Do we know everything about December 19? Or just that today in many countries they celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas, nicknamed the Wonderworker.
You can easily find out the history of this person - just enter the relevant queries in search engines. But I don’t want to talk about it today for one reason. The fact is that on December 19th the world celebrates something else...
Today, December 19, is International Day to Help the Poor.
“According to international experts, at the end of the twentieth century, about a quarter of the entire population of the planet, that is, one and a half billion people, eked out a miserable existence. Research has also shown that more than 300 million died from poverty between 1999 and 2007. It is worth noting that even two world wars did not claim so many lives in total.” (Internet resource)
Hundreds of millions of dollars are allocated annually to solve this problem in the world, which affects 1/4 of the entire world population.
And I ask myself the question: what am I doing to help ease the burden of hopelessness for these poor people? And how to deal with your heart: with what motives are you doing this - out of vanity or out of compassion?
Perhaps many people believe that wealthy people cannot understand the poor. But, as they say, the rich cry too. Gleb and I became bankrupt 3 times, losing everything and starting with a big minus and debts. We have gone from valleys to peaks, and from peaks to valleys of tears... This has taught us a lot: perseverance, persistence, courage to seize every opportunity, analysis, more responsible distribution of resources, determination, relationships with people and faith in the best. And this brought us together.
But I understand that not everyone can get back on their feet, some can’t, and some don’t want to. And it is very important to understand: what will help a person regain, first of all, his dignity and the conditions in which he can reveal himself as an individual? Because this will be followed by his path of rising from trouble/poverty to the fullness of life, creating and creating his life.
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Yes, we are all equally happy, but we are all unhappy in our own, different ways. Every poor person has his own reasons for grief and poverty. Someone was born in such a country. Someone was robbed. And someone could not cope with the pain of losing something or someone expensive and valuable. And that's it, it broke.
Christian morality teaches us that if a person remains indifferent, indifferent to the needs, sorrows, and experiences of the people who surround him, then he cannot be a Christian in principle.
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But what is the best way to help so as not to harm “in the Slavic way”: to catch up and do good?
Barsanuphius the Great, an Orthodox priest, has this image: “if a man falls into a hole, do not stretch out your hand to him - give him your staff.” And he explains why this is so. “If you extend your hand to him, and instead of getting out of the hole, he pulls you towards him, then you will fall into the same hole. And if you hold out the staff, then the person who wants to get out of the hole will grab the staff and climb out with your help; if the fallen person does not want to climb out and pulls the staff towards him, then you simply let go of the staff.”
A good allegory of how useful it is to help.
But sometimes you can take the most powerful tool of help for a person, but which costs nothing (or rather, it was not paid for by us) and extend it to those for whom a kind word is better than medicine.
The truth is who this person is. Or rather, Who is Christ within him. And if we look through the prism of this glass, then suddenly we will notice that by helping someone who is in the trouble of poverty, we are helping Christ himself...
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Dear friends, if today you find yourself in a difficult situation and my message concerns you, I want to say... Don’t survive... Don’t lose your dream... Don’t lose your life... Don’t lose your faith in the best...
You don't have to prove to the world that you deserve to live in modern society. The only thing you have to do is live...
Let us, friends, those who have a place to live and something to eat, let us not judge the poor and hide behind our projects that affect the world. Let's influence individuals.
Let's come into contact not only with papers, plans, goals, but also with living people on the streets. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s your calling or not - to help the poor. This is our duty.
After all, what’s the point of conquering the world, but... losing your soul. Only together we are stronger and only together we can find the strength within to surprise ourselves and become who we were born to be - HAPPY!
Real poverty is the lack not only of finances, but also of decent work, comfortable housing, and the opportunity to receive quality education and medical care. Many government, religious and private charitable organizations are constantly fighting poverty and hunger. To draw public attention to the problem of poverty, this world holiday was established.
history of the holiday
The event was established by the United Nations in 1995. At that time, almost one-quarter of the entire planet's population (1.5 billion people) lived below the extreme poverty line. Therefore, the problem of poverty required the development of plans to eradicate it.
Since that time, many countries have been able to boost their economies and reduce the number of poverty-stricken populations to a minimum. But a global solution to this problem has not yet been found. There are still states where the average daily living wage is less than $1.
Traditions
December 19th within International Day To help the poor, various seminars, forums and events are held in many countries, the purpose of which is to involve the public in solving the problem of poverty.
