue and encourages action to address it in U.S. foreign policy. The Borgen Project not only has volunteer and internship positions in Seattle and remotely, but also provides advocacy tips on its website.
– Rachelle Kredentser
Sources: ONE, ,Oxfam, RESULTS, The Hunger Project, The Borgen Project
Fighting Ebola with Liberty and Justice
When the Ebola virus attacks the human body, the symptoms include muscle pain, vomit, fever and unexplained hemorrhage. While these symptoms are tragic and often fatal, there are no surprises when it comes to the virus itself—we know what it looks like and we can visibly see the damage it leaves in its wake. When the Ebola virus attacks an economy, however, as it did in Liberia in 2014, we know little about the exact symptoms and even less about the treatments available to combat it.
Until 2014, Chid Liberty, the founder of fair trade clothing manufacturer Liberty and Justice, had run his operations out of his native Liberia with ease. This changed almost overnight with the Ebola outbreaks of 2014.
“We had built the company up to a 500,000 orders per month and in a flash we were out of business,” Liberty said in an interview with Madame Noir. “The Ebola epidemic left us and the hundreds of workers and families that were depending on us stranded without income.”
Our economies are just as vulnerable as our immune systems, and can succumb to Ebola just as easily. It is estimated by the World Bank Group that nearly 50 percent of working adults in Liberia lost their jobs after the outbreak. However, Liberty refused to close his doors at the behest of the disease. Instead he turned his ingenuity into a tonic for the symptoms of Ebola and founded UNIFORM, a company based in Liberia dedicated to making affordable school uniforms for children who had been forced to leave school due to Ebola.
Liberia already has one of the lowest rates of primary education enrollment rates in Africa. According to The Global Economy website, an average of only 53.85 percent children reported having completed primary school between 1978 and 2011.
School attendance often incurs costs far beyond those of just tuition—the prices of books, the inability to work a salaried job, and even the cost of the mandatory uniform act as considerable deterrents to struggling families. The uniforms especially act as barriers to school attendance. Abdul Latif Jameel confirmed this in his 2009 study in Kenya, in which he discovered that providing children with free uniforms reduced school absenteeism by 44 percent and decreased dropout rates (particularly among girls) by a third.
Liberty’s UNIFORM brand has embraced the challenge of mollifying the effects of Ebola on the education of Liberia’s children. Their kick starter campaign, which has $174,760, has already given away 7,000 new school uniforms, all of which are being manufactured by small factories throughout Liberia (Madame Noir).
“I am very proud to be working on such a project,” said Ms. Annie Blamo to the UN Ebola Response team. Blamo is a worker in the Monrovian Liberty and Justice factory who has been manufacturing uniforms for the N.V. Massaquoi school, Blamo’s eight-hour days paid off when her son returned to school in early May. “We are so happy for what this factory has done for the children at the N.V. Massaquoi school and their name will be forever remembered.”
UNIFORM’s kick starter campaign will continue to accept donations until July 16, 2015.
– Emma Betuel
Sources: Ebola Response, Madame Noire, Poverty Action Lab, Time Dotcom
Photo: New York Post
“Va por mi cuenta” Movement
Ending child malnutrition in Mexico is the main goal for the “Va por mi cuenta” (“It’s on me”) movement. They serve more than 20,000 meals per month to children living under vulnerable conditions.
As of today, the “Va por mi cuenta” movement has four “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms located in the state of Mexico: in Metepec, Chalco and Ecatepec. The fourth dining room is located in Mexico city.
The movement plans to collect a minimum amount of 100 million pesos during a period of 5 years in order to construct ten “Nuestro Comedor” child dining rooms. According to the movement’s website, these dining rooms will provide 2,530,000 meals and feed 2,300 children daily.
“Va por mi cuenta” has the support of different companies, brands, and restaurant chains that, through different mechanics of collection, provide help advance the movement’s prospects.
Some of the brands that collaborate with “Va por mi cuenta” are Alsea, Starbucks, Burger King, Domino’s, PayPal, Flock, X Design, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, and Pei Wei, among others.
