What Can You Do to Address Global Poverty?

I have been somewhat disconnected from the financial blogosphere lately and I missed an important event, Poverty Awareness via Blog Action Day.

As the income gap continues to grow, wealth distribution in this country and around the world follows the idea of the 80/20 rule; a small percentage of the world has the majority of the wealth. I learned about many of the causes behind global poverty and potential solutions when I earned my international studies undergraduate degree. For a variety of reasons I ended up with a career in information technology instead of using what I had learned studying global politics and economics but the experience did open my eyes to the issues the world is facing.

The problems seem so daunting and overwhelming but there are many people working to solve them.  For example, Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank and Matt and Jessica Flannery of Kiva are working to put money in the hands of entrepreneurs in underdeveloped nations.  You can fund people in need directly through Kiva or you can donate to organizations, one of my favorite is Mercy Corp.

One simple thing that everyone can do is to visit The Hunger Site every day  and click the Give button.  Each click donates a portion of food, there is no cost to the visitor, the site is advertiser supported.

Here are some other thoughts and suggestions about global poverty that were written as part of Blog Action Day:

• Blog Action Day: Thoughts on Poverty
• Blog Action Day 2008 – Talking About Poverty.
• Learning to Give: What *I* Can Do to Fight Poverty
• War On Poverty (Blog Action Day)
• Matching Donations to Your Local Food Bank 
• Fight Poverty: Donate to Food Banks

Everyone can use their own skills to help address the issue, below is a video from Tina Fey, using her celebrity status to bring awareness to the topic of global hunger.  What skills can you use to make a difference?

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

All posts by Ben Edwards