Increase the metrics of smiles across our poverty reducing projects

The Metric of Smiles????

Yes. It’s a simple measure that starts with Matthew 19:14;4 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

We can only imagine how many children were there that day, smiling.

One metric that truly measures a society getting the support it needs in the toughest of times is how often we see a vulnerable child being helped to smile. Like the smile of the girl you see above. She lives in Gaza. Or at least she has been trying to live in war-torn Gaza with her family. The reason for her smile is because of our Jordanian partner DSPR (Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees) providing very welcome street theatre entertainment in spite of the war going on around them. That street theatre is more than just fun for the kids. Its intentional psychosocial support that can go a long way to helping address the trauma’s these children have had to endure.

Apart from the charming smile captured in this photo, we don’t know more about this girl. Just that, for the time she was interacting with the street theatre, as was probably the case when the children were interacting with Christ, her heart, mind and soul experienced some joy. You can almost hear her giggle.

Gapminder.com

It may seem that the Western world has not done enough to help improve the quality of life for people living in developing nations. Which may explain why people respond to the following question incorrectly when asked by the people at www.gapminder.com

In 1980, roughly 40% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty, with less than $2 per day.  What is the share today?

1. Around 10%?   2. Around 30%?   3. Around 50%?

Those answering either 2 or 3, join about 87% across the Western world who get the answer wrong.

It seems we tend to assume the worst. Because today, 45 years later, only about 9% of the world’s population live in extreme poverty. That’s a massive improvement in the quality of life for close to one billion people since 1980. The improvement can be attributed in no small part to the generosity of people like yourself donating to the work of Christian World Service.

However, here is another statistic to consider. Of the current population of the world (8,204,340,059 as at Wednesday last week), nine percent (9%) equals about 720 million people still trapped in poverty as they try to survive on less than $2 a day.

And then there is also this tragic reality: in 1980 the United Nations reported that there were over 10 million refugees in the world. As of 2025, that figure has escalated to more than 38 million.

So what do these statistics tell us? Firstly, you can be encouraged by the impact your donations have had over time in helping to bring nearly 1 billion people out of abject poverty since 1980. But secondly we must continue to call on your generosity again to help us continue our work with our trusted partners as injustices and wars are destabilising and undermining the good that has been gained.

In 45 years time, what might be the answer to this question?; “back in 2025, roughly 10% of the worlds population lived in extreme poverty (having less than $2 a day). What is the share today?” We hope the answer will be 0%.

More People like You

If you have not done so already, can I ask you to also click here to complete the 2025 CWS supporter survey. What is needed to help more people like the wee girl from Gaza in the photo above is more people like you who embrace the call of the gospel to love our neighbours, wherever they may be. By helping us understand what is important to you and by learning more about your experiences with CWS, you are assisting us to identify ways of improving our ability to strengthen the impact of our programmes focussed on seeing less poverty and more justice.

Please give generously and we look forward to getting back to you in our forthcoming newsletters about how your generosity is reducing the gap and putting more smiles on more children’s faces.