Most countries of the world define poverty by income. Yet poor people themselves define their poverty much more broadly, to include lack of education, health, housing, empowerment, humiliation, employment, personal security and more. No one indicator, such as income, is uniquely able to capture the multiple aspects that contribute to poverty.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was created by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at Oxford University in southern England, and the Human Development Report Office of theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The MPI will be used in the forthcoming 20^th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report. It replaces the Human Poverty Index, which has been used since 1997.

MPI looks beyond income at a wider range of household-level deprivation, including services, which could then be used to help target development resources. Its findings throw up stark statistics compared to regular poverty measures, for instance: The study found that half of the world’s MPI poor people live in South Asia, and just over a quarter in Africa.

Visit the WEBSITE HERE and browse the world maps and find out the very latest on global poverty.

Probably for most of us, this day skipped right by us. July 11 is the official World Population day - which seeks to raise awareness of global populationissues.

In the last 200 years the world population has exploded causing panic for some and joy for others. Take a visit at the official WORLD POPULATION CLOCK and you’ll notice that we are now pushing the 7 BILLION mark. Just to put this rapid growth into perspective, in 1987 the world population was 5 BILLION. In just over 20 years we’ve populated like rabbits! In the 1800’s the would population was under 1 BILLION.

The most populous country? CHINA with 1,338,610,000 people

The Least? Pitcairn Islands. Only 67 people inhabit those islands

Here is a link to some interesting information from the UN on the facts and statistics of population growth around the world.www.unfpa.org/public/world-population-day

A couple of weeks ago I was in in Uganda for fathers day, I thought I’d missed out on being spoiled by my wife and kids on this epic (should be a national holiday) day. But, when I arrived home from the airport I was overjoyed to find a box, all wrapped up at the end of my bed and a little hand made card from my children. I eagerly unwrapped the present, I couldn’t wait to find out! Inside the box I found a pair of these:

Needless to say, I was very excited! For me, it was the perfect gift. www.toms.com = Cool shoes with a would-changing mission, “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.”

So now, when I walk around in my stylish kicks, I’ll know that there is a child somewhere around the world wearing a pair of shoes my wife and kids got them through my gift! Hard to top that

Next time you want to buy shoes for a loved one… buy some that ‘give back’ - Toms

We started the “I’M IN” campaign a few months ago as a united declaration of young people who are passionate about helping end extreme poverty and injustice worldwide. Poverty and injustice come in many forms, so we’ve done our best to represent these global issues in 12 categories with a goal to affect positive change in each area.

In the last 3 months we’ve seen many people declare “IM IN” and we’ve even attracted some celebrities. The entire Affero community gets excited when we grow in number because it means were able to give away more money to phenomenal organizations changing the world! Here’s a list of some of the celebs who are joining us declaring “I’M IN” - If you haven’t yet, join us today for as little as $1 a month!

Actors:

David Hasselhoff

Verne Troyer

Musicians:

10th Ave North

Brandon Heath

Natalie Grant

Skillet

Need To Breathe

Dave Wyatt from Toby Mac

Britt Nicole

The Glorious Unseen

Audrey Assad

Phillip LaRue

The Ember Days

B. Reith

And These Awesome orgs:

Come And Live

I’ve heard it once said, “Ignorance can kill”, I have learned this to be very true as it relates to combating poverty and injustice around the world. Many people simply don’t join this global fight because they simply dont know the scope and severity of the current issues around the world. Our ignorance on global events and issues means we cannot effectively engage in these problems, and thus, people all around the world suffer and many die of preventable causes. I have determined to read, study and gather as much knowledge on global issues as possible - from all angles and all sides. For today’s post, I wanted to share a list of my most recent top 10 books that have helped me navigate my understandings of Global Justice.

Feel free to add some of your favorite books on the topic in the comments below:

1) When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Ourselves. By Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett.

2) The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. By Jeffrey D. Sachs

3) Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty. By Muhammad Yunus

4) The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine. By Somaly Mam

5) The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. By Thomas L. Friedman

6) Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most. By Dr. Wess Stafford

7) Another Man’s War: The True Story of One Man’s Battle to Save Children in the Sudan. By Sam Childers

8) The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World. By Richard Stearns

9) Terrify No More: Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win Their Freedom. By Gary A. Haugen

10) New Day Revolution: How to Save the World in 24 Hours. by Sam Davidson

Early last year I was in Kenya visiting schools in remote regions of the countryside, its one of my favorite things to do when Im in Africa. I love the sound of kids laughing and watching kids point at the “muzungu with the guitar on his back”, as I visit and teach the kids songs from my land ‘downunder’. Great times! But, as I was singing in this little village school, with no windows or chalkboard, dancing with these happy kids, the reality sunk in that these school kids had no shoes! None of them.

I later learned that because these kids had no shoes, the CDC and other Non-Government Organizations had to come through every 6 months with worm medicine to de-worm the kids (if the family had money), did you know?

• 400 million children are infected or at risk of being infected with “soil-transmitted helminths” – worms in the soil that can enter the body through the soles of bare feet.
• An additional 200 million people worldwide (adults and children) are infected with schistosomiasis, which comes from another type of worm – shoes can play a big prevention role with “schisto”, too.
• If a child has enough worms in her body, they will stunt her physical growth, make her more susceptible to other infections, and even cause permanent cognitive damage – that’s a lower IQ, just because of worms!
• Children with worms also suffer from lower school attendance.

So today’s challenge is to do something about this. I have listed 3 things you can do to help combat this epic problem. Lets commit to doing one of these this week and you just might save the life of a child.

1) Visit www.soles4souls.org and donate a pair of your shoes - easy!

2) Go buy a pair of shoes from Toms Shoes. For every pair bought, Toms gives a pair away to children in need around the world.

3) Visit www.donateyouroldshoes.org - these guys will take your old shoes and make great use of them.

Every year we gaze enviously at the lists of the richest people in world. Wondering what it would be like to have that sort of cash. But where would you sit on one of those lists? Here’s your chance to find out. www.globalrichlist.com

I hope that this inspires you to:

1) Be grateful for you you have.

2) To use that wealth to change the life of someone else.

If you haven’t already, join us at www.afferoproject.com

For complete photo set visit:

http://www.eyesondarfur.org/photo.html

http://www.eyesondarfur.org/satellite.html

For my facebook readers - click this link: http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html