If you can do just one thing from the ideas below, you could be helping some of the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty (links on the right):
Get connected
- Connecting Classrooms - set up a link for your school and a school in a developing country through this scheme
- Health Partnership Scheme - if you are a health professional, you can investigate this scheme, intended to encourage links between institutions, and to support long term volunteering by individuals.
Speak out
If you believe that helping the poorest people in the world is the right thing to do, make your voice heard. Keep up the pressure on governments around the world to increase their aid and to make sure it is spent in a way that helps the people it is meant for.
Buy produce
Buy produce from workers in the poorest countries. These days food from farmers in developing countries is easy to find - buy it and help people trade their way out of poverty. It is also easy to find Fairtrade products that give you the assurance of knowing that farmers receive a fair wage and investments in their communities.
Volunteer
- Join the International Citizen Service which takes volunteers between the ages of 18 and 22 on short, government-funded assignments to developing countries
- Become a longer term volunteer and share your skills and knowledge through organisations we support such as VSO, and Common Ground - aimed specifically at members of diaspora communities
- Join the Government's Civilian Stabilisation Cadre if your experience is appropriate to working in conflict affected countries
- Look for other organisations that can help you volunteer - read the Foreign and Commonwealth advice on gap year work abroad.
Donate
Your money can help save the lives of people caught up in disasters and emergencies. You can also support longer term action against poverty by donating to the charities that work in developing countries - make sure they are registered with the Charity Commission. Also, take a look at the list of appeals that the Government is match funding - this means that your donation to overseas appeals will be matched pound for pound, letting the charity achieve twice the results.
Change Lives
If you want to get even more involved, here are some suggestions from us and our partners on what you could do to help people change their lives in the world's poorest countries - focusing on specific issues including tackling hunger, saving children's lives and getting kids into school.