A single step…to help eradicate poverty
There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” – which I have always interpreted to mean that the even the most difficult and complex of tasks begin with a simple first action.
I was reminded of this last year when I attended CARE Australia‘s International Women’s Day breakfast. Speakers such as CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Ambassador, Gail Kelly, CARE CEO Dr Julia Newton-Howes and CARE’s Vice-Chairman, Christine O’Reilly, spoke of the poverty that exists in many parts of the world, and what CARE is doing to fight global poverty, with a special focus on working with women and girls to bring lasting change in their communities.
Just a few of the interesting points they raised:
- Of the world’s poorest people, 70 per cent are women and girls.
- Women produce 50 per cent of the world’s food, but own 1 per cent of its farmland.
- When women earn an income, they reinvest 90 per cent in their families.
- For every year a girl spends in school she raises her family income by 20 per cent.
- Educating women and girls provides the single highest return on investment in the developing world.
I know most of you are probably well aware of the status of global poverty and the social, economic, political and physical ramifications of it. But perhaps, like me, you feel a bit overwhelmed by the problem and not sure exactly what you can do to make a difference?
Which is where the wisdom of the ancient Chinese proverb kicks in. Just a single step makes difference. If I donate a relatively small amount of money that allows one girl to attend school, or enough to provide one chicken to lay lots of nutritious eggs for a woman and her family to eat and sell for a profit…THAT makes a difference. The ripple effects of that single action continue well past the initial donation.
CARE is just one of many organisations doing great work towards eradicating global poverty, so you may well have a different one you choose to help…but if you would like to support CARE, I’m going to make it easy for you and tell you a few options that the single step can be:
1. Donate to CARE Australia
You can make a one-off donation, donate to a specific appeal or commit to a monthly amount which goes towards specific programs.
2. Walk in Her Shoes: March 16 to 22
CARE’s Walk In Her Shoes Challenge is an annual event which raises money to fund sustainable water and food sources near communities; to help train village health attendants; and even to help CARE to respond in emergency situations. All these things will help reduce the burden of walking, and help women and girls access education, earn an income or find safety in crises.
To take part, you register to walk 25km, 50km or (gulp) 100km in the week, and (if you want it) you receive a pedometer from CARE to measure your steps, and an online fundraising page. There’s also a Walk in Her Shoes phone app that can measure your steps for you. It’s a fantastic motivator to get yourself out and active each day for that week (which may well be the start of a lifelong habit).
This is the ‘single step’ I took last year. Well, it was more than a single step, literally…but you know what I mean.
And I’m up for it again this year. If you’d like to support me (even the tiniest amount makes a difference), click on this link to go to my personal fundraising page. Queenie and The Impossible Princess are also taking part this year (i.e. family and friends…expect emails from them soon!) and Queenie has formed a team of her friends and family so we can work towards a team fundraising goal of a water system for an entire village.
3. Give someone a CAREgift.
CAREgifts are specific items needed by impoverished communities, which you can buy on behalf of your giftee for a special occasion. For instance, for $13 you could buy a chicken (live, not frozen) for your friend’s birthday. Your friend (recipient) receives a card outlining what you have bought and the difference it makes. The funds go towards relevant CARE projects which, in the case of the chicken, are livelihood projects. Gifts range from $10 (school books) to $2,500 (village water system).
A couple of years ago, Queenie and The Impossible Princess ‘received’ goats for Christmas from their adult cousins. They were as excited as if the goat was bleating and leaping in our own backyard. I think this is a particularly great way to educate our first-world privileged children about global poverty and what can be done to make a difference. There’s even the option to set up a gift registry for a wedding, a birthday, a farewell etc.
The Impossible Princess set up a CAREgift registry for her last birthday party, and asked her friends not to bring gifts for her, but to choose something from the registry instead. There were items such as goats, school backpaks, and sending a girl to school for a year, all purchased in honour of her birthday – which she was thrilled about.
4. Spread the word. Tell someone else about the single steps they can take.
I guess I’m taking that step too. And so can you.
Of course, there’s lot of other options too – volunteering, organising events, having a guest speaker and so on…but I said it was making it easy, and I would just outline a few options. Go. Read. Find out more about CARE Australia and what they do.
(And in case you’re worried about the fine print…when you support CARE Australia, you are supporting one of the most effective international aid agencies. Of every dollar CARE Australia spent in 2014, 90 cents went directly to projects.)
Just take a single step.
Disclosure: I attended last year’s CARE Australia‘s International Women’s Day breakfast in Melbourne as the guest of one of the CARE Australia board members. That is the extent of my relationship with CARE Australia (other than as a supporter). This is not a sponsored post, I write about this topic only because I truly think it is a great organisation doing valuable work.
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