GFA World: Helping Alleviate Poverty in Asia

With 17,139,445 square miles and a population of 4,406,273,633, Asia is the largest continent in the world, and it presents some of the greatest needs.1 Poverty in Asia is widespread, affecting many of the people within its borders.

According to The Borgen Project,
“Despite widespread economic success, Asia remains the worst continent for global hunger and contains more than half of the world’s poorest people.”2
Approximately 400 million people in Asia-Pacific live in extreme poverty, earning $1.90 a day or less, while 1.2 billion people—a quarter of the region’s total population—earn under $3.20 a day.3

A complex problem, poverty exhibits itself in diverse ways.

Those struggling to make ends meet financially may also suffer from conditions such as lack of access to basic infrastructure, clean water, health care, education and other essentials.4 While there are various methods of measuring poverty, the Asian Development Bank says, “In practice, the most broadly used standard for measuring poverty will continue to be the adequate consumption of food and other essentials.”5 However, this standard can vary from country to country.

Specific circumstances and needs can even vary from village to village within a country, as pockets of extreme poverty can exist within sub-regions or even sub-groups of a general population.6

For example, slums sometimes exist on the outskirts of thriving cities, and rural populations frequently face their own set of challenges, including limited access to health care and education.

To address these complex issues of poverty in Asia, the various causes of poverty and the unique needs within a given community must be addressed.

GFA World has been serving the “least of these” in Asia since 1979 and does just that, taking on a multi-faceted approach as they address each community’s specific needs. GFA missionaries are part of the communities they serve and have unique insight into the needs of those communities and the people who live there. Though the solutions and community development programs GFA missionaries establish will vary according to specific needs, they may include child sponsorship programs, literacy classes, clean water initiatives or income-generating gifts. Whatever GFA missionaries do in a specific community, they do so in in the name of Christ, sharing His love in practical, tangible ways.


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