Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Cyclone Gita in Tonga: The Impact and Solution

Cyclone Gita in TongaTonga, or the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian archipelago of 170 islands of which 36 are inhabited. With a population of 109,008 people, Tongans rely heavily on each other and the little they have to survive.

As of 2016, 22.5 percent of the population lived at, or below, the poverty line. In fact, 8,456 people lived off of $3.10 or less a day, and 1,125 people of that lived off of $1.90 a day. According to Pacific Islands Report, Tonga suffers from poverty because Tongans need to depend on overseas trades, tourism, aid donors and private sectors to bring money into their economy. At the same time, the nation lacks access to basic living essentials and services, and face poor climate.

The Impact of Cyclone Gita in Tonga

On February 3, 2018, Tongans were hit with a tropical cyclone named Cyclone Gita — the most impactful tropical cyclone to hit Tonga in recorded history. After three long weeks, Gita heavily affected 70 percent, or 50,000 people — one-third of them being children. While only two people died from this tragedy, hundreds of homes, schools, buildings, churches and agricultural land were destroyed.

Specifically, 171 homes were destroyed, more than 1,131 homes were damaged, about 5,700 people sought shelters, 129 classrooms in 83 schools were damaged (leaving 25,000 students affected and a total of 35,000 children affected) and $152 million worth of damage hit agricultural land.

Cyclone Gita put Tongans at more of a risk as this population mainly depends on fishing and agriculture for an income. Nearly 36 percent of Tonga is agricultural land and agriculture accounts for 30 percent of the GDP.

Also, 98 percent of students were left without a school. Instead of working in the fields for income or going to school, Tongans had to refocus their attention on rebuilding their country.

How the U.S. Helped People Affected by Cyclone Gita in Tonga

In 1967, the U.S. brought the U.S. Peace Corps to Tonga to work and build a relationship with the Tongans. In 1970, the U.S. and Tonga began a bilateral relationship after the U.S. accredited Kevin Franzheim II, the U.S. Ambassador, to New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Since then, the U.S. and Tonga have held a strong relationship with each other through trades and donations. In February, USAID donated $100,000 to assist the people affected by Cyclone Gita in Tonga; every year, the U.S. provides $21 million to the Pacific Island funds.

The World Bank also provided $14.95 million to the Pacific Resilience Program, a program dedicated to strengthening awareness and preparedness for natural disasters.

Lasse Melgaard, Resident Representative from the South Pacific, said funds to the Pacific Resilience Program will go towards rebuilding 30 schools, which will put 9,000 students into a safer-built school.

Steady Support & Recovery

Other countries including New Zealand, India, Asia and Australia have also funded Tonga in relief efforts by donating money and humanitarian supplies. Although the people of Tonga still struggle to put families back into homes and children into school, the Tongan people continue to help each other rebuild their homes from the ground up. The unfortunate news is that it is expected to take months for Tonga to recover, but the good news is that there is more than enough helping hands to speed up the process.

– Kristen Uedoi
Photo: Flickr

5 Documentaries for Expanding Your Worldview

Documentaries For Expanding Your WorldviewDocumentaries are unique in that they provide a compassionate, immersive experience for the viewer — something that a news story often does not provide. In recent years, documentaries have become a method of awareness and education in the growing media industry. While documentaries shown in the United States are often focused on domestic issues, there are also many films dedicated to places and issues overseas that provide an educational, artistic and fascinating look into the world. Here are 5 documentaries for expanding your worldview.

