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ALFRED OF WALVISBAY, SIERRA LEONE

Name: Alfred

Country: Sierra Leone

Age: 28

Current location: Kabala

Hometown: Walvisbay

Occupation: Soldier

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	The best thing in my life:
	I say thanks to God because my family and I are safe and ok.

	My biggest hardships:
	I am the eldest, so all my family looks to me to support and help them. It is a lot of responsibility.

	My best day:
	Christmas – because I’m a Christian, and because it’s very happy then. Also, when I graduated training for being a soldier. I was so proud of myself, it was just like my birthday. My struggles were over!

	My worst day:
	I lost my younger brother to a bomb explosion during the war.

	My hopes and dreams for myself:
	I look up to God or someone to help me help my family. I want to build a house for them, and I have started saving money to build it.

	My hopes and dreams for my country:
	I know the country is safe and there is joy coming to us. The war is finished, and in the next few years everyone will want to come here.

	My definition of poverty:
	My family is poor. When you are poor, you don't get any respect in your community. If you don’t have money, no one will even see you.

	If there was no poverty…
	I think I would live well. I would have no worries. I would not have to think about how my family will eat or how to send my son and my sister to school. I would elevate my family by being in business – my whole family would be in the business.

AUSSIE OF WALVISBAY, NAMIBIA

Name: Aussie

Country: Namibia

Age: 62

Current location: Windhoek

Hometown: Walvisbay

Occupation: Unemployed. I spend the day taking care of my children.

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	The best thing in my life:
	Oh, I like people. I like to talk and listen to others talking. When there is nobody, I listen to radio.

	My biggest hardships:
	I worry about my children because they need me and everything costs money. Look, the schools have started and the two boys have started high school. I worry everyday.

	My best day:
	When I was young we used to go to the bush and get firewood. Once we found a 100 rand on the way. We walked to the central shops and bought chips and cool drink and sweets. We were only five but we finished all the money. After we ate we lay under a tree all afternoon. When we came back home just before sunset my grandmother gave us a big beating because we came home without firewood.

	My worst day:
	When my brother died. It was in 1998.

	My hopes and dreams for myself:
	I am too old now. I only want my boys to finish school. If I can get my children through school then I will be happy. I also want a job.

	My hopes and dreams for my country:
	Namibia must become a big name so that other countries can borrow money from Namibia.

	My definition of poverty:
	Poverty means that children are hungry and people cannot afford medicine or even the taxi money to go to hospital.

	If there was no poverty…
	My children would get presents for their birthdays and new clothes every now and then.

ESTHER OF QUITO, EQUADOR

Name: Esther

Country: Equador

Age: 38

Current location: Quito

Hometown: Quito

Occupation: Housekeeper

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	The best thing in my life:
	Being with my family is the best part of my life. I have a granddaughter so I try to spend time with her and help my daughter and son with their kids.

	My biggest hardships:
	The prices of food and feeding my family.

	My best day:
	Every Saturday and Sunday, when I don't have to work, is good for me.

	My worst day:
	I can’t think of my worst day.

	My hopes and dreams for myself:
	That my children succeed professionally and have opportunities to do something with their lives.

	My hopes and dreams for my country:
	I hope that we can have a good government and president. Our new president is good, but this is Ecuador and the government is not stable. Ecuador needs more jobs and education, and the government needs to improve our opportunities.

	My definition of poverty:
	Poverty is to not have shoes or clothes and not be able to eat well. Wealthy people can buy anything and are healthy, and poor people are the opposite.

	If there was no poverty…
	...there wouldn't be any slums and people could travel freely in and out of the country.

HA THI NGOC OANH OF THUAN AN, VIETNAM

Name: Ha Thi Ngoc Oanh

Country: Vietnam

Age: 18

Current location: Hue

Hometown: Thuan An

Occupation: Student with a part-time job

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	The best thing in my life:
	I like to speak English. Now I practise and when I finish university, I can easily find a job.

	My biggest hardships:
	I worry for my studies and for my life because my parents' don't have good employment. My sister is working and I earn some money, but I worry about earning more in future.

	My best day:
	I like celebrating my birthday. July 22, my 18th birthday. I'm celebrate with everybody in my family, just a small bit to remember the day.

	My worst day:
	I don't know. Don't have one. I'm not sad. Maybe I'm a happy person.

	My hopes and dreams for myself:
	I hope I can find a good job when I finish university. And that everybody in my family does ok.

	My hopes and dreams for my country:
	Maybe in the future the economy will be better so everyone can find a job.

	My definition of poverty:
	It means poor in material things or poor in the mind, when someone is sad, that means poor. Poor in the spirit. Someone is sick or something like that.

	If there was no poverty…
	I think the society development would be better than now. Families would be happy then. The parents won’t worry for their children.

LUIS OF COLTA, COTOPAXI PROVINCE, EQUADOR

Name: Luis

Country: Equador

Age: 28

Current location: Quito

Hometown: Colta, Cotopaxi Province

Occupation: Selling goods like sunglasses, shoelaces, and trinkets

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	The best thing in my life:
	Having the opportunities to do things for other people.

	My biggest hardships:
	The economic situation in this country is very bad, and many campesinos are moving to the city and to other countries because of the lack of opportunities in the countryside. In my town, Colta, the prices that we are paid for our agricultural produce are so low that we can't really make a living there.

	My best day:
	Any day when I have been able to enjoy my health.

	My worst day:
	I have not had any bad days. I have enjoyed every day of my life until now.

	My hopes and dreams for myself:
	My dream is to start a small business that would be owned by my family and would be located in my hometown.

	My hopes and dreams for my country:
	To educate everyone so that the level of ignorance goes down and so that future generations can be educated with ethical principles.

	My definition of poverty:
	Poverty means not working or making bad investments. No one is destined to be poor.

	If there was no poverty…
	...the country would be paradise and all people could advance themselves.

From the People

We asked people from around the world to share their thoughts on poverty and poverty reduction, providing insight into what matters most to people from different backgrounds and nations. Share your story by downloading this questionnaire and emailing it to povertysurvey@undp.org. This space will be updated as new surveys come in.
Thanks for your participation!

United Nations Development Programme

Poverty Reduction

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From the People

ALFRED OF WALVISBAY, SIERRA LEONE

AUSSIE OF WALVISBAY, NAMIBIA

ESTHER OF QUITO, EQUADOR

HA THI NGOC OANH OF THUAN AN, VIETNAM

LUIS OF COLTA, COTOPAXI PROVINCE, EQUADOR