Poverty Reduction Strategy

GFA World’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty reduction strategy
Education and Poverty Reduction
Role of education in poverty reduction
Poverty reduction projects

Various organizations are working to develop and implement a poverty reduction strategy that can end poverty around the world. About 8.5 percent of the global population, nearly 700 million people, live below the extreme poverty line of $2.15 a day. According to the World Bank, “three-quarters of those living in extreme poverty live in Sub-Saharan Africa or in fragile, conflict-afflicted areas.” While progress has been made over time, it has stalled in the last few years, and there is still a lot of work to do to end global poverty.[1]

There are many poverty reduction projects that can help lift people out of the cycle of hopelessness and destitution. These include gifts like farm animals and sewing machines that create a new stream of income, allowing people to provide for themselves, as well as clean water projects and hygienic toilets that prevent illnesses, meaning people have the health to continue to work.[2] One very effective poverty reduction strategy is education. According to the World Bank, if a child does not learn to read by age ten, they will usually fail to master reading later in their schooling.[3] “A lack of foundational literacy skills in the early grades can lead to intergenerational transmission of poverty and vulnerability,” says the World Bank.[4] Currently, there are 260 million children around the world who are not even in school,[5] so the problem of illiteracy leading to generational poverty is highly prevalent.

 The role of education in poverty reduction can hardly be overstated. There are many ways that education impacts people and helps end the cycle of poverty. Here are several that End Poverty Now has identified:

  1. Employment opportunities: Education equips children with the skills and knowledge needed to secure better-paying jobs as adults.
  2. Economic growth: Education fosters innovation, productivity and entrepreneurship. Nations that prioritize education, boasting high literacy rates and robust educational systems, often see their economies strengthened, which in turn helps to lift their populations out of poverty.
  3. Improved healthcare outcomes: Increased access to health information and awareness of health practices are directly promoted by the impact of education.
  4. Empowerment of women and girls: Girls with education tend to marry later, have smaller families with healthier children, and participate in the workforce.
  5. Reduction of child labor: Education gives children an alternative to working while still young, helping prevent their exploitation and allowing them to acquire more skills for better future employment.

By helping promote and accomplish these things, education sparks a chain reaction, uplifting people, households, and entire communities while decreasing global poverty levels.[6]

Studies have shown this connection between education and poverty reduction, and sponsorship has a significant impact on school completion rates. For example, in Compassion International’s program, secondary school completion increased by 12 to 18 percentage points for the sponsored children versus their non-sponsored peers.[7] Completing more school can prepare the children for better, higher-paying jobs―the study also showed that the sponsored children had a 5.1 to 6.3 percent higher probability of salaried employment and a 6.5 to 6.7 percent higher probability of white-collar work.[8]

GFA World understands this connection, and our Child Sponsorship Program, which launched in 2004, has allowed many children in Africa and Asia to access education support, among many other things that can help them escape the cycle of poverty. To date, our program has allowed thousands of children around the world to pursue brighter futures. One girl who has found this hope is Kasni. Her father’s alcohol addiction left him sick and bedridden, so to support the family, her mother went into the jungle each day to collect firewood to sell. This meant that many times, Kasni was left in charge of her three younger siblings. Despite her mother’s hard work, selling firewood did not make much money, and the kids often had to go to bed hungry.

Then, GFA World sponsorship workers visited the village and heard about Kasni and her family’s situation. They were able to enroll Kasni in the program, and she began attending tutoring classes in the afternoons, after caring for her siblings in the mornings. The program reduced the financial stress on Kasni’s mother and provided Kasni with nutritious meals and school supplies.[9] Receiving an education will also prepare Kasni for a better future, giving her the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty.

Our program prioritizes children through a community development approach. We, therefore, impact not just the kids, but also their families and entire villages. Our field staff work with community leaders to identify the most pressing needs in an area, and then they work to find solutions, such as food, clean water, education, healthcare, sanitation facilities, hygiene training and training for parents. By meeting these real, practical needs, the children and their families feel the love of God moving in their lives.

You can partner with GFA World in this important strategy to reduce poverty by sponsoring a child like Kasni. For just $35 a month, you can help provide help and hope that transforms lives. Your sponsored child will receive things like education, food, clean water and much more that will lift them and their entire community up, showing them God’s love and care.[10]

What was the good news that Jesus preached? Learn more!

[1] “Poverty: Overview.” World Bank Group. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview.
[2] “Christmas 2024 Gift Catalog.” GFA World. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/gift.
[3] “Ending Learning Poverty.” World Bank Group. October 12, 2022. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/ending-learning-poverty.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] “12 Ways Education Can Break the Cycle of Poverty.” End Poverty Now. January 16, 2024. https://endpovertynowinc.org/blog/12-ways-education-can-break-the-cycle-of-poverty.
[7] Wydick, Bruce. “Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy, April 1, 2013. https://doi.org/0022-3808/2013/12102-0002$10.00.
[8] Wydick, Bruce; Glewwe, Paul, and Rutledge, Lain. “Does international child sponsorship work? A six-country study of impacts on adult life outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy, Volume 121, Number 2. April 2013. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/670138.
[9] Walker, Ken. “Child sponsorship: Does it lift the young out of poverty?” GFA World Special Report. November 18, 2022. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/does-sponsoring-child-really-work.
[10] “Sponsor a Child with GFA World.” GFA World. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild.