a call to action - The Life You Can Save

A CALL TO ACTION
Effective interventions can break the cycle
of poverty for the world’s neediest people.
CONTENTS
Letter from the
Executive Director
ii
Extreme Poverty
2
Success In the Field
4
Resources
7
Letter from the
Executive Director
Take a moment to imagine what it would be like to live on less than $2 per day. What would
change? What would you lose? Almost a third of humanity’s 7 billion people face this reality
daily. With so few resources, much of the world is forced to do without what we in developed
countries consider basic human rights: health, sanitation, education and employment.
Now imagine that your children, your siblings, your nieces and nephews never lived past
the age of five. Every day, 18,000 children younger than five years old die from preventable
causes like pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and rampant malnutrition. That’s equivalent to the
number of lives lost in Japan during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
While there were outpourings of aid worldwide in response to those short-term disasters, we
continue to ignore the daily loss of life that results from living in extreme poverty.
Extreme poverty has the ability to take a toll on us as well. The World Economic Forum
has identified economic inequality as “a major risk to human progress, impacting social
stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale.” Further, our living in
relative affluence while others are suffering and dying needlessly erodes our own humanity.
Yet, there is hope. The situation can be improved if we act immediately and compassionately.
We can effect change by bridging the economic divide to help the global poor lift themselves
out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
We understand that there are many great NGOs and organizations to which people want
to give their money. We are pulled in many different directions. “Associational giving” - a
result of family, kinship, and a sense of community - is a very strong motivator. At The Life
You Can Save, we hope you will consider “optimal” giving. This type of giving prioritizes
relieving the most suffering per dollar, regardless of the recipient’s race, nationality or creed.
Our recommended charities have passed rigorous evaluations for efficacy, and we believe
they currently provide the most life-changing impact per dollar. We hope you will choose to
relieve the acute suffering of the world’s poorest with your monthly or annual gifts. You may
be surprised when you see just how impactful effective philanthropy can be.
We invite you to join our community of thousands of people who have chosen to publicly
pledge a percentage of their annual income to highly effective aid organizations working to
alleviate extreme poverty, and making the world a truly better place.
Charlie Bresler, Ph.D.
Executive Director, The Life You Can Save
Today
of 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty:
26% have access to clean
water 1
49% have access to electricity
1
20% have access to
basic sanitation
1
“ We
can reach our goals of ending poverty and boosting
shared prosperity, including sharing that prosperity with future
generations, but only if we work together with new urgency.
Children should not be cruelly condemned to a life without hope,
without good education, and without access to quality health care.
We must do better for them.”
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
Positive impacts of giving to alleviate poverty
171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all
students in low-income countries acquired basic reading
skills. That’s equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty 2
A child whose mother can read is 50% more likely to
survive past 5 years old 2
By reducing health inequality by 1% per year, a country’s
annual rate of GDP growth could increase by 0.15% 3
Every $1 invested in reducing chronic malnutrition can
4
result in a return of up to $30
2
Poverty and Inequality
1
Web of Poverty
Eliminating child labor
could generate economic
returns 7 times greater
than costs
*
Preparation for / access to
jobs would limit the pool
of unemployed from which
gangs and rebels recruit
CHILD LABOR
GANGS & REBEL MOVEMENTS
LOSS OF PRIMARY
BREADWINNER
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
and
DRUG TRAFFICKING
DEATH*
HIGHER LEVELS OF
RISK BEHAVIOR
CONSTRAINED
CHOICES*
LOWER LEVELS OF
EDUCATION*
REDUCTION OF
INCOME*
PSYCHOSOCIAL
STRESS*
MATERIAL
DEPRIVATION
CHRONIC
DISEASE *
POOR HEALTH
INFRASTRUCTURE *
LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY
DUE TO ILLNESS*
REDUCED ACCESS
TO PROPER CARE*
relationship key
causal
correlated
transforming
*
*
**
**
In safer conditions with
improved health infrastructure,
parents choose to have fewer
children, naturally reducing
overpopulation
World Health Organization, “Chronic Diseases and
Health Promotion: Part Two; The Urgent Need For
Action”. www.who.int, 2014.
International Labour Organization, “International
Labour Standards on Child Labor”. www.ilo.org, 2013.
The World Bank, “World Development Reports: World
Development Report 2011”. web.worldbank.org, 2011.
***
OVERPOPULATION
**
*
The World Bank, “Beyond Economic Growth Student
Book: An Introduction to Sustainable Development,
Second Edition: Chapter 3: World Population Growth”.
web.worldbank.org, 2004.
Success
In the Field
Datso is 12 years old and lives in Tibet with her family and
new baby brother. But she is not like other children; cataracts
in both eyes have caused her to go blind.
Datso’s life as a blind girl has been hard and very lonely.
“I am blind and don’t deserve any friends,” she said. “I am
not capable of doing anything but sitting in my home with my
grandparents all the time. Nobody is willing to play with me.
I can’t see now and I am afraid that I will never see again.”
Datso’s family heard about Seva Foundation’s eye camp in
their region and brought her to the hospital. After cataract
surgery on both eyes, Datso and her family were overjoyed
that she could see again. “I feel like doing everything now, but
1
first I need to see my new baby brother!”
