Persuasive Speech - Poverty

     Unsurprisingly, there is sufficient food in the world to cater for everyone’s needs. So why do so many find themselves ensnared by extreme poverty? Millions of people worldwide are trapped on an incessant downward spiral, frenetically fighting for food, education…and their lives. These people lack money; they are unable to purchase enough food to nourish themselves and their families. Inevitably, this continuous malnutrition leads their physical and mental condition to deteriorate, therefore decreasing their ability to work. With no employment, their finances continue to diminish, leaving only one conclusion – death. This unjust reality must be brought to an end before even more lives are lost.

     How would you feel if you were one of the 800million people who went to bed ravenously hungry each and every night? You would lay, shivering, listening to the unbearable sound of your stomach crying out in starvation, whilst billions of individuals around the world binged on excessive amounts of food. How would you feel if you knew that the same insatiable people were squandering their surplus cash on unnecessary luxury items rather than donating just a few pounds to life-changing charities? £5 may just be spare change to us, yet it can feed an African family of 4 for over a week; for them it is a matter of life and death.

     Zahra is an Ethiopian orphan who, this time last year, lived in an impoverished shanty town. Tragically, she had lost both parents to famine and had negligible prospects for the future. Each day she would make an exhausting seventeen mile round-trip to the nearest river, collecting contaminated water to drink, irrigate the crops and wash with. She was just eight years old. Zahra’s chances of a decent life were slowly slipping away.

     Fortunately, a well known charity has transformed her life forevermore. With a little financial support, they have managed to install thousands of fresh water pumps throughout Africa, one of which is just ¼ mile away from Zahra’s home. Moreover, she is now able to attend one of the hundreds of schools that have recently been developed. Zahra has a future.

     Elsewhere, aid organizations such as MakePovertyHistory and Comic Relief are initiating “food for work” schemes throughout the developing world. These are programmes where adults are rewarded with food for their families when they build schools, dig wells and construct roads within their community. Such schemes are profoundly effective as they both nourish the citizens and supply infrastructure to terminate the poverty. Slowly but surely, considerable changes are being implemented.

     However, these self-help schemes come at a cost. Although the aid organizations do everything within their reach, none of it would be possible without charitable contributions from you and I. By donating just a minimal amount of money, we can all play a part in the prevention of worldwide poverty. We can save lives.