Poverty, Causes, Efeects and Solutions.

I am Johnson C. Ezeigbo, the founder of Fight Against Aids Guinee West Africa. I am a Nigerian but  a missionary in Guinea.

I  graduated as an Accountant and called as a pastor.As an Accoutant i worked in many companies.

After some years i went to for Management studies and still studying now.

In 2004 God gave me the vision to help the poor which i am still into today.

My organization was founded in the year 2007.

The establishment of this organization gave me more insight about many challenges in the world. Among all this challenges i saw poverty as most touching and this gave me deep thoughts. I saw poverty as the most sorrowful, painful and  dreadful challenge one can ever encounter.

My organization not only focus on -Poverty alliviation but also on Health-Hiv/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis- Prevention and Treatment.

Poverty is a global issue and a root.

1. The problem i am committed to solving is Poverty threats.

2. The project i am proposing is the eradication of poverty.

3. The eradication of poverty will bring many solutions to many challenges and the world will be at peace.

Poverty is forcing many people in Africa to abandone their homes to travel to Europe and this has caused the deaths of many. Many lives has been wasted in the seas because the boat capsided or other accidents that many happen due to over load.

Many lives has been wasted in the deserts. These are the lives of our brothers and sisters who were forced out of their homes to travel by road to Europe.

The constant urine many africans drink and share in the desert when they run out of water has been the source of many sickness today for those who survived the desert.

The specific problem i am working to solve is poverty. Poverty is a severe issue that is present in some countries much more than others. In the past decades poverty has been a very big issue for people in the South-Asia, East-Asia and Pacific as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa and up to now there has not been a solution.

In the communities i am working 70% of the people are very poor. Many families could not afford to eat two square meals in a day. Because of low income, health issues, lack of education, diseases, over population, insuficient social aid and conflicts poverty has been on the high scale.

In 2019, the global poverty rate has been 0.7 which is likely to rise up to 9 or 10% in 2020.

From records we could see that there are people living on $1.90 a day and some on $3.20 and some in $5.50. Checking on this records we could see that there is extreme poverty in the world. With the present pandemic that erupted in 2019 there has been much changes and the rate of poverty has increased 10% to 20%.

Poverty is a severe issue that is present in some countries much more than others. Poverty is a global issue. Global poverty is one of the very worst problems that the world faces today and which has increased drastically with the present outbreak of covid-19.

The poorest in the world are often hungry, have much less access to education, regular lack of light, water and good health.

If we consider what poverty does we will pity ourselves. Poverty can follow a child into adulthood. If poverty could follow a child to adulthood it means it has rendered the person useless because within those years he has never contributed anything to even his family to talk of his community.

Poverty distablize the life of people and community and bring in mental illness, drug abuse, high crime rate, spread of diseases, terrorism, war and dependance. When one depends on another for livelihood then there is big problem and confusion.

There is nothing good that comes from poverty and in a community where only one person is rich everybody is considered to be poor.

To make progress against poverty is therefore one of the most urgent global goals.

When we talk of poverty and its effects there are people who are badly affected and if we are talking of solution we should start from those people and this is the group we are serving.

The orphans, the widows, the handicapped, the disabled, the children and the old people. This group are often neglected, rejected and abandoned.

This group cannot fight for themselves but need somebody to fight for them and where the opportunity is not there it will turn to a different dance.

With self reliant projects this people have started regaining themselves. Dependancy is a shame but total dependancy is sickness which eventually could lead to death if there is no urgent solution.

With small scale business the widows, the disabled and handicapped could be independent and be useful to the community.

Self sustainability plays a very important role in the lives of the orphans and the old people.

The causes and effects of poverty is many and it touches many areas of life.

For example: The roots or causes of Hiv/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis is poverty. One may ask how is poverty the cause or the root of Hiv/Aids? Whether Hiv is a fabricated virus the purpose must be to reduce the population and if it is not fabricated but came as a result of our sinful nature or poor environment it must be rooted to poverty. The reason of reducing population is to stablize the economy.

Creating opportunities  will bring change that will carry those left behind.

Solution does not come through wide learning but through inspiration from God.

The idea of my project and the story behind my project is God visioned.

