cc licensed flickr photo shared by mckaysavage
Imagine that you do not have access to clean water, a doctor, or cannot read or write. This is the sad reality of many people in poor villages and countries across the world. Many of these poor villagers have to begin working at an incredibly young age, struggle for their entire lives just to put food on the table for their families, and many die far too early because of sickness and disease. However, volunteers across the globe are helping these poor citizens to have better lives in many ways. Numerous charitable organizations raise money, awareness, and coordinate volunteers to build schools, create access to clean water, set up health clinics, and teach valuable skills for job growth in the poor regions of the world.
Building Schools
One of the best ways for volunteers to help poor villages all over the world is to build schools for young children. The main way that a poor region can pull itself out of poverty and into a thriving environment is through the education of its children. Without education, children will make the same mistakes that the adults made, and the cycle of poverty and disease will continue. Schools are a desperate need in poverty stricken areas. According to Free the Children, approximately 121 million children, from around ages 4 to 12, are not in school across the world. However, volunteers can help by either donating money to pay for school supplies, school furniture, uniforms, textbooks, or teacher salaries or by donating time through the physical labor of building a school.
Providing Access to Clean Water
In addition to building schools, volunteers can help poor regions by creating access to clean water. According to the Water Project, more than 1 in 8 people throughout the world do not have access to clean water. Water is necessary to human life, and in this day and age, clean water should be expected throughout the world. However, most of these poor areas do not have the money to create or maintain water sanitation facilities, so they rely on the help of charities and volunteers.
Providing Medical Care
Poor villagers also often lack access to medical care, especially access to affordable care. Many of these poor villages do not have a health clinic or doctor, and villagers have to travel a significant distance to reach a medical center. However, many organizations are building health clinics, sending doctors and nurses, and training villagers to provide medical care in the future. Village Health Works, in Burundi, is one example of volunteers coming together to help establish health clinics for a community. By providing access to medical care to these poor villages, volunteers are ensuring longer and healthier lives for many villagers.
Teaching Skills
Finally, many charities and volunteers are teaching valuable skills to residents of poor villages all over the world. Greater than half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day, but by teaching important skills to these poor villagers, the financial situations of these poor regions can be improved. Volunteers can teach skills such as farming, sewing, jewelry making, and financial literacy to poor villagers. The villagers can then use what they learned and begin a new way to earn money for their families. By teaching financial literacy, the residents of these poor regions will also learn how to save and use their money wisely, resulting in more money in the local community. Combined with access to clean water, health care, and additional schools, the quality of life in these poor villages can greatly be improved, which will in turn impact other areas around the globe. Volunteers that work with charitable organizations are the critical key to helping those poor villagers in need.
About the Author
Tammy George is a public safety professional and guest author at Best Public Health Schools, a site with guides and information on the top-rated public health degree programs.
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