Alsea is the responsible for addressing and responding to the concerns and requirements that participants may have. Alsea is also responsible for coordinating the movement’s partnerships.
This foundation canalizes the funds raised by the movement into the construction and operation of “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and it monitors and reports results.
The fast food restaurant chain, Burger King, has also partnered with the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. All Burger King locations in Mexico support the movement by making a donation for every single ice cream cone the restaurant sells.
In 2013, Burger King donated 1 peso for every single ice cream cone that the restaurants sold, and 2 pesos for every double ice cream cone.
Domino’s, the pizza restaurant chain, also contributes to the movement. Domino’s Mexico locations allocate a percentage from the sale of two of their products to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement.
The sale of the restaurant’s “Canelazo Bites” and “Pakecompartas”—a package deal that includes a pizza, chicken strips, and french fries—funds Domino’s donations to “Va por mi cuenta”.
Domino’s also contributes to the movement by encouraging Mexican artists to contribute their own designs for pizza and “Canelazo Bites” boxes. Notable Mexican artists that have contributed to this project and the “Va por mi cuenta” movement are Kari Mayo, Jorge Tellaeche, and amoATO Studio.
The Starbucks coffee chain’s Mexican locations have begun to sell bracelets with the Starbucks and “Va por mi cuenta” insignia written on them in order to contribute to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. The purpose of the bracelet is to invite children that are most in need to a meal.
By visiting the restaurants that have signed on to help the “Va por mi cuenta” movement, consumers are also becoming a part of the effort by contributing their purchases.
Individuals could also independently contribute to the cause by making donations through Banco Santander, or by contributing an “invite” to meals via PayPal.
The “Va por mi cuenta” movement is fighting to eradicate child malnutrition in Mexico. By constructing “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and with the help of different brands, restaurant chains and corporations, the movement is little by little making a greater impact on Mexican children who suffer from malnutrition.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Alsea, Eclecticmex, Dominos, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 1, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 2, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 3
Photo: Movimiento va por mi cuenta
UN Peacekeepers Sexually Abuse Haitian Women and Girls
The United Nations has recently come under fire due to a report of sexual transactions between peacekeepers and Haitian women and girls. According to a report, U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti regularly exchange materials like laptops, food and medicine for sex.
Although the U.N. bans peacekeepers from exchanging employment and money for sex, many have disregarded this rule.
Since 2010, peacekeepers have maintained a ‘friendly’ presence on the island. Their main mission was to assist Haiti in both the cleanup after the earthquake as well as the rejuvenation of the country.
However, many have called into question how much progress they could have made, since many were exploiting the people they were supposed to be helping.
While this revelation is horrific, there is little prosecution for the peacekeepers committing these offenses. Typically, peacekeepers have immunity in countries in which they are serving.
This is not the first time the U.N. has come under fire for the sexual exploitation of country natives. In 2012, Kathryn Bolkovac published her remembrances of her trip to Bosnia in 1999.
In an interview with a reporter from The Telegraph, she spoke about how U.N. officers had exploited Bosnian prostitutes.
Because of the proximity of the release of the Red Cross Haiti scandal, many are questioning the Western presence in Haiti.
Is the West truly helping Haiti, or are they making the country’s economic and social situation worse?
– Erin Logan
Sources: The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, RT,
Photo: Women Under Siege
Chinese Woman Receives Global Recognition For Education
On July 2, Dr. Betty Chan Po-king received her third honorary degree in Bath, United Kingdom, from the University of Bath, granting her global recognition for education efforts from three continents.
At the summer graduation ceremony for the University of Bath, an honorary graduate award was presented to Po-king for Doctor of Laws. After her fifteen-year relationship with the university, the accolade was given to her for her commitment to providing and stimulating education, cultural diversity, and leadership.
This honor is one of three given to Po-king in the span of five years. Po-king initially earned an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S., her first intercontinental accomplishment in her professional career.