5 Documentaries For Expanding Your Worldview

  1. For the Love of Water (Flow): “Flow is an eye-opening, troubling 90 minutes that makes us think twice about an element we take for granted” — The Boston Globe. For the Love of Water is a 2008 documentary by Irena Salina focused on the world’s most precious resource — water. Salina exposes the politics of the water industry and privatization, along with the concerns of pollution and human rights tied into the broken system which turns water from a basic human right to a source of power for those who control it as an economic resource. Through interviews with experts and scientists, who share the goal of creating a world of equality through grassroots organizations and new technologies, Salina creates a haunting portrait of a world without access to water — a world we already live in.
  2. Fire At Sea: “Fire at Sea occupies your consciousness like a nightmare, and yet somehow you don’t want it to end” — NYT critic review. Fire at Sea, winner of the Best Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016, paints a moving picture of an ongoing European humanitarian crisis. Focusing on Lampedusa, a small island south of Sicily, director Gianfranco Rosi documents the migrant crisis as refugees from Africa and the Middle East cross the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Stark and bleak as it may be, Rosi’s style provides audiences with an educational and artistic view into a world and life many do not yet understand.
  3. The White Helmets: “The picture that emerges is the reality of living through this intractable and unbalanced conflict, bringing home the scale of the international community’s failure” — The Nation. The Netflix short documentary, The White Helmets, follows three volunteer rescue workers of an organization of the same name in Aleppo, Syria and Turkey. Directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel, The White Helmets highlights the power of those dedicated to saving and protecting the lives of citizens affected by the war. An Oscar winner in 2016 for Best Documentary Short, this film provides insight to not only the current situation in Syria, but to the heroes risking their lives for the safety of others.
  4. City of Ghosts: “City of Ghosts isn’t merely about the personal sacrifices of these men, but a testament to the necessity of a free and open press the world over” — Arizona Republic. The widely nominated documentary City of Ghosts takes an in-depth look at ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,’ a citizen journalist collective in Syria. This group is dedicated to exposing the atrocities and human rights violations committed by the terrorist group ISIS. Director Matthew Heinman follows the group as they face the dangers of activism and protest in an era of silence (Rated R for violence).
  5. Why Poverty Series: The Why Poverty series is a collection of 8 documentaries and 34 short films focused on a variety of issues across a global scale. Created by The Why Foundation — a Denmark based organization focused on educating and broadening the horizons of the world’s population through a global outreach campaign — the Why Poverty series aired across 180 countries on networks such as BBC and PBS. Poor Us, one of the 8 documentaries, is an animated film on the history of poverty. Director Ben Lewis covers 10,000 years of history in just 58 minutes, from hunter-gather food insecurity to industrial revolution laborers to the poverty plaguing so many people, even in the 21st century. This film encapsulates the question The Why Foundation poses with their series — why, with the world’s resources and advancements in science and medicine, does nearly half the world’s population still live in poverty?

Fostering Awareness, One Show At A Time

These five documentaries for expanding your worldview will provide a deeper understanding of the issues faced in the 21st century.

Filmmakers dedicated to exposing the world to both issues and those fighting to make the world a better place provide a perspective that many news outlets cannot.

– Anna Lally
Photo: Google

10 Facts Everyone Should Know About Overpopulation in India

Overpopulation in India

According to recent studies, India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by as early as 2024. In a country where 25 percent of the population is already living on less than $2 a day, many fear the growing population will only make the poverty situation worse.

Although rapid population growth does not necessarily cause poverty, there is a clear connection between high fertility rates and poverty. In developing countries with high fertility rates, life expectancy and per capita income (two important indicators of well being) typically remain low.

The good news is that fertility rates in India have dropped significantly as of late, down to 2.2 births per woman. Yet the population is still growing at the world’s fastest rate at nearly 15 million people per year. Whatever measures are taken to combat overpopulation in India, it remains clear that overpopulation is a pressing issue with far-reaching implications on the environment, poverty and health. The following are 10 facts regarding overpopulation in India.