Someone goes blind every 5 seconds.
80% of this blindness is curable.
Around the globe there are an estimated 19 million children under the age of 15 who are
visually impaired. Seva Foundation and their donors know that 80% of this blindness
is preventable or curable, and that when a child’s sight is restored, their life is changed
forever. This is why Seva Foundation is dedicated to the expansion of pediatric eye care
services around the globe.
Seva’s
donors
provide
over
Seva Foundation builds the capacity of local eye care programs to serve children living
in many of the world’s poorest communities. Through school screenings in these poor
communities and the distribution of free and low-cost eyeglasses, at-risk students are
now able to see the blackboard and read the pages of their textbooks. Seva knows that
good vision is a key factor in their education. With the world in focus, these children
now have a fair chance to succeed in life and to achieve a better future. 2
130,000
pediatric
eye exams
each year.
Executive Brief
5
Malaria, which claimed 627,000 lives
worldwide in 2012, is a major killer of
African children. “The saddest thing
is that you lose a person not knowing
their full capacity — what might have
1
been,” says C. Mendis, who directs a
project that is tackling malaria through
the distribution of treated mosquito
nets. “These children are the buds,
which will never flower.”
Malaria strikes hardest during the highseason when the weather is hot and
wet. Water stands in pools and puddles.
Mosquitoes breed and bite. Without a
treated net, anyone can be a victim.
Malaria is a disease of poverty. An
insecticide-treated mosquito net can
prevent death; even the few dollars
each costs is largely out of reach in
poor countries like Malawi where the
national per capita income is $224.41
per year. 2
Locals in highly-affected areas say,
“Malaria is like war, but with malaria
you cannot negotiate.” In a place without fear and disease, families can truly
flourish. That’s why Against Malaria
Foundation is dedicated to defeating
malaria in poor African communities.
By canvassing the country with over a
million nets per year, Against Malaria
Foundation ensures millions of poor
children and their families have access
to treated nets and are educated on
how to use them.
Malaria prevention and other control
measures are dramatically reducing
the malaria burden in many places.
Malaria mortality rates have fallen by
42% globally since 2000 and by 49%
3
in the WHO African Region.
6
Success In the Field
Malaria is like war.
but with malaria...
you cannot
negotiate.
www.againstmalaria.org
Resources
Still not sure whether to donate? Consult the most recent
statistics: Why Donate?
Find the world’s most effective charities: Where to Donate
Keep in touch with our Newsletter and our weekly Blogs
Community
Reading
PHOTO CREDITS AND CAPTIONS
SOURCES AND CITATIONS
Front cover
Page 2
© David Lavene/Oxfam
A young boy collects water in Barda, Azerbaijan. Oxfam
reconstructed an artesian well in the village of Dargalar, which had
been without drinkable water for more than two years
Table of Contents
© Meet The Boss TV
Charles Bresler, during an executive interview
© Possible 2013
A family in Nepal
1 “Report Finds 400 Million Children Living in Extreme
Poverty”. The World Bank Press Release, 10 October 2013.
Web. <www.worldbank.org>. 10 June 2014.
2 “Education For All Global Monitoring Report”. UNESCO, 2010.
Web. <www.efareport.unesco.org>. 10 June 2014.
3 Rees, Chai and Anthony. 2012.“Right In Principle and In Practice:
A Review of the Social and Economic Returns to Investing In
Children”. UNICEF Social and Economic Policy Working Paper.
© Possible 2013
In Nepal, a local man stands outside a Possible clinic
4 “Resolute leadership and steadfast commitment are key to
winning the battle against undernutrition”. UNICEF Press Release,
5 June 2013. Web. <www.unicef.org/media/media_69552.html>.
10 June 2014.
Page 1
Page 5
© Jon Kaplan/Seva Foundation
© Possible 2013
In Nepal, a woman and her child sit outside a Possible clinic after
receiving medical care
Page 3
© Possible 2013
Both images taken by Possible staff on-location in Nepal
Page 4
© Gurmeet Sapal/PSI
Happy child in Delhi, India
Page 5
© Seva Canada
In Tibet, Datso stands outside her home after receiving sightrestoring surgery
© Jon Kaplan/Seva Foundation
Page 6
© Michelle Siu/World Vision
A child kept safe from Malaria by a treated mosquito net
1 “Sight Restoration Stories From Tibet”. Seva Canada Society.
Seva Foundation, 2013. Web. 10 June 2014.
2 “Seeing The World Through A Child’s Eyes”. Seva Foundation.
Seva Foundation, 2014. Web. 10 June 2014.
Page 6
1 Costanza, Kari. 2013. “Msoquito Net Effect in Mozambique”.
World Vision, Inc. Web. 10 June 2014. www.worldvision.org
2 “Malawi GDP Per Capita”. Trading Economics, 2013. Web.
10 June 2014. www.tradingeconomics.com/malawi/gdp-per-capita
3 “10 facts on malaria”. World Health Organization, 2014 Web.
10 June 2014. www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/
An important part of both personal
change and culture change involves
being open about your beliefs on
these issues.
- Charles Bresler
The Life You Can Save Executive Director
Published by The Life You Can Save
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Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA
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www.thelifeyoucansave.org
© The Life You Can Save
June 2014
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