Four years later, she received a second award in China, Asia. The Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong Institute of Education was presented to Po-king in acknowledgement of her grand involvement in education in Hong Kong and beyond.
The University of Bath facilitated her third academic accolade in Europe. Honorary degrees are the most esteemed awards given by this university and are set aside for people of noticeable excellence.
Po-king originally earned her doctorate at The Union Institute and University in Vermont in 1985 and went on to acquire experience for teaching. She then became the Director of Yew Chung International Schools in China and California, which was founded by her mother, Madam Tsang Chor-hang.
In addition to her several doctorate degrees, Po-king has also served in numerous leadership positions for her educational efforts.
She has served as the Treasurer of the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association, the Chairperson of Child Education and Community Services Discipline Board of Vocational Training Council and the adviser of the Center for Child Development.
Po-king has served as a Member of Standing Committee on Language Education Research, a member of the Education and Manpower Bureau and a member of Appeals Board (Education) in Hong Kong, as well. She was also appointed as a Hong Kong Convention Ambassador of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications.
Po-king’s educational ability has also presented her with unique opportunities as a Chinese female educator.
She became a member of one of the first groups of female life members of Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. In addition, she was the first Chinese Keynote Speaker at the 2004 Alliance for International Education Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Po-king has traveled all around the world for her educational experience. According to China Education Development, where she is a founder, “she has integrated the essence of the Eastern and Western education and has accumulated rich experience in teachers’ training.”
With her extensive knowledge of education, Po-king could very well earn additional award in another continent, but for now, her global recognition in Europe, the U.S., and Asia will continue to propel her career and enhance global education.
– Fallon Lineberger
Sources: China Education Development, PR Newswire, University of Bath 1, University of Bath 2, Yew Chung International School, Yew Wah Education Management
Photo: South China Morning Post
How the World Bank is Changing the Way We Measure Poverty
Currently, poverty is considered apparent when someone lives on less than $1.25 a day, but some question the reliability of this simplistic measurement. Therefore, the World Bank has announced that a new commission will propose revisions to the International Poverty Line to account for the many components of poverty in every country.
It turns out that the way we have been thinking about poverty is in over-generalized terms. When the United Nations announced its post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, first on the list was the eradication of poverty “in all forms.” The notion that global poverty is multi-faceted is becoming universally accepted, and is acknowledged by the Bank’s chief economist, Kaushik Basu, who said, “The Global Commission will advise us on other dimensions of poverty that the Bank should collect data on, track, analyze and make available to policymakers for evidence-based decisions.”
A more data-driven reason for revising the way we measure poverty comes from a 2011 price survey from the International Comparison Program, which analyzes economic activity and poverty in almost every country. But evaluating the data gets complicated; depending on how the data is used, the results vary greatly, showing either a dramatic decrease in poverty or little decrease. Prices and exchange rates are changing, so the $1.25 a day standard must account for this.
Another problem with the current International Poverty Line occurs when a country’s poverty level decreases; it can be dropped from the list of countries averaged to set the IPL, resulting in a skewed measurement of progress. In addition, economic comparisons among countries include the exchange of all goods, while assessing only some goods is significant for impoverished communities.
The commission advising the Bank will consist of 24 leading international economists, and the report will be finished by April 2016. The World Bank hopes that a revised IPL will increase the possibility of attaining its two goals; the first goal is to bring the number of impoverished people to less than 3 percent of the global population by 2030, and the second is to increase per capita income of the poorest 40 percent of each country’s population.
Alterations in the International Poverty Line will change the way we define poverty in the first place, impacting philanthropy everywhere. Basu said, “We expect the Commission report to be influential not only for our own work on poverty but also in shaping global research and policymaking on this most important challenge of our times.”
– Jordan Reabold
Sources: Devpolicy, World Bank 1, World Bank 2
Photo: Give A Billion
Malala Opens Girls School for Syrian Refugees
The Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School opened on July 12 to Syrian refugees—for girls who have fallen victims to displacement. Malala Yousafzai opened the school on behalf of the 28 million children who are kept from classrooms because of armed conflict. The event also marked Malala Yousafzai’s 18th birthday, of which she was proud.
