Poverty statistics are undoubtedly shocking, but they cannot convey what poverty actually means. It means that a child in Bangladesh doesn’t even have access to a clean glass of water and is in danger of joining the over 1 million children who will die this year because of preventable waterborne diseases. It means a boy in Mali won’t learn to read because he has to beg in the streets to keep his malnourished body alive for at least another day. Poverty isn’t merely an absence of money, it’s an absence of opportunity. The billions of impoverished people are individuals who don’t get the chance to live normal, fulfilling lives because the struggle to simply survive is all-encompassing. People worldwide deserve at least the chance to live, learn and better themselves. You have the power to provide that opportunity.