Wikipedia defines Poverty as "the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, such as food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education."

 

The countries we serve are in overwhelming need. We work to provide much needed supplies such as medical equipment, toys, tools, and full fill basic needs such as clothing and household supplies.

 

Pacific: A lack of basic services such as healthcare, safe water, schools, electricity and telephones remains a serious problem for many communities in the Pacific. Pacific Island countries are highly vulnerable to sudden economic or environmental changes as a result of their remoteness, geographical spread, susceptibility to natural disasters, high level of exposure to overseas markets, small internal markets and limited natural resources - See more at: http://www.oxfam.org.nz/what-we-do/where-we-work/poverty-in-the-pacific#sthash.i961XSAw.dpuf.

 

 

South America: Poverty in South America is high. All of the countries in South America are greatly affected by poverty to some extent. The countries that have the highest rates are Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay and Ecuador. All of these countries are trying to reduce poverty, with varying degrees of effort and success.There are many different reasons why a greater proportion of a country's population may be in poverty than in others, and there are a variety of factors that may explain poverty in South America. Each country has their own internal problems, which leads to their high percentage of poverty,here is an overview of poverty in each of these countries in South America.

 

 

Central America: Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi), or almost 0.1% of the Earth's surface. As of 2009, its population was estimated at 41,739,000. It has a density of 77 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile. Countries within the Central America region are: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.After two decades of internal violent conflict, social unrest, and revolutions in the 1980s and 1990s, Central America is still in a period of political transformation. Poverty, social injustice and violence are still widespread.

 

 

Caribbean: Poverty in the Caribbean is expressed in many ways, for example, in the weak status of the labour market, the status of vulnerable groups in society, poor health facilities for large 
portions of the population, poor efficiency and quality of social services (safe water supply, 
electricity, adequate housing), high income disparities, poor infrastructure in many countries and 
inadequate maintenance of same, crime and violence, shortcomings in matters of governance and 
social well-being, generally.

 

 

Africa: Africa is comprised of 5 regions, North, West, Central, East and South. They have an estimated population of: 1,001,320,281. Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent, the result of a variety of causes that may include the spread of deadly diseases (notably HIV/AIDS and malaria), corrupt governments that have often committed serious human rights violations, failed central planning, high levels of illiteracy, lack of access to foreign capital, and frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from guerrilla warfare to genocide). According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 25 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African. Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of the people who reside in the African continent.

 

 

Europe: Poverty is still significant in Europe. It a growing threat to people in rural areas in Eastern Europe and parts of Southern Europe. In those regions, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many countries are still going through a difficult economic, social and political transition.

One out of five Europeans — 93 million people — lives under the poverty line. The poor include rural people in Central and Eastern Europe and ethnic minorities such as the Roma, who are among the poorest people in Europe. The Roma comprise almost 40 per cent of poor people in Romania and Bulgaria. More than eight out of ten in the Republic of Moldova live below the poverty line, many of them in rural area. The countries with significant and persistent income poverty are in Eastern Europe - Romania, Moldova, Turkey, Albania and Kosovo.

 

 

Middle East: Not many countries in the Middle East are poor to begin with. They have some of the wealthiest nations in the world due to their oil deposits.

However, nations with extreme poverty due to armed conflict include Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

 

 

Asia: Poverty in Asia is a massive problem and is basically a rural problem in Asia: In the major countries, 80 to 90 per cent of poor people live in rural areas. While Eastern Asia and South-Eastern Asia have made impressive progress in reducing rural poverty over the past three decades, progress has been limited in Southern Asia. And the tsunami that recently struck the region will be taking a toll for years to come in Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Despite wide-ranging diversities in the region, many poor rural people in Asia share a number of economic, demographic and social characteristics, the most common of which is landlessness or limited access to land. Poor rural households tend to have larger families, less education and higher underemployment. They also lack basic amenities such as a safe water supply, sanitation and electricity. Their access to credit, equipment and technology is severely limited. Other constraints – including the lack of market information, business and negotiating experience and collective organizations – deprive them of the power to compete on equal terms in the marketplace.