10 Facts About Overpopulation in India

  1. According to U.N. estimates, India’s current population of 1.32 billion is projected to reach 1.8 billion by 2050.
  2. Indians account for nearly one-sixth of the global population and one in three people living in global poverty, according to statistics from Yale University.
  3. The fertility rate of Indian women has more than halved over the last 40 years, down to 2.2 births per woman. Falling fertility rates are important in that they typically correspond with rising life expectancy and quality of life.
  4. Around 31 percent of Indians currently live in urban areas, but that number is projected to climb to near 50 percent (830 million people) by 2050.
  5. Currently, India is home to five megacities; this number is slated to increase to seven by 2030. A megacity is a city of more than 10 million people.
  6. Delhi is projected to remain the second most populous city in the world in 2030, adding 9.6 million inhabitants in that time.
  7. While only 300,000 men agreed to vasectomies in 2008-09, more than 5.5 million women agreed to use an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCDs) to avoid pregnancy. These procedures are sponsored by the government to promote population control.
  8. The number of married women who regularly use contraceptives has gone up from 13 percent in 1970 to 48 percent in 2009.
  9. Indians have added almost a decade to their life expectancy in the past 25 years, with average life expectancy up to 69 years.
  10. India registered 90,000 fewer infant deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015.

Although the statistics can appear staggering, there is still reason to be optimistic. In India, trends in women’s education, fertility rates and quality of life have all shown improvements in recent history. This is important since improvements in these areas all correspond to decreasing poverty and population levels.

Furthermore, since countries with higher levels of income, education and access to health care typically have lower birth rates, experts are beginning to urge the government to focus on the development of these areas. Others are advocating for a government enforced family planning strategy, much like China’s one-child policy.

There is certainly overpopulation in India, but with awareness of the issue and sustained efforts to combat it, both poverty and population can be brought under control.

– Taylor Pace
Photo: Flickr

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How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty

How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty
Many scientists have agreed that Earth’s maximum carrying capacity is between 9 and 10 billion people. The world is rapidly approaching this limit; the global population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

Poverty, water and food scarcity and environmental destruction are already major issues which an increase of nearly 2.5 billion people will severely exacerbate. How can the world cope with these crises? One solution is eating fewer animal products.

Eating less meat can reduce poverty and hunger, and benefit the environment. There are economic and health benefits to plant-based diets. The average American consumes 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry a year; this is roughly double the amount the government recommends.

The amount of eggs and dairy being consumed is also much higher than recommended. Although becoming vegan or vegetarian are the most effective options, even lowering consumption to the recommended guidelines could have a huge impact.

The Negative Effects of Animal Agriculture

Agricultural production uses 38 percent of Earth’s land, or about 3.5 billion acres; nearly 80 percent of this is used for animal agriculture. These 3.5 billion acres can produce enough food for 10 billion vegetarians, but only 2.5 billion Americans who eat meat, as more than half of the world’s harvest is used to feed animals instead of people.

Though 800 million people do not have enough food, livestock are fed “more than 60 percent of [the world’s] corn and barley, and over 97 percent of [its] soymeal.”

Animal production is also incredibly inefficient. Livestock requires large amounts of land, food, water and energy to produce, yet “take more energy and protein from their feed than they return in form of food for people.” Ten pounds of grain are required to produce one pound of meat; in comparison, land used to grow rice can support 19 times more people than land used to produce eggs.

Though some agricultural land is too arid for plant agriculture, much of it could be used to grow plant-based foods for people instead of for animals. Even if only 10-20 percent of the land currently used for animal agriculture was converted to crop production for humans, this would more than make-up for the loss of meat.

Agriculture also uses great amounts of water — accounting for an astonishing 70 percent of global freshwater consumption — and livestock production accounts for the vast majority. According to the International Water Management Institute, 6000 liters of water is required to produce one kilogram of chicken, more than double the amount of water needed to produce one kilogram of cereals.

Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

Reducing animal product consumption worldwide could greatly reduce the amount of water used, and alleviate the ever-increasing water crisis that various countries face.

In addition, reducing meat consumption could improve the economy. If everyone became vegan, the world would save $1.6 billion by 2050. Industrial agriculture exacerbates poverty in developing nations as it is controlled by large corporations — such big organizations drive local farmers out of business.

In fact, local farmers are either forced to become contract growers for large corporations or move to cities, where they often must resort to working in sweatshops. Either path puts them at great risk of exploitation.

Overcrowding in the cities also drives down wages and leads to a rise in poverty and homelessness. A shift to local, more plant-driven production is more sustainable for local farms and can act to reduce poverty.