Mostly when God wants to use someone for a solution or change He moves him from his present place or country to another. I came as a missionary and and here the vision came to me. Go ye into the world and preach my gospel is not only to move about preaching the word. God can use you in many ways to change lives and for solutions. God cannot use a wicked or hearthardend someone to change the live of another. He uses people with solemn heart.

Seeing the sufferings of the people, those who could not afford two square meals a day and even some struggle for a meal a day. Seeing someone sick and could not go to hospital because there is no money to pay hospital bills is very touchy and worth sheading tears.

Seeing a young girl prostituting only to see something to eat, seeing a young man being beaten up in the street because he stole two cents moves me to tears. 

it started in 2004.

The specific problem i am addressing is so important to me because it is a solution to the global problems today. We could be looking to other problems and solving other problems without getting to the root of it.

Yes other problems are there but it could not be solved if we do not get to the root and uproot it.

I am motivated to pursue this work because i see it as a solution to many problems in my community and nationwide.

Before going deeply into this work i made series of surveys and all the surveys are sticking to a particular issue.

When a man in lodged in an apartment with all necessary household properties, amenities and essential things he need, he will not see any reason to go outside, in other words he will never bother to buy any household property for himself untill maybe one day he will be asked out of the apartment before he could realize that he also need those things for himself.

What drives a woman to prostitution is poverty and from prostitution to acquiring hiv or other diseases.

Hunger and too much thinking causes mental illness, armed robbery and terrorism.

Every man has sense but wisdom is a gift and through it many things could be done or achieved.

I do not have the funds to carry out my projects or to be a solution to people but the call and the wisdom has it all. Where i am today and the little efforts made so far is only through wisdom from God. I have a very poor background but a wider experience due to much suffering as a result of the environment i came from.

From the much experiences put together i began to plan and look for solution. I have fallen many times and many places but what has caused it all? Asking myself many questions and checking from where i started and where i am heading gave me the courage to move forward. To make a change or to find solution needs patience and courage built with faith and trust in God.

Every man notwithstanding your belief should acknowledge the fact that there is God and that we cannot do anything without Him.

When you do not have anything and move for a journey is when you will know that there is God who has everything with himself and who can use you to many exploits without you even spending for it.

If one put himself into 100 places he cannot be able to solve a single problem untill he realize who he is and where he comes from. This has been the line of my solution.

I do not the reader to think that i am preaching or my project is one of the gospel. But just like i see poverty as the root of Hiv, malaria and tuberculosis is the same way i see God as the root and center of all things.

I had a challenge along the line when i saw people falling sick but could not afford the money to go to hospital for treatment and the hospital bills are too essorbitant or high for them to carry. One day i met someone who was refused treatment under immergency because of money for the bill and eventually he died. This gave me a challenge and i said i need to establish a hospital to handle situations of this nature. I never had any cash even to rent a place to talk of materials and equipment. I went for a loan and i was turned down. 

But i remembered that somebody gave me this vision and He who was able to give me the vision is also very capable to see me through. So i leave everything into God's hands and started praying and today i have the best hospital in my community.

A leader is someone who can see how things can be improved and who rallies people to move toward that better vision. Leaders can work toward making their vision a reality while putting people first. The most important thing is that organizations are united internally with their definition of leadership.

A  leader posses a clear vision, is courageous, has integrity, honesty, humility and clear focus. A leader help people reach their goals, are not afraid to hire people that might be better than them and take pride in the accomplishments of those they help along the way.

When i started the organization in 2007, the people i employed into the work came not to build but to scatter and turn everything to their private property. An organization in Holland sent me boxes of tools to start a self reliant project and they sold it and ate the money wirth more than euro 52,000. I have already rented a place to start the project but lost the tools and the villa i rented. This disturbed but it did not make me to loose hope but to build more courage because what they reminds me of what to face tomorrow.

Our work is unique in the sense that it concentrates on the tap root of the global challenge.

Many countries have been busy tackling other problems but fail to concentrate on the real problem which is poverty. The solution on poverty will be able to arrest all other problems if put in place.

Some people are saying that  there has been significant reductions in global poverty since 1990, but not everyone has benefitted equally. Hundreds of millions of women and girls are still poor and remain disproportionately affected by poverty, including unequal access to resources, opportunities, and choices. According to UN women, not a single country in the world can claim to have achieved gender equality. Women and girls continue to face obstacles in law and culture which translate to a world where they are undervalued, work more, earn less, have fewer choices, and experience violence at home and in public.

