What is Extreme Poverty?
Nearly 256 million people in India are living on less than $1.90 per day.
The lives of the extremely poor are marked by instability and deprivation of basic needs such as:
- adequate food
- safe drinking water
- stable shelter
- sanitation and electricity
- education
- health care
Those in extreme poverty often turn to irregular income activities such as shoe-shining, begging, day labor, hawking of second-hand items, and trash picking. Because income is so unreliable, the poor find themselves in a vicious circle where their unmet basic needs make it impossible to maintain a regular income stream.
A Hand Up, Not A Handout
Many poverty relief organizations provide handouts (free food, housing and healthcare) under the assumption that the extreme poor need to be rehabilitated before they can start earning a living.
However, the Upaya team has demonstrated that people in extreme poverty can become self‐reliant and quickly address their own needs simply by having access to a stable job and steady income.
They need a hand up, not a handout.
Create A Job - Change A Life
Individuals employed by Upaya's partner entrepreneurs are working themselves out of extreme poverty.