The Impact of How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty

Consuming fewer animal products could reduce world hunger and poverty. The United Nations World Food Council estimates that transferring 10-15 percent of cereals fed to livestock to humans is enough to raise the world’s food supply to feed the current population.

In addition, the International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that reducing the amount of meat consumed by 50 percent in high-income countries could result in 3.6 million fewer malnourished children in developing countries.

Eating less meat can reduce poverty and hunger. This is a choice that every individual can make, a choice that — particularly for middle and upper-class people in developed nations — isn’t too difficult. More stores are starting to carry a variety of plant-based products, many of which are less expensive than meat and dairy.

Small Steps for Great Gains

Scientific research and many doctors also agree that plant-based diets are oftentimes more healthful and nutritious than diets heavy in meat and dairy. Though becoming vegan or vegetarian may not be an option for everyone, reducing the number of animal products you consume could have amazing benefits for impoverished communities, for the environment and for the economy.

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Bulgaria Requires Much Improvement

Girls’ Education in Bulgaria

The Republic of Bulgaria is an upper-middle-income southeastern European country on the Black Sea. In 1946, Bulgaria became a People’s Republic, with Communist domination remaining until 1990. Its population of almost 6.8 million is evenly disbursed across the country, with larger populations in the urban areas (76.7%). 

Education System

Between ages 7 and 16, education in Bulgaria is compulsory and is free in state-owned and municipal schools. Primary education comprises four years, followed by four years of middle, or junior high school, education. There are two options for subsequent secondary education: comprehensive high school or vocational school. Specialized high schools, colleges and universities offer higher education.  

Education Outcomes by Gender

  • Secondary School Completion Rates. The lower secondary school completion rate (through middle school) is virtually the same for girls (95.2%) and boys (96.8%). Adult literacy is very high in Bulgaria and is virtually identical for women and men: 98.2%, females and 98.7%, males. 
  • Tertiary Education and Job Outcome. There is a gender difference in the higher education attainment rate, with women completing at a significantly higher rate (43% for women as compared to 29% for men). This gap is similar to the average for women in OECD countries. The gap is reversed, however, when looking at the employment of women as compared to men. The employment rate for those with a tertiary qualification is almost the same for men (92%) and women (88%). But men with less than an upper secondary education (i.e., high school) are employed at twice the rate (63%) of women (31%). There is also a wage differential between women and men. Young women who have completed higher education earn 78% of the wage of their male peers. 

Impact of Gender Quotas

Dating back to the 1960s, Bulgaria has aimed for 50/50 gender quotas in its school system, aiming for classroom gender balance. Initially, the intention was to increase the number of girls entering STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), which are typically dominated by men. Critics have recently suggested, however, that the quota system is restricting the entrance of qualified girls into top high schools. It is alleged that admissions officers may feel pressured to admit boys, even those with lower scores than girls, to balance gender representation. This, even though girls make up 56% of the student population.

One subsequent result of the quota system may be that women are forced into female-dominated careers (e.g., health care, teaching, sales) with typically lower salaries than male-dominated sectors such as IT and engineering. Still, women hold 29% of IT positions in Bulgaria, the highest male-to-female ratio in Europe. One conclusion is that “while quotas can help with educational access, they may not be enough to address broader social inequities.” 

Education and Roma Girls

Referred to disparagingly as Gypsies, Roma are the often persecuted, largest ethnic minority in Eastern Europe. The Bulgarian Roma population is reported to be 4.1%, but since official statistics often underestimate their count, the population may be as high as 9-11%. 

Systemic barriers to Roma education in Bulgaria include economic challenges (63.2% of the Roma were below the poverty line in 2022), discrimination, high mobility (which disrupts continuity of schooling) and infrastructure deficits, especially the lack of secondary schools in some rural areas. Because of early marriage and traditional gender roles, Romani girls are a further marginalized group, and nearly 70% of them are not engaged in education, employment or training. An additional barrier for rural girls is cultural; their families’ fears of “behavioral issues” when girls are no longer under family supervision.

