By Tobi Oluwa
Contributing Writer
Columbus Post

Poverty has always been an issue. Greed, unequal distribution of wealth, and corruption take place in even the most well intended societies.
Statistically, 20 percent of the world’s population living in developed nations consume 86 percent of the world’s goods. In 2004, about 0.13 percent of the population controlled 25 percent of the world’s assets. Twelve percent of the world (not living in the third world), uses 85 percent of the world’s water supply.
Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day, 1.3 billion live on less than $1 a day. That same number lives with no access to clean water. Three billion have no access to sanitation and 2 billion have no access to electricity.
According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die per day from poverty. Out of the planet’s 2.2 billion children, 1 billion live in poverty.
There are a number of organizations attempting to effectively address the issue of poverty but at best seem to merely put a dent in the problem. Churches and organizations such as The Red Cross, The United Way, Bread for the World, and many others work to decrease the problem by donating food, providing health care, and educational opportunities as well as jobs and micro bank lending institutions.
Poverty has many complicated rippling effects including the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS.
Father Berry Ench of St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Columbus is originally from Nigeria where 1.8 million children are orphaned from AIDS. He heads First Love, Inc., which is dedicated to helping children around the world affected by HIV/ AIDS.

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