Eradicate extreme poverty in our generation

By The Beacon | April 6, 2011 9:00pm
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Global Poverty Project fights against worldwide poverty

(The Beacon)

By Lynn Le, Guest Commentary -- The Beacon

Five quarters a day.

Could you do it?

1.4 billion people survive on this amount every day, sometimes less.

As young people, we have our own ideas of human suffering – a hard test, tough job market, getting dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend. And while every reality faces different forms of suffering, one fact is for certain: there are 1.4 billion people who can hardly meet basic survival needs.

The UN estimates, for the first time ever, that extreme poverty – defined as living $1.25 or below a day – can be eradicated within our generation.

That's right, eradicated.

Commitment is what you have to pledge to make that happen. Donations and financial means aren't the names of the game, here; the kind of commitment the Global Poverty Project speaks of is a fundamental change in the way we, as a generation, spend, consume, think and act.

On Friday, April 8 at the University of Portland in St. Mary's Lounge, the Global Poverty Project is coming to inspire the young, driven and able to join this movement. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., representatives from the Project will be presenting 1.4 Billion Reasons, a presentation aimed at invoking others to take effective action on stamping out extreme poverty. Its goal is to help mobilize young people like us with the adequate knowledge and tools to make a change.

In 60 minutes, the presentation exhibits the leading research on legitimate strategies that combat poverty. It will show viewers how small changes we make in our daily lives can be a part of the solution. Launched in Australia and then the UK with major success, the Global Poverty Project has earned the backing of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

The Project was started by Hugh Evans, a young Australian Gen-Y entrepreneur who founded Australia's largest youth-run organization, The Oaktree Foundation. The organization mobilized 350 volunteers under the age of 26 to raise millions of dollars in aid to end poverty. The co-founder of the Project is Bobby Bailey. He is the original founder of Invisible Children, the organization that became famous for its media exposure and awareness campaign of the kidnapping of child soldiers in Uganda and helping the Ugandan people regain and rebuild their country.

Firm examples of what young people can do to change the course of history, Evans and Bailey collaborated to develop the Global Poverty Project to inspire us to join them. This is an opportunity that not only allows our generation to make an impact on societies around the world, but also brings us together as humans, entitled to live.

Remember, 1.4 billion people in this world can hardly meet their basic survival needs. That's 1.4 billion reasons to care, and each one of them is like us.

RSVP for the event at http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/events.

Lynn Le is a senior global business major. She can be contacted at le11@up.edu.

Check out our multimedia page at upbeacon.net to view videos about Global Poverty Project.


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