UN Sustainable Development Goal #1: No more poverty
End poverty in all its forms and everywhere
"Poverty is not natural, it was created by man and can therefore be overcome and eradicated through appropriate measures. The eradication of poverty is not an act of mercy, but of justice."
Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner
Imagine if we humans lined up next to each other in a row. Then our chain would be as long as the circumference of 230 earths and one in ten of us in this line would currently be living in extreme poverty.
This means that one in ten of us only has 1.90 US dollars a day for food, drink, clothing and everything else we need to live.
That means we couldn't use the money to buy a burger, eat three scoops of ice cream, buy a bus ticket to the city and go shopping.
We couldn't afford school materials, food or even a cell phone on our own. In addition, most extremely poor people live in rural areas without access to a functioning infrastructure, and children often suffer the most.
In our human chain, we would realize that extreme poverty could affect any one of us and that it is not as far away as we think - only a maximum of nine people away from us.
What to do?
The 17Goals initiative has compiled TU DU's that show us how we can drive forward the fulfillment of this goal in our lives. We have taken inspiration from them and listed a few more possibilities:
- Recognize your responsibility for those who suffer from poverty
- Question your own consumer behavior
- Become a supporting member of organizations that are committed to fighting poverty
- Buy food for the needy, there are many ways to get involved here
- Pass on used things - everyone has different criteria for judging (sometimes life dictates these too)
- Come up with many more points for this list
Poverty and social disadvantage are major issues when it comes to a secure future and mitigating the effects of climate change. Let's tackle them - even small steps lead to the goal.
