Guaranteed hope rekindled as world marks Poverty Day 2024

*Amidst the failed promises and hopelessness, Jehovah’s Witnesses are reemphasising a solid and guaranteed hope that the end of poverty nears!

Onome Jackson

Thursday, October 17, 2024, the world is uniting to recognise World Poverty Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the pervasive issue of global poverty and galvanising efforts to combat it.

This year’s theme, “Together We Can End Poverty: A Collective Responsibility,”

This year’s theme emphasises the urgent need for inclusive actions that bring together governments, organisations, and communities to eradicate poverty in all its forms.

Unfortunately, such efforts in the past had not yielded all the desired promises and hope.

According to the United Nations, over 700 million people remain in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.90 a day.

This mind-boggling statistics is a stark reminder of the severity of this condition and scopes the intensity of what needs to be done in addressing it .

The impact of poverty goes beyond mere economic deprivation; it affects access to education, health care, and essential services, entrenching a cycle that is profoundly destructive for individuals and communities worldwide.

Throughout the thousands of years of human history, every type of government and every type of economic and social system has been tried, yet poverty is still with us.

Indeed, despite progress in such areas as science, industry, and medicine, the hard fact is that worldwide the numbers of people trapped by poverty keep increasing.

Though the problem of poverty is an ancient one, we should not conclude that the Creator is insensitive to the poor.

Amidst the failed promises and hopelessness, Jehovah’s Witnesses are reemphasising a solid and guaranteed hope that the end of poverty nears!

No one should conclude that poverty will never end.

This is clear from what the Bible, the most widely distributed “ancient book of wisdom”, says about the matter.

Ending poverty is not just an aspiration; it’s an imperative that requires cohesive action and unwavering commitment.

However, securing that cohesive action and commitment from the comity of nations appears an elusive dream, with national and sometimes commercial interests superceding the altruism required to end poverty.

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are known for their global Bible educational work, the end to poverty is guaranteed, but by a source scarcely mentioned in international poverty eradication programmes.

According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Bible promises that poverty would be eradicated by God’s Kingdom, a universal government headed by Jesus Christ.

Beyond special programmes to commemorate the world poverty day, the real challenge now is to look beyond the statistics—to envision a world where every individual can thrive and contribute to their community.

Perhaps, it is time to consider the perspective that an end to poverty can only be realised not by human governments but a truly committed universal government.

This perspective, however, generates some probing questions:

What is God’s kingdom? What will it accomplish? How can we sure it will bring a permanent end to poverty and when?

The answers to these and many more are available on a Bible-based Web site: www.jw.org.

The Web site realistically teaches practical and realistic ways to cope with poverty even now.

*Onome Jackson is a public affairs analyst.