common question:
"Why should I help someone in India
when there are people in need right here in the United States?"
As citizens of the United States (or insert your home country here), we care about the people in our country. As human beings, we should also be concerned about people and their living conditions everywhere in the world.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Do you agree?
There is currently injustice going on in India.
INDIA HAS SOME OF THE MOST POVERTY-STRICKEN REGIONS ON THE PLANET.
As a global citizen, here are some statistics for you to chew on:
- 75% of India's population lives in rural poverty.
- 44 million children in India are considered impoverished.
- 42% of children in the country under the age of 5 are underweight.
- 58% of children under 5 were stunted.
- 25 million orphans live in India today, more than any other country in the world.
- 700 million people in India live on $2 a day or less.
- Nearly 40% of teenage girls give birth.
- 18% of girls are married by age 15 and 47% are married by age 18.
- 51% of girls do NOT receive a secondary education.
- Statistics cited from UNICEF and World Bank.
It's overwhelming...but there is hope! And it involves you and me. It will take a whole bunch of global citizens who believe in the value of all human life, to release people from the cycle of poverty in India.