Posted by Paul Labelle
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like this:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere , both north and south

8 Africans

 

52 would be female

48 would be male

 

70 would be non white

30 would be white

 

70 would be non-Christian

30 would be Christian

 

89 would be heterosexual

11 would be homosexual

 

6 people would possess 59% of the world's wealth and all six would be from the United States .

80 would live in substandard houses

70 would be unable to read or write

50% would suffer from malnutrition

 

1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education

1 would own a computer

 

When we consider our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

 

Now let's consider just one of those items: half of the people suffer from malnutrition.

                             

The truth is that half of the people of the world live on $100 per year. Here's how we could live on $100 per year.

 

1.     Get rid of your car and all your furniture, except one chair and table. No TV, radio or lamps.

 

2.     Dispose of all your clothing except your oldest dress or suit. One pair of shoes can be kept for the head of the family.

 

3.     Remove the appliances and food from the kitchen. Keep just one small bag of flour, some sugar, salt and a few potatoes and onions and some dried beans.

 

4.     Shut off the water, gas and electric.

 

5.     Forget about the newspaper, books and magazines. Give up literacy.

 

6.     Close your bank accounts, no pension plans, no insurance policies

 

7.     Move out of your house and into the tool shed, if your neighbors do the same you will have a shantytown.

 

8.     Cultivate 3 acres as a tenant farmer. If there is no drought, you can expect $100 to $300 per year in cash crops. You pay 1/3 to your landlord and 1/10 to the money lender.

 

9.     Take off 25-30 years of life expectancy

 

Do these people really need our help?

Do these people really need Rotary??

 

With all this said, I hope all Rotarians will be inspired to render service in their clubs, in their communities and in their world!