Just as poverty is a creation of human societies, so too can resolute action, well-targeted policies and resources succeed in ending this scourge. The rise in poverty can be reversed.
Volunteers are at the forefront of our struggle to end poverty.
They are shoulder to shoulder with the people in the communities where they live. UNVs and other volunteers work at the local level. Volunteers know the problems of the poor, and they can and do give practical advice, provide vital training and a shared sense of solidarity in support of people's own initiatives. UNV district support officers are concentrating on how they can help the women most affected after Orissa's cyclone. Despite the recent disturbances following a popular consultation ballot in neighbouring East Timor, UNV development efforts continue on the western section of the island.