Being Thankful for the Basics

This information is based on a 1998 publication, and while things have changed in the last year, I suspect that much of this data is similar. According to the US Census Bureau, 36 million Americans were "living in poverty" This is a little misleading depending on your definition of poverty. "To most Americans, 'poverty' means destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, appropriate clothing, and reasonable shelter." This would fit a small fraction of Americans today. In fact many of our "poor" today "live in material conditions which would have been judged comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago."

Creative Common's photo by clgregor

- Nearly 60 percent have two or more rooms per person. (This is a third more than the average Japanese & 4x's more living space than the average Russian. Note average not poor)
- 70% own a car & 27 % own two or more cars.
- Two-thirds have air conditioning. (30 years ago only 36 percent of the entire US population enjoyed air conditioning.)
- 97% have a color television and nearly half own two or more color televisions.
- 64% own microwave ovens
- 84% say their families have "enough" food to eat ("far from being - hungry and malnourished, - nearly half of poor adult women are overweight." " On average, poor boys grow up to be one inch taller and ten pounds heavier than the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.") (3)

Creative Common's photo by cjc4454

70% of the earth's surface is covered with water.

3/10th of 1% of all the world's water is usable by humans.

About 1 billion people lack access to safe clean drinking water.

4,700 died on average every day in 2005 - mostly children under 5 - due to lack of clean potable water.

Every 8 seconds a child dies from a water-borne disease.

37% of the world's population lack access to water for basic hygiene.

Households without plumbing spend on average 90 minutes a day hauling water for family needs.

Women, usually responsible for hauling water when plumbing is absent, on average carry 45 pounds of water at a time. (4)

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Author unknown.

Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.

* Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.

* Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

* The United States is a part of the high-income group of nations, which consists of about 65 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world's population.

* In contrast, approximately 5.6 billion people live in low and lower-middle income economies. This world, earning under $3,705 GNI per capita, is made up of about 103 low and middle income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.

* Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 947 million people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth.

* Undernourishment negatively affects people's health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation.
(5)

Creative Common's photo by Filipe Moreira

(1) http://global-economy.suite101.com/article.cfm/gdp_estimates_for_richest_countries_in_2009

(2) http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/working-papers/discussion-papers/2008/en_GB/dp2008-03/

(3) http://heartland.org/policy-documents/how-poor-are-americas-poor

(4) http://www.friendsofwater.com/Water_Facts.html

(5) http://www.ncm.org/awareness/poverty/background
http://www.seedspublishers.org/education/hunger-and-poverty-around-the-world