Who Is Working on Poverty Alleviation?

Poverty has been declared public enemy number one, so there are many people working on poverty alleviation around the world. In its 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015, the United Nations listed “no poverty by 2030” as the first goal.[1] This would mean just three percent of the world’s population is living under the extreme poverty line.[2]Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has spoken on his optimism of meeting this goal, and indeed, the world poverty level has dropped significantly in the last three decades.[3]

With such big names involved and such progress, it could be easy to assume that poverty is solved; however, events of recent years have set this progress back significantly. Though the downward trend is now re-established, between 75 million and 95 million more people could be living in extreme poverty in 2022 compared to 2019.[4] Lingering effects of global shutdowns, conflict and inflation are expected to be felt in many countries through 2030, so the goal of bringing the global poverty rate to three percent is now beyond reach without major, significant, and swift action being taken by many of these struggling countries.[5]

Thus, GFA World’s work to end poverty remains vital and life-changing in Asia and Africa. GFA focuses on income-generating gifts—sewing machines and farm animals—to improve circumstances and restore dignity and value. Rather than leaving impoverished people and families dependent on future help, they equip and encourage them to create their own better futures by providing general and specific education such as literacy and hands-on job skills like sewing. Women, who receive sewing machines and begin work as seamstresses, can earn four or five times more income than they did doing menial labor.[6]

Dayita was an ambitious 17-year-old who wanted to help her family of seven. Her father’s small income from day labor was not enough to cover all their family’s basic needs. Dayita had faithfully applied herself to school and managed to enter the 11th grade, something many low-income children in her country struggled to do. Alongside academics, Dayita had enrolled in tailoring classes and discovered she had quite the talent. She had the skills, but the family couldn’t scrape together enough to buy a sewing machine to make a sustainable business, despite encouragement to do so.

Dayita’s family attended a GFA church, and her parents prayed for the elusive sewing machine. The GFA pastor heard the request. During a gift distributation, he gave Dayita a sewing machine. Now she could work, supplementing her family’s income by quite a bit, changing the course of their future and bringing them hope.[7]

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