Every year the number of people who, based on their income, should be classified as poor is increasing. This happens everywhere, but the gap between rich and poor in Third World countries is especially striking. In order to somehow resolve this problem and resolve the current situation, the United Nations established a special holiday, International Day of Relief for the Poor, aimed at providing all possible assistance to all those in need. It is celebrated annually on December 19th.
Information about the holiday International Day of Relief for the Poor
International Day to Help the Poor has been around for 27 years. The idea of establishing such a date belonged to the UN members gathered at the next meeting. The conference was dedicated to the discussion and possible resolution of issues of economic development. During the discussions and speeches, it became clear that the current financial situation in the world does not at all correspond to public principles of morality and humanity, as well as international dogmas. This is how an important holiday appeared, the purpose of which is to meet the basic needs of poor citizens.
The situation on this moment truly catastrophic. Over the past ten years, poverty has claimed the lives of more than 300 million people in countries with a normal level of existence and economic development, in the absence of wars and the destructive influence of natural disasters. The situation in the Third World countries is much more difficult. The issue of poverty is acute even in our country. Statistics provide such disappointing data: every second earthling is forced to live on about two dollars a day.
It is clear that with such an income one cannot even count on proper nutrition, not to mention clothes, purchases of household items, education, travel, etc.
What are UN representatives doing to eradicate poverty? The organization developed several special programs at one time: in the mid-90s. 20th century and in the early 2000s of this century. But so far there is little use in implementing them: the number of poor people in the world is only increasing, and at a breakneck pace. Extreme poverty in developing countries often leads to hunger and then inevitable death. At the same time, the number of incredibly wealthy people - millionaires and billionaires - is growing every year. Kofi Annan said this in her report. According to her statement, in the world, 1 billion people living in developed countries receive 60% of all planetary incomes, while the earnings of more than three billion people - residents of third world countries - do not reach 20%. The conclusion suggests itself: the root of the problem of the developed poor is poverty in globe- in social inequality.
One of the activities carried out by the UN to combat poverty is to involve wealthy citizens in providing assistance to those in need through charitable activities. This action is yielding positive results: today many show business stars become patrons of the arts, absolutely voluntarily, at the behest of their souls.
Rating of the poorest countries in the world
On International Day to Help the Poor, let's find out which countries are the poorest.
in need of financial assistance V different countries a lot, and the number goes into thousands and millions - depending on the size of the state. But there are world regions that take the lead in this indicator.
- Malawi. Today it is the poorest country on the planet. Malawi is located in South Africa. The population of the state is 16 million people. Malawi is called the poorest because of its extremely low per capita income. This entails high infant mortality and low life expectancy for the population as a whole.
- Burundi. The state of the “black” continent, located in the area of the great African lakes. This is the hungriest country in the world! Burundi is weakened by eternal corruption and ongoing military conflicts. People here are illiterate and have terrible health.
- Central African Republic. This is a country of paradox: rich in natural resources (diamonds, oil, uranium, gold), but its inhabitants eke out a miserable existence. Many people here don't even have a roof over their heads.
- Niger. The largest state in West Africa, populated by more than 15 million people. The main cause of poverty in Niger is desertification and drought.
- Madagascar. As is known, this country occupies the island of the same name. It is populated by 22 million people. According to statistics, 90% of the inhabitants of Madagascar subsist on 1.5-2 dollars a day. This is a densely populated country, but very poor, and the political crisis played a significant role in this unenviable situation of the population.
- Congo. Is a Democratic Republic. Congo is the second largest country on the African continent. More than 70 million people live in the Republic. The situation in the Congo is very similar to that in the Central African Republic: there are a lot of natural resources, but their availability is only for a select few, as well as corruption and a protracted political crisis have taken their toll - today the Congo is considered one of the poorest corners of the planet.
- Gambia. In contrast to Niger, it is the smallest country in West Africa. The area of the region is almost 11 thousand square meters. km. The population is almost 2 million people. The country's economy is practically not developing.
- Ethiopia. According to the government structure, it is a Federal Democratic Republic. One of the most densely populated countries on the planet - the number of inhabitants is 88 million citizens. There is hope that Ethiopia will eradicate poverty or at least reduce its rate of increase, since the government has already developed and begun to implement a special program for this purpose.
- Guinea closes the top ten poorest countries. Region of location: Western Africa. Poverty haunts the residents of the state, despite the rich deposits of precious metals and precious stones. Thousands of people die every year in Guinea from various epidemics.
What can you do?
International Day to Help the Poor aims mainly to draw attention to the problem of poverty of the world community, and, in particular, oligarchs, people in leadership positions, as well as all those who do not complain about their own income. However ordinary people can, if they want, make a feasible contribution to the fight against poverty.
