Poverty is the lack of basic necessities that all human

beings must have: food and water, shelter, education,

medical care, security, etc. A multi-dimensional issue,
poverty exceeds all social, economic, and political
boundaries. As such, efforts to alleviate poverty must
be informed of a variety of different factors.

4.4 billion people live in developing 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

Causes of third world poverty

Trade
Third world countries lose out through unfair trade
agreements, lack of technology and investment, and
rapidly changing prices for their goods.

Work and globalisation

Better communications and transport have
led to a globalised economy. Companies
look for low-cost countries to invest in. This
can mean that, though there are jobs, they
War or conflict
are
low-paid.

When a country is at war (including civil war)

basic services like education are disrupted.
People leave their homes as refugees. Crops are
destroyed.

Debt
Third world countries have to pay interest on their
debts. This means they cannot afford to spend
enough on basic services like health and
education; nor on things like transport or
communications that might attract investment.
Land
If you have land you can grow your own food.
But many people in the Third World have had
their land taken over by large businesses, often
to grow crops for export.

Health
Affordable or free health
care is necessary for
development. In poor
countries the percentage of
children who die under the
age of five is much higher
than in rich countries.
HIV/AIDS is having a

Food and education

Affordable, secure food supplies are vital.
Malnutrition causes severe health problems, and
can also affect education. Without education it is
difficult to escape from poverty. This becomes a
vicious circle people who live in poverty cannot
afford to send their children to school.
Gender
When we measure poverty we find differences
between the level experienced by men or boys,
and women or girls. Women may be disadvantaged
through lack of access to education; in some
countries they are not allowed to own or inherit
land; they are less well paid than men.

Day in the life of a Kenyan child

Hello! My name is Irene Kagunda. I am ten years
old.
I live in a town called Soweto, in Kenya. Kenya is in
Africa.
My town
Come and visit my town. Our houses in
Soweto are small and very close together.
Most have no water or electricity. Many
people use paraffin (a kind of oil) to make
lamps so that they can see in the evenings.

My family
There are three children. I am the youngest. My
mum is called Joyce. She runs a kiosk (a small
shop) that sells paraffin and other household
goods.
CAFODs partners in Soweto gave mum a loan to
help her to sell more things in her shop. Now she
can afford to buy better food and clothes for me.
She can afford to buy me school books too.

My school
I go to Riverine Primary School. There are 170 children at
the school. My classroom is bright and happy. It has an
iron roof with a skylight to let the sunshine in.
The classroom walls are decorated with the letters of the
alphabet and with colourful paintings of animals and
transport. We sit on wooden benches.
I go to school in the afternoons. There are not enough
schools in Soweto for all the children to attend school for
the whole day.
School Fees
My school fees are 4500 Kenya shillings (about 30) a
term. The teaching is free, but the building, caretaker,
books, uniform, and paper all have to be paid for.

This is how I spend my day

Its 2km to school and I walk there every day with my auntie. We
get lunch at school usually sukumawiki and ugali (greens and
maize-meal porridge).
Maths is my best subject. I like my teacher Miss Wanjiku. She
helps us with things we dont understand. Going to school will help
me learn things. After that I want to be a nurse.
I get home at about 5pm and do my homework for an hour. Then I
help my mum with washing the pots and pans. Sometimes I go
out to play. I like skipping.
When we skip we sing a song called superstyle which means that
while youre skipping someone calls out a style and you have to
do it for example, you have to put your hands behind your head.
If I dont go out to play I help my mum in the shop. I sell paraffin
when she has to do other things.

Poverty! what is that?

Poverty doesn't know your age, or the colour of your skin, he

doesn't even care about the poor state that you're in.

He doesn't want to know, if you're hungry, or you're cold, he just

keeps calm and quiet, while head bent you hold.

Many who have met him? are still with him today, not through
their own choices, but by him not giving way.

Desperately needing clothes or shoes, so into purse you peer,

you'll
have to wait another week, or visit charities you fear.

He knows you've little money, and this he never defends, he

knows
you'll have to borrow, from loan sharks, or from friends

He doesn't even blink an eye, when you're worse off than before,
he
swears, that it's your own fault, you must have known the score.

The amount of money the

UK spends
On chocolate each year
could make Africa
NOT live in poverty