Mike Lamont, Graham Smout, Ryan McCarthy, Jayne Jones, Matt Galloway, Tialda Veldman, Callum Gay, Rowan Smith, Yadana Saw and Paul Zoubkov

The uneven spread of wealth is growing. As we spin further into the twenty-first century our world remains a divided place. For a lucky few there is plenty; for most there is none.

The richest 20 percent of the world’s population now consume 86 percent of its resources. For the vast majority of people, however, even the most basic necessities of life — clean water, food, shelter — are scarce. And this uneven spread of wealth is growing. But poverty is not inevitable. It CAN be overcome.

The question is, what are YOU prepared to do?

What causes poverty?

COLONISATION: This has caused loss of land and resources and left deep social and psychological scars.

UNFAIR TRAIDE: Rich countries have protected their own economies while exploiting the economies and resources of poorer countries.

INTERNATIONAL DEBT: Massive international debt owed by third world countries takes cash away from health, education and economic development.
Often the original debt money was stolen by corrupt governments, or spent on useless projects without proper consultation or consent.
Although the original amount may have been repaid many times over, the debt keeps growing because of high interest rates.

WAR: Conflict destroys lives and livelihoods, homes and crops, roads and communications. It creates unemployment, scares away investment and demands huge military spending.

INADEQUATE RESOURCES: Lack of food, water, education, healthcare, land, shelter, technology, start-up finance — all these can act as a cause of poverty.

IMMORAL GOVERNMENTS: Some governments have no concern for citizens or their rights. Corruption, discrimination, brutality and unaccountability all contribute to the growth of poverty.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: The poor are much more likely to depend directly on the environment for sustenance or income. Natural disasters (such as earthquakes, floods and droughts) and man-made environmental problems (pollution, over-grazing, etc) have the greatest impact on those who are most in need.

Did you know?
Of the world’s 6 billion people, 4.4 billion live in developing or third world countries. Of these:

• three-fifths lack basic sanitation
• almost one third have no access to clean water
• a quarter do not have adequate housing
• a fifth have no access to modern health services
• a fifth of children do not attend to the end of primary school
• a fifth do not have adequate protein and energy from their food supplies

TAKE ACTION

Ten ways YOU can fight poverty INFORM: By reading these pages, you are gathering information that will help you form an OPINION.

OPINION: The whole world is based on everyone having one of these. Make sure yours is well informed. TALK to other people and share your knowledge.

TALK: Share your ideas and concerns with other people — your friends, parents, teachers. Hearing what others say helps to EXPLORE an issue.

EXPLORE: Exploring can be about testing what you know, or what others say. You may encounter problems, solutions and more questions — enough to make you want to CHANGE something.

CHANGE: If the world needs fixing, start by changing yourself. You might stop buying certain products, food or clothes. Changing your habits is to CHALLENGE what you don’t like.

CHALLEGE: It’s difficult to stand up and care about something, but if you’ve reached this point then encourage yourself to go further. Try to find SOLUTIONS to poverty. Don’t give up.

SOLUTIONS: So far, everything you have done is a positive step that makes a difference. But what would solve some of the issues? You can be as imaginative as you like. Nothing is impossible. If you can see the connection to the issue you care about, keep up the pressure and ACTIVATE!

ACTIVATE: Live the world you wish for every day. There may be lots of bad things in the world, but you don’t have to contribute. Have PRIDE in your actions and thoughts.

PRIDE: Be proud of what you know and what you are doing. Others might find it scary or they might hassle you — just remember that doing good things is difficult and you are making a positive difference. If you are true to what you believe, then that will keep a SMILE on your face.

SMILE: Because you are making this world better.

If the world needs fixing, start by changing yourself.

This article was written as part of Global Focus a collaborative project of Tearaway Magazine and the Global Education Centre. It was first published in Tearaway magazine and is reprinted here with their permission

Illustrator: Gavin Mouldey