WHERE SHALL I
SERVE?
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world" -- Desmond Tutu
Approximately 25% or 1 out of every 4 people in the world live in multidimensional poverty. What does this mean? The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is defined by extreme deprivation in standard of living (water, electricity, sanitation, assets), health (nutrition, child mortality), and education (school attendance, years of schooling).
Countries outside Sub-Saharan Africa with the lowest HDI include:
Income Distribution
Simply reflecting upon the great need for resources in the world would be incomplete without also addressing the resources that are available. For example, it could be that there is simply not enough existing income and wealth for everyone to attain a basic standard of living. According to the statistics, this turns out not to be the case.
The region most afflicted is Sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority of the population (approximately 65%) living in multidimensional poverty. Many of the countries with the lowest Human Development Indices (HDI) come from this area:
Afghanistan
Haiti
Nepal
Papua New Guinea
Yemen
Myanmar
Timor-Leste
Bangladesh
Pakistan
Solomon Islands
D R of the Congo
Niger
Burundi
Mozambique
Chad
Liberia
Burkina Faso
Sierra Leone
C African Republic
Guinea
Eritrea
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Ethiopia
Zimbabwe
Malawi
C’ote D’ivoire
Sudan
Gambia
Benin
Rwanda
Djibouti
Zambia
Comoros
Togo
Uganda
Lesotho
Mauritania
Nigeria
Senegal
Tanzania
Madagascar
Cameroon
Angola
S Tome & Principe
Kenya
WHERE DOES YOUR INCOME PLACE YOU RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD?
WHERE DOES YOUR INCOME PLACE YOU RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD?
POPULATION $ DISTRIBUTION
Highest 20% 82.8%
Fourth 20% 9.9%
Middle 20% 4.2%
Second 20% 2.1%
Lowest 20% 1.0%
This reflects a saucer glass-shaped distribution, with the vast majority of wealth concentrated at the top, and very little remaining for the middle and bottom. Twenty percent of the world’s population holds 83% of the world’s wealth. The remaining 17% of the wealth is left to be distributed to the remaining 80% of the population. The top 1% of the world’s population (61 million) holds the same amount of resources as the bottom 56% (3,500 million). Countries with the highest rate of income inequality include many of the poorest nations mentioned above, but also includes many Central and South American countries. The US has the 4th highest rate of income inequality in the developed world (as defined by 34-state OECD membership), behind Chile, Turkey, and Mexico.
United Nations Development Program. (2011). Human Development Reports
United Nations Children's Fund. (2011). Global Inequality: Beyond the Bottom Billion
CIA World Factbook. (2012). Country Comparison: Distribution of Family Income: GINI Index
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2011). An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities
Poverty, according to the US census bureau, is defined as earning an annual income (before taxes, and including most benefits, such as unemployment, social security, public assistance, veterans’ benefits, pensions, alimony, and child support) less than a particular threshold, depending on how many individuals are living in the household:
Individual $11,139 ($928/mo) Family of Four $22,314 ($1,859/mo)
Couple $ 14,218 ($1,184/mo) Family of Six $29,897 ($2,491/mo)
An individual working full-time (40 hours/week) for 73% of the year earning federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour) with no other income lives in poverty
Approximately 15% (46 million) of people in the US live in poverty. For children (anyone under the age of 18), this number is 22%--almost 1 out of every 4 children. Other groups that are particularly affected are African-Americans, Latinos, non-citizens, and those with a disability (approximately 27% apiece, or over 1 out of every 4 of each group). Almost one-third (32%) of all single mothers live below the poverty line.
WHERE DOES YOUR INCOME PLACE YOU RELATIVE TO THE AVERAGE US CITIZEN?
WHERE DOES YOUR INCOME PLACE YOU RELATIVE TO THE AVERAGE US CITIZEN?
The region most affected by poverty is the south, with 13 southern states falling below the US average. Almost one-third (32%) of all children in Mississippi live in poverty. Non-southern states with elevated poverty levels include New Mexico (20%), Washington, D.C. (19%), Arizona (18%), and Michigan (17%).
US Income Distribution
POPULATION $ DISTRIBUTION
Highest 20% 50.2%
Fourth 20% 23.4%
Middle 20% 14.6%
Second 20% 8.5%
Lowest 20% 3.3%
United States Census Bureau. (2011). Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010
United States Census Bureau. (2010). Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates
United States Census Bureau. (2010). Household Income for States: 2008 & 2009
Your Local Community
Regardless of which community you live in you are guaranteed to find people who are hungry, homeless, sick, victimized, undereducated, and isolated or hopeless. So, although those in the greatest need and least able to improve their situation may be in other parts of the world, there are almost certain to be hundreds or thousands of people in your very own community who are struggling at this very moment.
Your Local Community
Regardless of which community you live in you are guaranteed to find people who are hungry, homeless, sick, victimized, undereducated, and isolated or hopeless. So, although those in the greatest need and least able to improve their situation may be in other parts of the world, there are almost certain to be hundreds or thousands of people in your very own community who are struggling at this very moment.
Wherever You Are
Looking closer still, moving from the world at large, your country, and your particular community, there are your friends, family, partners, and those you live and work with; people with whom you may already interact with on a daily basis. These people have basic needs for acknowledgment, validation, acceptance, and understanding. You can respond to these needs in the service of improving their lives.