Photo credit: World Vision/Indonesia

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. Reaching children early and providing easy access to learning is a first step toward fostering a new generation of leaders that can affect real change in a village, a town, even a country.

Did you know that:

• 1 in 5 adults is illiterate, and two-thirds of them are women?
• 75% of children not in school have mothers that never attended school?
• Of the 115 million children out of school worldwide, 53% are girls?

Global Impact charities, including CARE, International Youth Foundation, World Vision and Catholic Relief Services, build and renovate schools, train teachers, provide uniforms, school kits and textbooks, and help give every child—girls as well as boys—access to an education.

Thanks to a Global Impact member charity, Zakia, an 11-year-old survivor of the 2004 South Asia tsunami, attends a reconstructed school in Indonesia.

“This school is better than our previous school where we didn’t have good facilities like today,” Zakia said. “Now, we have computer, a beautiful building and a good library where I can read a lot of books.”

Your gift of $100 can teach three uneducated girls in South Asia how to read, write and do basic arithmetic, giving them a chance to continue their education, learn job skills, support their families and end the cycle of poverty.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.

This guest-post is brought to you by Miranda Marquit.

One of the great things about giving is that the giver receives, as well as the recipient. Usually, it is the intangibles that the giver receives, such as feelings of well-being and accomplishment. But in the case of microloans, it is possible to receive something more tangible.

Microloans are loans made in small amounts to those in under-developed countries who want to start businesses. The idea is to help the impoverished help themselves. If you want to finance the poor, you can do so with as little as $25. And you will receive a return on your investment.

Image credit: Cottage industry by asis k. chatt.

Organizations like Grameen Bank and Kiva help match you to entrepreneurs who are looking for better lives. You give them a loan, or part of one, at reasonable interest rate, and eventually it is paid back.

The return on this investment is small (the interest rate is usually around 7% and the organization gets a cut, too), but it still represents a return. Microloans have a 99% payback rate, so the risk is fairly small (though still there). And you get to feel good about helping someone help themselves out of poverty.

Miranda is a personal finance blogger. You can find her at Yielding Wealth and the AllBusiness Personal Finance Corner.

Photo credit: UNICEF/Africa

“I cannot express the joy I had on that day I saw water from the well,” says Anastasia, who lives in a village in Kenya. “My dream has come true.”

One of the most serious consequences of poverty is lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation.

In many developing areas, there simply is not enough clean water to go around. Women like Anastasia have to walk an average of four miles each day to collect water, carrying approximately 44 pounds on their heads, then must choose whether to use it to wash, cook or drink.

Did you know that:

• More than 1 billion people, or 1 in 6 worldwide, lack access to clean, safe water?
• Every day 6,000 children worldwide die from waterborne diseases like cholera, malaria and diarrhea?

Global Impact charities, including U.S. Fund for UNICEF, CARE, Christian Children’s Fund, Mercy Corps and Africare, construct and restore wells and boreholes, improve community irrigation systems and capture rain to make safe water available year round.

Ensuring adequate access to water supplies worldwide can have a dramatic effect on the lives and livelihoods of billions of people.

Your gift of $150 can help rehabilitate one village well, bringing clean, drinkable water to 500 African children and adults.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.