Malala Yousafzai is no stranger to armed conflict, as she was attacked in her native Pakistan in 2012 because of her support and efforts to campaign for girls’ rights and education. For this brave act, Malala was in fact awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Yousafzai currently believes that world leaders are failing Syria’s children. At the opening of the school she stated, “On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world: you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria’s children. This is a heart-breaking tragedy — the world’s worst refugee crisis in decades.”
That is why this school is one small step on Yousafzai’s part to help the children of the war-torn country. This effort is applauded by Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. He stated, “We are really heartened by Malala’s ardent support for the education of refugee girls whose aspirations have already been so cruelly cut short by war. These children are the future of Syria; we must not jeopardize that by denying them the basic right to education while they are in exile”.
The newly opened school will serve around 200 Syrian girls living in refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley region along the Lebanese border, to which many Syrians have fled.
This school will stand as a testament to the perseverance and strength of the Syrian children and hopefully become inspiration to the similar creation of future schools.
– Alysha Biemolt
Sources: Look to the Stars, UNHCR, PBS, Voanews
Photo: Sampsonia Way
Cuba Earns WHO Recognition for Terminating Risk of HIV Mother-Child Transmission
On June 30, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Cuba as the first nation in the world to officially eliminate HIV mother-child transmission, a huge step towards the eradication of the disease entirely. WHO guidelines define ‘elimination of transmission’ as transmission so low that it no longer constitutes a public health problem — a level now certifiably reached by Cuba in terms of transmission of the disease from mother to child. Both the WHO and the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), as well as nations around the world, congratulated Cuba in recognition of this historic achievement. Director-General of the WHO Margaret Chan called the milestone “one of the greatest public health achievements possible.”
The WHO estimates that more than 42 million people now live with HIV. 1.4 million HIV-positive women become pregnant every year, and inevitably run the risk of transferring this disease to their child. The likelihood of the infant being HIV-positive varies, but the disease can be transmitted in many ways — not only during the pregnancy, but also during breastfeeding and in different stages of the delivery process. According to various conditional factors — including geography, income and race — an untreated woman with HIV currently has a 15-45 percent chance of transmitting HIV to her child.
However, antiretroviral medications have shown enormous progress in reducing the number of children who are born HIV-positive, lowering the risk to a barely 1 percent chance of infection.
But this medication is only a crucial first step to preventing transmission of HIV from mothers to children. Cuba, with help from the WHO and other international and regional organizations, has employed a rigorous and comprehensive program that resulted in the successful elimination of mother-to-child transmission. Cuba has previously received recognition for having the lowest HIV prevalence in the Americas, at 0.05 percent of its 11 million inhabitants, partly due to a nationwide HIV screening program implemented in the 1980s.
Cuba’s existing healthcare infrastructure, which guarantees healthcare to all citizens, has allowed the nation to infuse mandatory maternal and child health programs with the tools needed for early prevention and treatment of HIV. Such treatment includes access to prenatal care and comprehensive testing, as well as treatment for HIV-positive mothers and their children both before and after delivery. A few particularly successful efforts beyond the provision of antiretroviral medication deserve credit for Cuba’s achievement: these include mandatory HIV testing for expectant women (and their partners), provision of caesarean deliveries over natural births and breastfeeding substitutions for HIV-positive mothers.
While this success was doubtless a joint and multilateral effort between various organizations, institutions and the Cuban government, it is equally obvious that the superb Cuban health system provided the gateway for the possibility of such an achievement. The Pan-American Health Organization’s (PAHO’s) director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, commented that “Cuba’s success demonstrates that universal access and universal health coverage are feasible and indeed are the key to success… [it] provides inspiration for other countries.”