In June 2025, the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) published The Case of Roma Women in Bulgaria. The GFoD report noted education as one of five key areas of systemic exclusion of Roma women. This exclusion is related to high dropout rates, early marriage pressures and segregation, although there are differences by region. In the Montana region, for example, families prioritize girls’ education with results comparable to the national average. In Sliven, on the other hand, early marriage is practiced along with high dropout rates. The report concludes, “To enhance Romani girls’ access to education, it is vital to address both structural inequalities and community-specific social norms. . . . In so doing, Romani girls will be better positioned to pursue their education and fully realise their potential.” 

GFoD suggests addressing the root causes of low school attendance with supportive interventions, rather than punitive measures/sanctions against families for noncompliance, noting the need for localized, tailored community-based interventions. Also referenced is the National Development Program Bulgaria 2030, which includes an implementation plan with specific measures for inclusive education. 

Continuing Challenges for Girls’ Education

Two continuing challenges in Bulgaria’s education of girls remain. One is the need to review the impact of the gender quota system to determine whether there may be a more effective and equitable way to achieve the system’s original goal. The second is to address the inequities inherent in the education process for Roma girls.

– Staff Reports
Photo: Flickr

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Five Important Poverty Nonprofits to Pay Attention To

Important Poverty Nonprofits
The world is full of people trying to do good, some of whom are well known and acknowledged for the work they do. Many change-makers, however, fly under the radar and do not receive the recognition they deserve for the profound changes they have generated. Some important poverty nonprofits have been working to mitigate poverty and disease worldwide for years, and they are the ones who could benefit greatly from volunteers. The following are five groups whose efforts should not go unnoticed by the world.

Five Important Poverty Nonprofits

  1. Mothers2mothers – This group focuses on alleviating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa while empowering women and mothers living with and/or around the disease. Africa is lacking heavily in healthcare workers. Mothers2mothers is an important poverty nonprofit that hires and trains HIV-positive women to fill these roles, thus providing them with the opportunity to gain financial security for their families and giving the community access to much-needed healthcare. Through this method, thousands of jobs have been created and hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved.
  2. Partners in Health (PIH) – Founded in 1987 by world-renowned doctor Paul Farmer, PIH has made great strides in eradicating life-threatening epidemics, such as multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, in third-world countries. PIH focuses on building lasting healthcare systems in countries that are severely lacking and providing this service to the poor, who would not typically be able to afford it. To do their incredible work, PIH relies heavily on donations.
  3. Kiva – Kiva is a nonprofit that provides low-income, entrepreneurial women and students with loans to start their own small businesses. They described their mission as “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.” Kiva has proven that even small loans can create lasting change in the lives of those who need it. Recipients of loans through Kiva have gone on to build small businesses that allow them to support their families and stimulate the economy of their communities.
  4. Charity: water – This is a nonprofit that works to provide clean drinking water to developing countries. Charity: water uses donations to build wells that would eliminate the need for people to walk miles away to get to a water source. They also provide sand filters and rainwater catchments that promote cleanliness in drinking water, which helps to lessen the spread of disease in impoverished communities.
  5. Concern Worldwide – This organization focuses on long-term solutions in third-world countries. Concern Worldwide responds to emergencies like environmental disasters and genocide. Their past projects have included providing food and nutrition to the starving after the 1973 Ethiopian famine. They are currently working with Syrian refugees in The Middle East.

These five are just a few of many important poverty nonprofits that work to make a positive change in the world, no matter how small. Contributions to groups like these have the ability to create a ripple effect in the lives and communities of those who truly need it. Getting involved can come in any form from promoting the causes online to volunteering time to help with projects. When it comes to making a change, there is no contribution too small.

– Amelia Merchant
Photo: Flickr

Five Eco-Friendly Measures Combat Poverty

Eco-Friendly Measures Combat Poverty
A common complaint about pro-environment actions is the cost they pose to the economy. But worldwide, eco-friendly measures combat poverty in new and sustainable ways. A clear link exists between environmental degradation and poverty, as a feedback loop is created between the two circumstances: by focusing on the environment, the world’s poor can also benefit. Several strategies have already been implemented with proven results that demonstrate that environmentalism can benefit the impoverished.

