The global share of people experiencing extreme poverty – those living on less than $2.15 a day (2017 purchasing power parity) – decreased consistently between 1990 and 2019. This downward trend changed in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, recession, conflict and climate change are estimated to have slowed and, in some cases, reversed the course towards poverty eradication, putting the goal to end extreme poverty by 2030 out of reach. Estimates for 2022 indicate that poverty rates have likely returned to 2019 levels, with about 682 million people (8.5% of the world population) living in extreme poverty.[Development Initiatives, February 2023]

There is so much to do. Access to good schools, health care, electricity, safe water, and other critical services remains elusive for many people. We recognise that one person cannot change the world but they can change the world for one person, so we are seeking to inspire and enable a wave of volunteers to use their skills to make an impact on physical and spiritual poverty – one person at a time!  We call these people “starfish throwers”, Could you be one of them?