If you would like your gift to impact more than one nation, you can empower entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America through a global gift. Poverty is an overwhelming reality for so many. Almost half our world lives on less than $2 a day, that's nearly 3 billion people. Nearly 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. Do you know what it means to live on so little? It means that your children may be chronically undernourished. Your family may be forced to forgo things such as education and health care. And the smallest misfortune such as sickness or job loss threatens your survival. It means you know the feeling of desperation and despair.

Did you know:

• The average American worker earns in a week what it takes most of the world to earn in a year.
• Over 77 million primary age children in our world cannot go to school. Poverty limits access to education and this is what often drives beautiful young girls into prostitution and capable young men into lives of crime.
• It is estimated that an additional $6 billion would provide basic education for children worldwide. The US and the UK spend more than that on cosmetics (8 billion), ice cream (11 billion), perfume (12 billion) and pet food (17 billion). (www.globalissue.org)