Five Ways Environmentalism Fights Poverty

  1. Green Energy Provides Jobs and Protects Health
    Green energy provides new jobs and opens up markets that were previously not beneficial. Additionally, according to The World Bank, pollution “stunts economic growth and exacerbates poverty and inequality in both urban and rural areas.” Poor people often feel the effects of pollution most severely since they cannot afford measures to protect themselves. Green energy lessens pollution and can provide relief to suffering communities.
  2. Environment Affects Livelihoods
    More than 1 billion people worldwide depend, to some extent, on forest-based assets for their livelihood. Low-income countries feel the effects of environmental problems more intensely, as environment-based wealth accounts for 25 percent of total wealth in such areas. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warring parties depleted natural resources so that, according to the U.N. Security Counsel’s 2001 discussion, “The only loser in this huge business venture is the Congolese people.” Eco-friendly measures combat poverty in these cases by ensuring a community’s source of income does not disappear.
  3. Sustainable Farming 
    Globally, cooperatives have arisen that have produced organic food for markets everywhere and “revitalized traditional agricultural systems with new technologies.” Low-income communities producing organic and fair-trade coffee like this have created a rapidly growing niche market that is both sustainable and environmentally conscious. Additionally, many industries can create sustainable jobs for lower-income individuals by focusing on the environment. A Madagascar shrimp processing company created 1,200 permanent new jobs and focuses on keeping those jobs long-term by ensuring that the shrimp population in the area remains healthy. Such policies benefit all parties involved: the company, the environment and the impoverished.
  4. Recycling and Reusing Resources 
    A substantial concern in impoverished countries is developing ways to reuse scarce resources such as water. 99 percent of the time, death due to not enough water or unsafe water takes place in developing countries. In India, the company Banka BioLoo is placing more than 300,000 eco-friendly toilets in low-income areas, which creates jobs and eliminates harmful waste while providing desperately needed sanitation. The by-products of their system include water for gardening and methane gas for fuel. This innovative design is just one of many examples of how eco-friendly measures combat poverty and can improve human health.
  5. Helping Stop Exploitation of the Poor
    Governments can play a big role in combating poverty and protecting the environment with just one action. Corruption can often lead to inter-country conflict, which harms both the environment and the poor. Access to information and legal frameworks, as well as sanctions imposed by organizations like the U.N., can improve the situation in areas plagued by corruption.

These efforts require the non-poor and poor to work together. Since the non-poor have higher consumption levels, the degradation of the environment by poor people is often “due to the poor being denied their rights to natural resources by wealthier elites and, in many cases, being pushed onto marginal lands more prone to degradation.” However, the situation promises hope for the future; by working together, wealthier people have the ability to reduce environmental threats, and poor people often have the technical ability to manage resources. Together, these eco-friendly measures combat poverty.

– Grace Gay
Photo: Flickr

How the Media Misrepresents Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Whenever Bulgaria is mentioned in the media, coverage is generally skewed towards poverty and corruption, depicting it as one of the EU’s most troubled members. However, a closer look at the facts and figures of life in Bulgaria proves that how the media misrepresents Bulgaria does not entirely reflect reality.

Bulgaria and the EU

Bulgaria is the poorest member of the EU. This fact has not escaped the notice of the rest of Europe, and Bulgaria’s media representation has suffered for it. A 1984 study performed by Weaver and shows that the poorer a country is, the less coverage it is likely to gain in any given news outlet, and the more negative that coverage is liable to be. In contrast, richer countries such as the U.S. are much more likely to receive positive media attention, overshadowing poorer nations like Bulgaria.