– Melissa Pavlik
Sources: WHO 1, WHO 2, The Conversation
Photo: Caribbean 360
David Bowie and Iman’s Philanthropic Activities
Having been married for two decades, supermodel Iman and heavy-rocker David Bowie have walked a consistent pathway in relieving several communities of hardships pertaining to third-world threats such as the harrowing HIV/AIDS threat.
In late 1990, the dynamic pair participated in a fundraising event, 7th on Sale, for the enhanced medical research in treating and curing AIDS. The pair would go on to serve as recurring donors and participants in foundations that conducted deep, thorough studies of the then-unknown sexual catastrophe throughout the remainder of the 90’s.
But even with impactful collaboration in donor work as a married couple, the pair has never ceased in aiding disadvantaging areas on a separate, individual basis.
In 1998, Iman partnered with fellow philanthropist Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott in a charitable cosmetic line, Misdemeanor Lipstick, where proceeds collected from each item sold were issued to the nonprofit Break the Cycle, an organization that works to minimize domestic hardships and abuse to help young children and teenagers to live safely.
Around this time, other philanthropic measures taken by the supermodel included her support for organizations alleviating the mistreatment against Somali native women, world hunger and HIV/AIDS-related crises. A majority of Iman’s charitable endorsements were further supported through her organization IMAN Cosmetics, which supports the “Raise Hope for Congo Campaign,” an initiative aimed at protecting and empowering Congolese women and girls.
With his spouse generating similar awareness, David Bowie has headlined global concert tours that assist in the betterment of drastic illnesses that take a toll on developing nations. Along with his famous contributions was his feature in the 1985 Live Aid concert, which generated funds to minimize threats of climatic and AIDS-related dangers.
Moreover, Bowie went on to utilize his live performing skills through another charitable opportunity, this time in loose hand-in-hand with wife Iman. In 2006, the groundbreaking rock musician collaborated with Grammy-winning R&B musician Alicia Keys. The two artists sung and performed live at a New York concert as part of Keys’ nonprofit Keep a Child Alive, an organization that works to rid African children of AIDS and poverty-induced restraints.
Iman was also involved in the lively event, as she and comedian Wanda Sykes served as hosts of the event’s black-tie dinner in celebration of the initiative’s planning and success.
It would not be long until Keys and fellow organizers appointed Iman as the initiative’s Global Ambassador for Keep a Child Alive after noting the model’s sincere elements in raising awareness for multiple pandemics across the globe. With a newly designated role, Iman launched not only additional fundraisers to support a variety of causes but also programs like “I am African,” a tool utilized to build awareness of the AIDS pandemic greatly affecting her native Somalian homeland.
As years have progressed, nothing has stopped this power couple’s path to giving back to those in need. With social media tools redefining the nature of networking for a passionate cause, Iman and David Bowie still remain fixated and up-to-date on endorsing as many foundations as they possibly can to improve the world.
– Jeff Varner
Sources: Philly.com, Billboard, CNN, Slice, Iman Cosmetics, Getty Images
Photo: ENCA
Pope Brings Strong Poverty Focus to Latin American Tour
Pope Francis has been entertaining a wide variety of topics on his current Latin American tour, but poverty has remained at the top of his list.
“Do we realize that something is wrong in a world where there are so many farm workers without land, so many families without a home, so many laborers without rights, so many persons whose dignity is not respected?” the Pope said in Spanish at a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. “Do we realize that that system has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature?”
The Pope’s focus on poverty rings especially true for many living in the countries he’s speaking in. In Ecuador, over 25% of the population lives below the poverty line; that number jumps all the way up to 60% in Bolivia.
According to the Vatican, the overarching theme of the Pope’s visits is to bring “the Church for the poor.” The Pope is reaching out to the poverty-stricken people and regions of his native South America.
“The human environment and the natural environment are degrading together, and we can’t adequately confront human and social degradation without paying attention to the underlying causes,” the Pope said at a stop in Quito, Ecuador. “In today’s world, among the most abandoned and abused poor, we find the most oppressed and damaged land.”
– Alexander Jones
Sources: Big News, CNN, Telesur
Photo: BBC