July 2009 eNewsletter

In this issue Numbers Make Poverty’s Reach Crystal Clear [2] What Young People Can Do to Help End Poverty [3]  All Giving Helps [4] Young People are Already Working to Make a Difference [5]

Get Involved [4] [6]

Thank you for your continued support of Grameen Foundation and of our mission to end poverty.
You may notice that our newsletter looks a bit different this month.  A good deal of our efforts go toward helping the youngest poor people break the cycle of poverty for themselves, their families and for generations to come. With the summer issue of our newsletter, we wanted to help you communicate to your children the severity of poverty, the mission of GF, and the ways we all can make a difference.  In the issue, you’ll find facts about child poverty and activities your kids can do that will help define poverty in terms they can understand. You’ll also find stories about how youths are becoming active in helping others around the world escape poverty.

We invite you to use this as a springboard to get the dialogue going in your family about global poverty. Once you begin, get us involved in the conversation. You and your kids can become fans on Facebook [7], or follow us on Twitter @Grameen_Fdn [8] to share what you’ve learned and ask questions. 

• Two thirds of child deaths that occurred last year were due to entirely preventable causes. 
• Each year, an estimated 2 million children under the age of five worldwide die from diarrhea. An estimated 88 percent of these deaths come from living in poverty.
• In developing countries, 1 in 5 people don’t have access to clean water, and roughly half are without adequate sanitation.
• Between 250,000 and 500,000 children are blinded each year because they don’t get enough Vitamin A, which only costs pennies for a dose.
• Thirty percent of children in developing countries do not attend school. 
• An estimated 246 million children between the ages of five and 17 are engaged in child labor. Of these, nearly 70 percent or 171 million children are working in hazardous situations or conditions, such as in mines, with agricultural chemicals and pesticides, or with dangerous machinery. Some 73 million of them are under 10 years old. 

• Read a book about hunger, like Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen [9] by Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan or visit a website about microfinance, like OneHen.org [10].
• Draw a picture of what you think a poor family looks like. Then, draw a picture of this same family after they've received a microfinance loan to start a business.

• Read Banker to the Poor [11] by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus or Small Loans, Big Dreams [12] by Grameen Foundation President & CEO Alex Counts for your next book report assignment.  You can even share a story from Small Loans, Big Dreams with your class.
• Many classes ask you about your summer vacation. Tell your class about how you learned about poor children around the world AND how you can help them have a brighter future. You might even invite your class to develop a semester-long project. 
• With a group of your friends or classmates, pretend you dropped out of high school ten years ago and are now trying to find a job to support a family with the skills you currently have. Perform a job search in your local newspaper and online with your current skill and education level. Search online to find the starting salaries for these jobs. Ask your parents how this salary would stretch to support a family of five (two parents, three children).

• Visit StopPovertyNow.org  [13]and make a $10 donation. Then, start a campaign of your own.  Gather a group of your Facebook and MySpace friends and ask them to post this link on their pages. Include the link in a Tweet to your Twitter followers.
• For your next birthday or other gift-giving holiday, ask your parents, friends and grandparents to make a donation to an organization that fights global poverty instead of buying a gift for you. 
• With a group of your friends, decorate shoeboxes with markers, glue, magazine clippings, and stickers. Place travel-size toiletries like soap, shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste inside each box. Donate the toiletry boxes to a local homeless shelter.

• Visit StopPovertyNow.org  [13]and make a $10 donation. Email the link to your friends and post it to your Facebook and MySpace pages.  Include the link in a Tweet to your Twitter followers.
• With a group of your friends or classmates, organize a canned food drive in your community.
• Host a holiday party or other event for children at a shelter. Decorate and bring treats or gifts to the shelter and provide music or activities.
• Tutor/read to homeless or troubled children.

What did you learn from these activities? Do you have ideas for other activities that can help end poverty? Send us a Tweet @Grameen_Fdn [8] or Facebook message [7]to let us know!

Kids like you are stepping up to the plate to fight poverty. Don’t believe us? Check out these great stories:

• A group of high school and college students recently took a trip to Morocco to learn more about microfinance institutions. Now that they're back, visit their video blog [14] to experience their journey, or read a five-part blog series [15] documenting their trip.
• In 1950, five Philadelphia children went door to door on Halloween to collect money for children suffering in Europe during World War II. They collected $17 and donated the money to UNICEF. Their willingness to make a difference from their own backyard sparked the beginning of UNICEF’s Trick-or-Treat program. Since then, UNICEF supporters have collected well over $140 million toward helping poor kids get food, water, medicines and educational supplies.
• San Mateo High School in California holds the Guinness Book World Record for World’s Largest Food Drive. In 2005, the school collected 372,000 pounds of food and donations. In 2007, they raised over 270,000 pounds. In 2008, the school’s goal was 300,000 pounds. How do they do it? “San Mateo High has a student population which is both economically and ethnically diverse,” says the school’s website. “We believe we are a reflection of America, succeeding as one community united by a common goal.” The annual drive benefits the Samaritan House, an organization that helps about 7,500 needy people, half of whom are children, throughout San Mateo County and Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
• During October and November 2008, students in 27 schools in Freemont, NJ, and 8 schools in Newark, NJ, along with the Freemont American Association of University Women, participated in the Pennies for Peace campaign, a learning program designed to teach youth about philanthropy. The pennies collected from each school’s campaign fund the building of schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The campaign was developed by Greg Mortenson whose book, Three Cups of Tea, has inspired communities across the country to join in the cause. In March, the AAUW and the participating schools presented Mortenson with $34,000 for the cause, which far exceeded the initial fundraising goal of $10,000.