Help those in need: low-income families, large families, disabled people, single pensioners, children in shelters and orphanages; to the beggars who beg on the streets - any of us can do it. Give someone unnecessary but quite decent wardrobe items, donate at least a hundred rubles to someone, come to someone’s house - and that same poor, weak neighbor - and cook lunch for the unfortunate person. In the end, you can find a fund to help the poor (there are not many of them, but it’s worth looking), and deduct at least 2-5% of your income every month. wages about this charitable organization. Even with such small amounts and simple, sincere actions, you will certainly help someone. Do good, because, in the end, this is what each of us is born for!
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Helping your neighbor and those who need help is one of the main tenets of any religion in the world and one of the main principles of humanity as a whole. But, alas, more and more people forget about it. “Live in such a way that you feel good and comfortable, but no grass grows beyond your threshold” - this is the slogan of our century. But man, one way or another, remains a piece of a single world community, in which about a quarter of the total population lives on the border of poverty. December 19, International Day for the Poor, was created to remind people of this problem and motivate society to take action.
Poverty is more than just your wallet
What is poverty? First of all, this is a long-term forced inability to provide oneself with what is necessary for a satisfactory existence. It's not so much a lack of money as a lack of resources or the ability to use them to ensure daily well-being. As UN experts say, poverty itself is just the tip of the iceberg, which hides many social and moral problems. Death from malnutrition, failure to receive timely medical care, the inability to obtain a minimum education, feed children, care for the elderly and disabled, aggressiveness, increased crime rates, psychological complexes, a constant feeling of humiliation, inferiority and hopelessness - this is what accompanies hand in hand poverty in any country of the world.
In the mid-90s, the UN launched a program to help the poor and eradicate poverty, but even such a large organization cannot move the needle on a problem that affects one and a half billion people on earth. The results are so far only spotty and do not change the overall picture.
And the statistics continue to shock. Thus, over the past decade, more than 300 million have died due to poverty in ordinary countries, in peacetime. Every second inhabitant of the planet lives on no more than two dollars a day (which is no more than 60 dollars a month or 1200 rubles). Even without going into detailed calculations, it is clear that with such an amount one cannot adequately feed and dress, not to mention buy a corner or get an education.
History of the holiday
The idea of officially naming December 19th “International Day to Relief the Poor” came after it became clear following the results of the next conference on economic development in 1995 that the economy was making huge strides forward, but people continued to die of hunger. The situation clearly does not correspond to the generally accepted international principle of human solidarity and the moral standards of humanity. In his report, Kofi Annan announced unique data for the first time: “Globally, 1 billion people living in developed countries receive 60% of all world income, and three and a quarter billion people in countries with low level less than 20% earn income.” That is, the social inequality of rich and poor, glorified in fairy tales, is the reality of today’s humanity.
Since then, the UN has developed dozens of programs to help those in need, eradicate poverty and develop the economies of lagging countries to create more jobs. And in last years The UN is developing another direction in the fight against poverty - this is the involvement of residents of developed countries in charitable activities and public organizations, going on volunteer missions to poor countries.
Poverty in Russia
At least 34 million people in Russia live below the so-called “poverty line.” These are official statistics, and no one knows how many unaccounted souls there are.
The official concept of “below the poverty line” means that a person’s income does not exceed the minimum subsistence level in a given region. But from the perspective of an ordinary employee with an average salary that allows him to eat, dress normally, pay off loans and go on vacation once a year, many ordinary pensioners in Russia also look poor. After all, receiving a pension of 2.5 thousand rubles and having no other sources of income, it is very difficult to live the rest of your life with dignity.
However, there are many real beggars and homeless people in our country. While agitating to help gnawing African children, some volunteers forget about those in need close to home. Or they simply don’t want to help “their poor.” One of the reasons for this is that a certain category of people chose poverty consciously as a profession. The most striking example of this is the beggars and beggars in the Moscow metro and passages, who, having collected “tribute” from compassionate passengers, do not hesitate to take an expensive mobile phone out of their ragged pockets and begin to call the “boss”. Many people lose the desire to help those in need after such pictures.
Another category of poor people refuses work offered to them under the pretext of illness, distrust of people or pride. Poor, but proud, not ready to do hard work for an honestly earned ruble. In this case, public organizations “wash their hands.” After all, one of the main principles of anti-poverty programs is not giving away “bread” and money, but an attempt to teach asocial citizens a normal life, to show the way back. Whether they want to go through with it is a completely different question.
