FACTS

In the developing world, more than 1.2 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per day. (Human Development Report 2003, Millennium Development Goals: A compact among nations to end human poverty, United Nations Development Programme.

According to a recent study administered by The State of the World’s Children the proportion of children living in low-income households during the last decade has risen in 11 of 15 industrialized nations.

State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The State of the World’s Children 2005: “Childhood Under Threat” – UNICEF concludes that more than half the children in the developing world are severely deprived of one or more of the necessities essential to childhood: 640 million children do not have adequate shelter; 500 million children have no access to sanitation; 400 million children do not have access to safe water; 300 million children lack access to information; 270 million children have no access to health care services; 140 million children have never been to school; 90 million children are severely food-deprived. The State of the World’s Children also makes clear that poverty is not exclusive to developing countries. In 11 of 15 industrialized nations, the proportion of children living in low-income households during the last decade has risen. (State of the World’s Children Report 2004, Girls, Education and Development. UNICEF)

Giving USA 2004, an annual report compiled by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, found that in 2003 Americans gave $240.72 billion dollars to their favorite cause – an amount which has grown in recent years. The organizations supported in this manner have had a profound impact upon many of the needs cited above. To point, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health program has committed more than $3.6 billion in global health grants to organizations worldwide in order to ensure that lifesaving advances in health are created and shared with those who need them most. These efforts have immunized entire populations and stemmed the tide of disease in many parts of the world.
Marighella, Carlos,“The Minimalist.” from Laqueur, William, ed. The Guerrilla Reader: A Historical Anthology (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1977), 221

“There are three conditions for the survival of the guerrilla movement that begins its development in the situation just described: constant mobility, constant vigilance, constant distrust.” Guevara, Che, “Guerrilla Warfare – A Method”, from Laqueur, William, ed. The Guerrilla Reader: A Historical Anthology (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1977), 208.