Bulgaria in the Media

When the media mentions Bulgaria, it paints it as a corrupt Eastern European country that the rest of the EU wants nothing to do with. Media biases against Bulgaria frequently stem from the fact that Bulgaria was once part of the Soviet Bloc. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Bulgarians struggled to adjust to the fact that their country was no longer Communist, and it was not uncommon for Bulgarians to migrate west to try for a fresh start. However, they were often met with fear from their new neighbors, mostly due to their status as ex-Communists whose government was still somewhat corrupt and were subsequently dehumanized by many Western European nations. For example, Bulgaria has repeatedly been denied admission to the Schengen Zone, which would permit Bulgarians to work and travel freely in fellow Schengen countries within the EU. This, combined with the country’s comparatively low GDP, has led to media depictions in which they are given the same derogatory treatment that migrants are typically given by news outlets.

Bulgaria and the Rest of the World

How the media misrepresents Bulgaria becomes apparent when examining the economic and political conditions in Bulgaria. For starters, Bulgaria’s GDP is currently $18,900, having risen from $8.400 in 1991. Although this is, in fact, fairly low by EU standards, it is not low when thought of in the context of the rest of the world. The world is split into four income groups, ranging from Group One (extreme poverty) to Group Four (the U.S. standard). Bulgaria falls into Group Three (upper middle income); most of its people can afford decent beds, bikes, and maybe cheap cars, but not annual vacations or spacious houses. The average person is getting about 6570 kilowatt-hours of electricity, 48 percent of them have Internet access, and 99.4 percent have access to clean drinking water. In fact, as of 2014, no one in Bulgaria is living in extreme poverty. Meanwhile, the rest of the EU’s citizens are scattered throughout Groups 3 and 4.

Corruption in Bulgaria is also not as abundant as the media portrays it. For example, the Inequality Index (Gini) rated Bulgaria around 40, which is in the middle of the scale. Their first elections took place in 1990, and their current democracy score is 9 out of 10.

Overall, things are looking much better in Bulgaria than the media lets on. While the media would let its consumers believe that Bulgaria is a hopeless case of corruption and poverty, it is actually a free nation with a thriving economy. If one looks hard enough, one will find that how the media misrepresents Bulgaria is a true misrepresentation and nothing more.

– Cassie Parvaz
Photo: Flickr

 

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How an Individual’s Impact on Poverty Reduction Can Make a Difference

How an Individual's Impact on Poverty Reduction Can Make a Difference
The Borgen Project was started with one person who wanted to make a difference. Clint Borgen started his endeavor to create The Borgen Project after seeing the poverty and conflict during the genocide in Kosovo. When he returned, he moved to Alaska to join a fishing expedition in order to make money to start his organization. The Borgen Project started with one person’s bold ideas and passionate heart setting to eradicate global poverty. There are many other ambitious individuals, like Clint Borgen, that have started organizations focusing on reducing poverty. The following organizations show how an individual’s impact on poverty reduction can generate a movement leading to organizations that work toward a world with less poverty.

  1. ONE is an international organization that focuses on action and campaigning to end extreme poverty and prevent diseases. The co-founders for ONE are Bono, the lead singer of U2 and Bobby Shriver, son of the founder of The Peace Corps. These two passionate men came together to start ONE, an international campaign and advocacy organization of more than nine million people around the world. This organization prioritizes social justice and equality in the world. ONE utilizes its advocacy power to encourage government programs to make lives better around the world. It is funded almost entirely through foundations and corporations.
  2. Concern Worldwide has focused on working with the world’s most vulnerable people for 50 years. This organization was founded by John and Kay O’Loughlin-Kennedy in response to the famine that occurred when the province of Biafra tried to secede from Nigeria. In 1968, this organization, then called Africa Concern, focused in Africa sending supplies to the people affected in Biafra. In 1970, Africa Concern turned into Concern Worldwide with volunteers encouraged to respond to natural disasters causing poverty in other communities as well. Today, Concern Worldwide focuses on emergencies, health, nutrition, education and livelihoods to reduce poverty. This organization operates on donations and utilizes 90 percent of its funds for relief and development.
  3. Trickle Up envisions a world where no one lives in extreme poverty or vulnerability. In 1979, Mildred Robbins Leet founded this organization with the goal to help people out of poverty. The group’s work aims to help women, people with disabilities, refugees and other economically and socially excluded people. Its goal is to continue lifting millions of people out of extreme poverty and to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Instead of giving individuals money, Trickle Up provides people with seed capital grants, skills training and the support to create small businesses in order to help individuals reach economic self-sufficiency. Trickle Up’s approach starts with stabilizing one’s family, planning and building a livelihood, connecting and saving in groups, investing and growing businesses and finding an individual voice to advocate when people need to speak up in their communities. This organization tracks its individual impact on poverty reduction by focusing on the changes people experience in their quality of life. They keep track of data on how the organization helps others combat hunger, build livelihoods, gain access to savings and credit and empower individuals for social involvement.

