Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and this year’s focus is on poverty. Poverty can be defined as lack of the common necessities that determine quality of life – lack of safe food, shelter, and clothing, lack of opportunities presented by education, health care, and community.

As many of you know I travel extensively in Central America and while I really enjoy the weather, the people and the relative cheapness of living there, there is another side to ‘paradise’.

What most people don’t see or see and ignore is the level of poverty in places like Nicaragua. Think about how your life would change if you were forced to live on twenty dollars per day. How could you pay rent, food, heat, hydro, cable, internet, clothes, gas for your car etc for just $600 per month? Impossible you say. Now imagine living on just $2 per day. That is what the majority of rural Nicaraguans live on. That $60 pays for everything the family needs for the month!

Poverty in Nicaragua is all consuming. It impacts every single decision people make from the obvious of what to eat and what to wear each day to the less obvious such as will your child ever go to school. While schooling is free to all in Nicaragua, the cost of supplies makes the opportunity unobtainable for a large percentage of the population. Only 9 percent of children in rural areas who start first grade will finish primary school because the family needs that kid to work to make enough money to feed the family. Hard to argue that schooling is important when you don’t have enough money to eat.

Now add the fact that the majority of the popluation is under 25 years of age and you can imagine the problems that Nicaragua will face in 15 years. The workforce will not have the education to compete in the world market place and never have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.

There are plenty of organizations that address poverty in Nicaragua. One of my favorites is Kiva.org. They provide a way for you to directly impact the live of families in Nicaragua (and the rest of world) by loaning $25 to a business of your choice. Check them out and donate today.

Also see: 88 Ways to DO Something About Poverty Right Now