(Photo courtesy Compassion International)
International (MNN) — According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, about 29,000 children under the age of five die each day. Many times the deaths are due to preventable causes, such as poverty.
Compassion International says around 600 million children live in extreme poverty, and it would only take 1% of global income to end world poverty.
For years, organizations have been trying to tackle the problem of poverty.
The United Nations had a goal to cut the 1990 poverty rate in half by the year of 2015. The World Bank said some countries have achieved that goal, but other countries still have a wide range of poverty, if not wider.
According to Compassion, about three billion people are still living on less than $2.50 a day.
How can it be ended? How can a poverty-stricken world look to a brighter and more prosperous future?
By giving one gift at a time.
Compassion has a gift catalog with over 30 different ways to give to children and families all around the globe.
By giving gifts such as livestock, garden seeds, or a small business start-up plan, families can receive a gift and prosper from it even further. They can sell vegetables and fruits or eggs from their chicken that was given to them.
Compassion’s Retention and Engagement manager Karyn Stehman said, “It’s not just about providing an actual chicken: it’s about providing an opportunity for this family to earn an income and to get released from poverty, which is an amazing opportunity.”
It’s not just one person or one family prospering from a single donation. Certain gifts can benefit entire communities. For example, families can receive water filtration for good, clean water, and share the gift with others around them.
Compassion also shares the Word of God at local churches with everyone who is impacted by donations. Stehman said, “Every child who’s in Compassion’s program hears the Gospel of Jesus. When they come to the center, they learn about Jesus because it’s all at their local church.”
It’s amazing how one donation can have such a great impact.
Compassion needs your help this Christmas to give poverty-stricken children, families, and communities the gift of hope. Click here to donate.