These organizations, founded by only one or two people, represent how an individual’s impact on poverty reduction by ordinary people can generate change in the world. Clint Borgen, Bono, Bobby Shriver, John and Kay O’Loughlin-Kennedy and Mildred Robbins Leet exemplify the possibility of how one person can make a huge impact. These individuals are a testament to grassroots movements and why each person should feel empowered to make a difference.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts about Poverty in Greece

top 10 facts about poverty in Greece
Although Greece may be known for its crystal clear blue waters, luxurious islands and fascinating ancient architecture, it is currently going through one of its greatest economic crises in Greek history. Here are the top 10 facts about poverty in Greece:

Top 10 Facts about Poverty in Greece

  1. Europe measures poverty using a metric called “relative poverty”: According to diaNEOsis Research and Policy Institute, people who live in relative poverty “have income that is lower than a set percentage of the economy’s median income. In Europe, the relative poverty threshold is currently set at 60 percent of median income”.
  2. Between 2011 and 2015, the relative poverty population increased by more than 1 percent.
  3. The percentage of the total population living in extreme poverty has rapidly increased in the past decade. Extreme poverty in Greece can range from 182 euros per month for a single member suburban or rural household, to 905 euros per month for parents with two children living in Athens and paying rent. In 2009, the percentage of the population in Greece living in extreme poverty was about 2.2 percent. In 2011, the percentage was 8.9. In 2015, extreme poverty levels stood at about 15 percent.
  4. Jobs are especially difficult to find for young people living in Greece. Half of the people between the ages of 15 and 25 are out of work. In some areas of Western Greece, youth unemployment is over 60 percent.
  5. Between 2008 and 2016, nearly half a million Greeks left the country. A year before Greece’s debt crisis arose, an exodus began. The main motive of the emigres was to find work.
  6. The Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, wants to raise the minimum wage in Greece. According to a New York Times article, Tsipras “has vowed to reverse some of the harshest austerity after August. He wants to raise the minimum wage and possibly restore unions’ collective bargaining power, which was cut under the terms of the bailouts”.
  7. Greece’s Red Cross provides various services to those in need all over Greece. The Hellenic Red Cross has 75 offices and 42 committees. Their work includes centers for social support and integration of refugees, free vaccinations for infants and children, health services and education programs, housing assistance for the homeless and much more.
  8. One of the nonprofits in Greece called Boroume (which translates to “we can” in Greek) serves over 20,000 meals a day to those in need and helps to reduce food waste while increasing the food supply in over 80 locations in Greece. Boroume has provided those in need over 20 million meals since 2011 and has a team of over 700 volunteers. The organization has also saved and distributed over 100 tons of fresh vegetables and fruits.
  9. By April 2018, there were over 51,000 migrants and refugees in Greece. Many of the Syrian refugees paid smugglers to help them cross the Aegean sea to get to Greece. They arrived on the island of Lesbos in Greece where they were not permitted to leave until their requests for asylum were processed. If granted asylum, the refugees were allowed to go to mainland Greece and live in either subsidized housing or a refugee camp.
  10. The Hellenic Red Cross provides cash assistance to refugees stranded in Greece. They help asylum seekers to buy necessities such as food, clothing and medicine. By December 2017, the Hellenic Red Cross had helped 2,750 people.

These top 10 facts about poverty in Greece are important to know in order to understand the impact economic crises has on its citizens. Although Greece is starting to recover from its crisis, they still have a long way to go.

Photo: Flickr

– Ariane Komyati