Our Challenge
Nearly half of the world's fathers, mothers, sons and daughters live on less than two dollars a day. They are socially excluded, politically powerless, and vulnerable to crime, corruption, and coercion. They have limited access to education, technology, and markets. Overall they are marginalized, with few if any, economic opportunities to improve their standard of living. Poverty includes homelessness, malnutrition, lack of sanitation, and inadequate access to safe drinking water. Poverty’s physical consequences include fatigue, susceptibility to disease and early death. Moreover, the daily struggle of the poor to secure the basic needs of warmth, water, food and shelter makes it difficult, indeed makes it risky, to plan for the future. The emotional distress, depression, and anxiety that attend poverty can lead the poor to believe that they are incapable of making a difference in their own lives. For these reasons, poverty is a trap. Poverty not only limits the economic opportunities of the poor, it can handicap their ability and their willingness to take advantage of the opportunities that are present.
Our Challenge, the Two Dollar Challenge, is to partner with the poor to break the self-perpetuating cycle of poverty. The solution is twofold, through various development programs we can (1) expand economic opportunities and (2) improve the everyday living conditions faced by the poor. By relieving the immediate stresses of survival, we can help each individual see that they can take control of their own lives and act upon the opportunities that are present.
Poverty Action Program
Our Poverty Action Program is designed to meet this challenge by working to create passionate and effective leaders in the field of economic development. Starting March 28 and ending April 26 each participant in our Poverty Action Program will have the opportunity to administer Challenge Week on their respective campus and fundraise for their own initiatives. (See a list of current participants). They will also have access to extensive educational resources to supplement the exercise. In addition, they will be invited to attend the Poverty Action Conference with experts in the field of Economic Development. Upon its conclusion, participants will be able to participate in the Poverty Discussion Forum to exchange information and share their experiences through any creative form they wish.