Taking equality as one of the solutions to the challenges will be another interesting change if put in place.

Many people are benefiting while many are suffering cannot be able to solve the global challenge. This is poverty in a suite.

Change is a constant thing. When the rights, justice and freedom of of some people are witheld life becomes unfavourable.

When the necessary amenities are witheld from some group of people they will look differently in the society.

When Education is kept only for the rich, the poor is seen as an outcast.

When good health is witheld from the poor and some group of people people will see them as nuissance in the society.

Every humanbeing needs to be treated the same and where it is not so there is problem and if the problem is not solved it will give birth to many other problems.

The solution to the global challenge where every humanbeing will benefit will have  a great impact to humanity.

Currently our project is serving aproximately 12,652 people.

In one year to come we will be expecting to serve approximately 18,500 people.

In five years to come we should be expecting to serve 4.5 million people.

We talk of solutions to poverty which includes: Education, Healthcare-prevention and treatment and self reliant projects including self sustainability.  These are the areas we will be concentrating within the next five years.

Education for all, Healthcare-prevention and treatment and self reliance including self sustainability.  All efforts will be concentrated on the poor and poorer families, the widows, the orphans, the disabled and the handicapped. Much efforts will be concentrated on the youths as this is one of our mission-Building the minds of the youths to embrace the future with boldness and responsibility. If we are able to gain much access on the youths we are sure to make a great impact.

We are looking into financial constraints, lack of materials and equipment and Experts in education. This has been our problems from the onset and still lingers and only when at least two out of the three are solved that we can be able to accomplish our objectives fully.

We are working on going into partnership with other local institutions and International institutions who can be able to bring in expert knowledge and finance to run the projects for a better result.

Presently we have two organizations such as 1. Vitamin Angels: Vitamin Angels donate Vitamin A, Albendazole and Multi-vitamins to be distributed to pregnant women, children and elderly people.

We also have Crossroads Ltd who are supplying us materials and equipment for our hospital projects.

We usually have conferences and workshops to teach and impact knowledge and ideas into the youths, the maginalized groups and others.

Through the distribution of the medicines and free healthcare giving to the communities we make them realize the benefits of good living.

We also have ten different groups of women who have registered in our organization for self sustainability and self reliance project which will soon commence.

We have two plans to bring in funds and this are Fundraising through some Fundraising institutions and Grants and donations from international organizations.

We have established a hospital on a low rate capable of serving the poor and poorer families and many communities. This is giving us little income to be able to take care of other problems.

We have also received grant from one of the international institutions and fundraised from a fundraising institution.

We seek to raise funds for our projects in Education, Self reliance, Hospital project and Self sustainability-engaging the ten groups of women who registered with us into self sustainability and self reliance projects.

For Self sustainability we are seeking for $50,000 USD

For education- Primary/secondary: we are seeking for $1.5 million.

For our hospital projects we need to establish four hospitals in the four regions of Guinea but not to construct our own house for now as this is too much money. So we are seeking a total of $500,000 USD and 

For Self reliance project we are seeking for $56,000 USD as we will be covering sewing/fashion and designing, Carpentry/Woodworks, Hair dressing and local soap production.

The covid-19 has almost devastitated our plans and budget for 2020 but still we have our budget expenses for 2020 to be $250,000 budgeted for the upgrading of our laboratory, Self reliant project and establishing of one hospital in one of the regions of Guinea.

We are looking up to Elevate Prize to help us financially. If Elevate Prize cannot assist us with donation or grant then we will need loan even if it is repayable loan.

The work we are doing is large and we cannot do it alone. We need partners in different areas who can partner with us to assist us direct, build and finance the projects and activities.

Bringing in expert knowledge, funds and helping to expose our work will help us to grow and to achieve our objectives.

We cannot rely on our experience or knowledge. When two strong heads comes together their will be positive reactions and this leads to good development, progress and achieved objectives.

We do not have specific partners in mind but have the areas that needs partners which are: Health institutions, Organizations fighting against poverty, illitracy, inequality and injustice.

Educational institutions or foundations.

Organizations supporting Agriculture or self sustainability

Organizations supporting self reliance- Tools for mission, etc.